[pauliewoz]

Hi guys, I'm planning on upgrading to a 75 gallon but I'm a bit worried about putting it on my hardwood floors.

Has anyone had problems with their floors warping because of the weight of a tank?

The floor and joists would run perpendicular at the aquarium.

I would love to upgrade, but I've been reading some horror stories of tanks bursting and damaging hardwood floors that the idea is freaking me out a bit.

My wife would kill me if our new bamboo floors got damaged in any way because of the aquarium.

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[bsherwood]

I had a 55 upstairs on hardwood for a couple of years. zero issues.....

 

[thedood]

Is this actual hardwood or laminate? I cannot speak from experience but if this is laminate flooring I would be real hesitant to putting an aquarium up without protecting the floor from average aquarium accidents like sloshing water during routine maintenance. maybe a large throw rug or something. Definitely cover the area around the stand with towels would be my course of action. I think those types of issues would be more common than a tank bursting.

Edit: We are remodeling our house and the living room has 113 year old oak floors. I will be placing a 75g and a 125g on those floors when finished.

 

[pauliewoz]

It's a composite/strandwoven bamboo hardwood floor.

The regular splashing I'm not too worried about because I will place it on something to protect it from that. And I always wipe any spills that happen during water changes or maintenance.

I'm more worried about structural damage to the floor from the weight of the tank.

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[thedood]

I found this on a web site:

Bamboo flooring is an extremely versatile flooring product. It can be installed in virtually any room of your home, above or below ground, over wood, OSB, or existing vinyl flooring. There are several locations that are not recommended for bamboo flooring. Because bamboo flooring is a natural flooring product it is not recommended that bamboo be installed in wet locations such as bathrooms, washrooms, saunas, enclosed porches or verandas, or anywhere that may require wet-mopping. Extended exposure to moisture of this type may cause your bamboo flooring to warp or swell.

 

[Bobbybills]

Had exact same issue for a 90 gallon. Are you sure that the floor and joist run in the same direction? Usually flooring is installed across the joists, not parallel. Assuming that the stand is a few inches wider, it should cover 4 joists at 16 on center. Compression should not worry you unless the stand has feet. If so, remove them and spread the joy. If you cannot remove feet or if the stand has legs of some type, install blocking in line with the front and back plane of the stand to be safe.

Here's a photo of the stand that I built and the floor that is sits upon.

 

[thedood]

@Bobbybills That looks fantastic!

 

[Bushkill]

Folks have done it for sure.......and I give them a ton of credit.

I don't think you'll have any weight-related issues at all.

Water-damage issues would be my fear.

I've never done it, but I can make a couple of suggestions based on what I've read and how the the guy that maintains the SW tank in my office lobby

- spread out an old shower curtain/plastic sheeting ANYTIME you pull anything out of the tank or are doing any sort of maintenance.
- Have plenty of towels (paper and cloth) in close proximity.
- if you'll have any water running into the stand (canister, sump, etc.), there are tons of ways to waterproof the inside.
- test an out of the way spot with just a few drops of water. Not all wood floor finishes are created equal.

The one thing that's always scared me off of the idea is what happens over time in the way of discoloration. I know carpeting under the tank would be pretty much trashed over the years, but even if you get everything right, you'll probably be left with two different colors in that spot. A good question for someone who actually moved a tank that was set on hardwood.

 

[pauliewoz]

Are you sure that the floor and joist run in the same direction? Usually flooring is installed across the joists, not parallel.

Yeah, I'm positive. I installed the floors with my father in law. It was the only way we could of done it because of the way the room is laid out. We probably could have done it "properly" but it would have cost more in material and it would take twice as long to do.

Thanks for the tips everyone. I guess it puts my mind at ease a bit.

Still scared a bit about the tank bursting. With my luck I can totally see it happening. I've already some water siphon out of the aquarium I currently have by accidentally leaving airline tubing disconnected from the pump and my check valve was installed incorrectly.


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[joshrocker]

I have my 75 gallon on hardwood floors. So far I haven't any issues after nearly a year. I always put a towel down during my weekly water changes. I have had a couple of scary moments like when the siphon fell out of my bucket. I always quickly clean up whatever spills and I haven't had any discoloration. I was also very worried about weight but after reading a lot of stuff I felt confident enough to go through with it. From my own research I read that you can pretty much put a 55 gallon anywhere you want. A 75 gallon would be fine in most locations and then it got sketchy if you went any bigger. Not that you can't (plenty of people have bigger) but I don't know enough about flooring ect that I wasn't comfortable taking the risk. I had originally set out to go bigger than a 75 but ultimately decided on it strictly for the weight considerations.

 

[GraphicGr8s]

More than likely you have a floating floor.
I've got Bruce engineered hardwood flooring in our formal living room and it's a floating floor. The nice thing about that is I can sand and refinish three times.
A true hardwood floor is generally nailed through the tongue into the subfloor.
Your Pergo type floors aren't any form of hardwood. It's a photo laminate.
Bamboo isn't wood at all. It's actually a grass.
I've had 10 tanks in my first apartment that had true wood floors. Never had a problem with spills at all. The wood is after all coated with a liquid laminate. AKA polyurethane. (Well the floors I had were coated with Fabulon. Bowling alley finish from the 70s.)