Gil&Fin Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 My 110-gallon display tank and stand sit on my living room oak hardwood floor. No leaks, but moisture is getting into the wood causing some bowing and cupping. I'm going to need to break down the tank, move it, get the floors redone, then move it back. I'm thrilled. Not. Here's the thing: I don't want to do this and then have the same thing happen. The floor guy suggested either some type of "pan" similar to what goes under a clothes washing machine or a layer of cork flooring on top of the hardwoods and extending about 6 inches out from under the stand. I can't be the first person who has had this problem. What all do you put under your tanks to protect your hardwoods? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Dang! I hate it when that happens to wood floors. We had a leaky door frame after the house was first built. It crept under the floor and ruined flooring to the tune of thousands of dollars. Luckily was under warranty.. So, in my office I use LVP or Luxury Vinyl Planking. It looks like wood, but is vinyl and waterproof. Maybe ok for an office? Not sure about a main living area.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The ReefBox Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Gluing the seams on the wood helps to keep the moisture from getting and swelling the wood. I also think that leaving the section the tank sits on out and let it sit on the sub floor water proof all around it thane set tank in and trim around the base. It will appear as though it is part of the wood floors system. Hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Wow sorry you are having to deal with this Holly.What a pain! I didn't even think about that in my house. I have hardwoods upstairs but decided never to put the tank up there for fear of a leak. I'm glad I did because the family room in the basement was flooded several times. Brian's idea sounds like a good one too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisQ Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 After being in the hardwood flooring industry for almost 10 years i can share some horror stories, my specialty is sanding and refinishing floors, and i can tell you there are many, many things that can cause the expansion and contraction of the wood (Bowing/cupping) the 1st thing i would do is to get the readings from a moisture meter on the sub-floor (under the tank) and fix that 1st, if it's not completely dried out and reads 10% or above you could replace everything for nothing because all that moisture will be drawn right back into the new dried/acclimated wood and rinse and repeat. I'll talk to my buddy (which is also a floor guy) and maybe we can swing by sometime, it's really hard to give sound advice on this without seeing it, i'm pretty sure we still have some moisture meters laying around 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gil&Fin Posted June 10, 2015 Author Share Posted June 10, 2015 After being in the hardwood flooring industry for almost 10 years i can share some horror stories, my specialty is sanding and refinishing floors, and i can tell you there are many, many things that can cause the expansion and contraction of the wood (Bowing/cupping) the 1st thing i would do is to get the readings from a moisture meter on the sub-floor (under the tank) and fix that 1st, if it's not completely dried out and reads 10% or above you could replace everything for nothing because all that moisture will be drawn right back into the new dried/acclimated wood and rinse and repeat. I'll talk to my buddy (which is also a floor guy) and maybe we can swing by sometime, it's really hard to give sound advice on this without seeing it, i'm pretty sure we still have some moisture meters laying around Great advice, Chris. Unfortunately, the floor guy had a moisture meter and found 18% in a couple of places. He said that I need to dehumidify the area before he starts working. It would be really, really cool if you could swing by sometime and let me know what you think. I'll PM you to see if we can make that work. Regardless, thanks for the advice and the offer to help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisQ Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 (edited) Great advice, Chris. Unfortunately, the floor guy had a moisture meter and found 18% in a couple of places. He said that I need to dehumidify the area before he starts working. It would be really, really cool if you could swing by sometime and let me know what you think. I'll PM you to see if we can make that work. Regardless, thanks for the advice and the offer to help. Opps, answered your Pm before reading this, yep 18% will definatly cup a floor! Your goal is somewhere between 6-7% in both the subfloor and floor From the sounds of it he's taking the proper steps Also on a side note, if you have a crawl space with really high moisture, it can and will travel up. 18% is quite a bit without any leaks, where is the moisture coming from? Our 1st mission! Edited June 10, 2015 by ChrisQ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gil&Fin Posted June 10, 2015 Author Share Posted June 10, 2015 Dang! I hate it when that happens to wood floors. We had a leaky door frame after the house was first built. It crept under the floor and ruined flooring to the tune of thousands of dollars. Luckily was under warranty.. So, in my office I use LVP or Luxury Vinyl Planking. It looks like wood, but is vinyl and waterproof. Maybe ok for an office? Not sure about a main living area.. Thanks, Jeremy. Vinyl planking is beautiful and durable. If we ever did actually have to pull up the existing floor and replace it we would take a look at vinyl. Gluing the seams on the wood helps to keep the moisture from getting and swelling the wood. I also think that leaving the section the tank sits on out and let it sit on the sub floor water proof all around it thane set tank in and trim around the base. It will appear as though it is part of the wood floors system. Hope this helps Thanks for the advice. In hindsight, I would have taken more precautionary measures (as you said, like gluing the seams) but that train has left the station. I'm wondering if I could talk the floor guy into "mistakenly" cutting a section out that would fit a 180-gallon rather than my 110-gallon. Then I would HAVE to go bigger, right? Wow sorry you are having to deal with this Holly.What a pain! I didn't even think about that in my house. I have hardwoods upstairs but decided never to put the tank up there for fear of a leak. I'm glad I did because the family room in the basement was flooded several times. Brian's idea sounds like a good one too. It's funny...I wasn't even worried about leaks, I just didn't expect the ambient moisture to have such an effect. I have a fan running on my tank that dissipates some of the moisture, but I discounted the extent of humidity. Plus, there is salt creep in the back. Live and learn, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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