How to protect laminate wood floors

[jaredpilot]

Hey everyone, about to setup my first real big saltwater aquarium in my new townhome. It's 160 gallons and has a hardwood stand. The hardwood floors in my townhome are laminate and not exactly the best strength or quality, right in the middle I would say.

I'm trying to go about the best way to protect the floors when I setup the aquarium. Any ideas?

Thanks!!

Here's a picture of the base:

 

[jlehigh]

Laminate is reportedly great for spill/cleanup. For occasional splash/splills ect you should be fine, however I had laminate flooring near my 280 and after a major spill (7 gallons) water seep'd through the cracks and warped the floor. This may be avoided with some form of sealant.. For my 210gal I tiled the floor and am very glad I did. My personal recomendation would be to cut out the area of the tank base plus another 12 to 24 inch perimeter and tile it for a worry free floor.

 

[jaredpilot]

Laminate is reportedly great for spill/cleanup. For occasional splash/splills ect you should be fine, however I had laminate flooring near my 280 and after a major spill (7 gallons) water seep'd through the cracks and warped the floor. This may be avoided with some form of sealant.. For my 210gal I tiled the floor and am very glad I did. My personal recomendation would be to cut out the area of the tank base plus another 12 to 24 inch perimeter and tile it for a worry free floor.

Interesting, never thought of that idea. You don't have a picture of your tile do you? I was more thinking along the lines high density foam and maybe particle board to protect the wood below, never really thought of spill damage...

Thank for the reply!

 

[jlehigh]

Definately stay away from particle board

I don't have an explicit picture of the tile but you can kinda see it down there in this pic:

I used 16" tiles bordered by 12". You can kinda make out where the tile ends and the carpet begins..

 

[jaredpilot]

Definately stay away from particle board

I don't have an explicit picture of the tile but you can kinda see it down there in this pic:

I used 16" tiles bordered by 12". You can kinda make out where the tile ends and the carpet begins..

Looks good, if I go that route, now I have to figure out how to cut out the laminate floor. I'm a novice as you can tell, not as handy as I would like to be!!

 

[Pentagona]

Believe it or not, most laminates will actually stand up fairly well to minor spills and day to day water drips around a tank. Much better than my hardwood is holding up As long as it is cleaned up right away and isn't allowed to sit you probably won't have any problems.

 

[jaredpilot]

Aside from the potential of a spill...Don't you guys believe the weight of the tank would damage and dent the laminate flooring?

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Bamboo flooring is cheap, fast to install and great around water

 

[jaredpilot]

Bamboo flooring is cheap, fast to install and great around water

You guys are giving me great advice, but so many options . I'm thinking that redoing the whole main floor would be kinda spendy and since its basically brand new probably wouldnt be the best idea... Atleast from a financial sense...

 

[Pentagona]

Depends alot upon your stand. Ift it's got really small feet where weight is not distributed, then possibly, but with most stands no...the weight should be distributed pretty well.

 

[jaredpilot]

Depends alot upon your stand. Ift it's got really small feet where weight is not distributed, then possibly, but with most stands no...the weight should be distributed pretty well.

There are no legs to the stand, its solid wood all around. Not a cheaply made stand, real hard wood and its heavy!

 

[ajnweb]

I don't think the problem will be any spills around the tank, the laminate will do just fine. It is the spills that seep under the cabinet and soak their way throught the cracks in the laminate. You probably won't notice any damage until you move the tank, for that reason, I would stay away from any wood product. I think I would go with tile. Good luck on whatever you choose.

 

[Calif-Reef]

Aside from the potential of a spill...Don't you guys believe the weight of the tank would damage and dent the laminate flooring?

I had lamimage floors under my 300 gal reef and didn't have any problems. Had a few spills which leaked under cabinet, thought it would warp flooring under but when I took the tank out to remodel my house it was fine.

 

[FreakinReefin]

You guys are giving me great advice, but so many options . I'm thinking that redoing the whole main floor would be kinda spendy and since its basically brand new probably wouldnt be the best idea... Atleast from a financial sense...

As far as denting the floor, no; especially if the stand has no legs. What I would do is get some insulation to go between the stand and the floor such as the foam that we put between the stand and the tank. Pretty basic, inexpensive stuff that you can get from any home depot or Lowe's or etc... That will work great to not scratch or scuff the flooring if any movement.

 

[NaTe R]

i install flooring i have experience with laminate some brands have a wax in the t&g system and they are better for water but the cheap ones don't and they will swell and look like crap fast if moisture or even a few mop sessions. there really isnt any way to tell now if you have the floor with wax in the joints. I when to a tack and feed store in town and god rubber mat that people put in horse trailors and it works and looks nice it is a little thicker than the rubber flooring that flooring warehouses sell. good luck

 

[Chichas01]

I used some of the thickest felt floor protector I could find and placed strips of along each of the corners and the center braces under the stand. My systems is probably about 125 gallons total with 200lbs of rock and sand. I think I got it at McClendons. I'm not noticing any problems with my wood flooring and if I do have a spill there is just enough space between florr and stand that I could use fans to blow under ti to dry it out. So maybe you might want to do something to have a little space under the stand?

 

[jaredpilot]

i install flooring i have experience with laminate some brands have a wax in the t&g system and they are better for water but the cheap ones don't and they will swell and look like crap fast if moisture or even a few mop sessions. there really isnt any way to tell now if you have the floor with wax in the joints. I when to a tack and feed store in town and god rubber mat that people put in horse trailors and it works and looks nice it is a little thicker than the rubber flooring that flooring warehouses sell. good luck

I like this idea! I'll look into it, probably would be easier to do and would do the job! Thanks