Tank stands vs. Pergo type flooring

[Anonymous]

Anybody have a tank resting on a Pergo type floor? I'm having to move the tank into a room with that type of flooring and I know my current low rent iron stand probably isn't a good idea and needs to be replaced with a wooden one. Has anyone had issues with stands marring that type of floor?

 

[Anonymous]

Can't say that I have, but if you're worried about it, how about you either get some pieces of matching (or complimentary) Pergo or wood and set the tank on that? Might be better than those round footie things.

 

[Anonymous]

Laminate floors do not scratch/mar easily, they're quite resilient.
As long as the flooring was installed properly over a floor that is strong enough to hold the tank in question without deflecting, no worries.

You don't want to let water sit on it for long periods however, it will seep through the cracks and the laminate will swell.



Edit...you're talking about using the existing metal stand? Yes I'd put something underneath it just to be safe. The surface is quite hard, but very thin, and they do scratch.
When I first responded I thought you were talking about a new wood stand.

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah, I was thinking the iron stand wasn't a good option. I'm looking into upgrading the tank setup anyway. As long as I have to move it I might as well make improvements

 

[Katfsh]

My 90 gal is on a wood stand on pergo. what I did was I got some plastic from lowes that was in the flooring dept that is design to go over flooring during moving or anything else to protect it. it is tacky on one sid eto help it stick and I put several layers of that down place my stand on it then cut away the extra. My thinking it that will keep any stray water that i can wipe up from finding a crack under the tank to seep into.

 

[liquid]

Anybody have a tank resting on a Pergo type floor? I'm having to move the tank into a room with that type of flooring and I know my current low rent iron stand probably isn't a good idea and needs to be replaced with a wooden one. Has anyone had issues with stands marring that type of floor?

Pergo flooring is really pretty resistant to marring and scratching based on the testing we conducted at my previous employer. Currently it's either a low pressure melamine laminate or high pressure melamine laminate -- both of which are very resilient (they have to be given the warranty and the usage). That being said, it is a laminate with the melamine impregnated woodgrain alpha-paper over top of particleboard that uses either a urea-formaldehyde or phenolic binder to "stick" the wood chips together. Both binder systems will allow the wood chips to swell with exposure to water over time w/ the phenolic being more resilient -- but they both will swell. The joint would be the spot that I'd be the most worried about as that's the first place water will seep into if it gets onto the floor. I'd do everything possible to keep water from getting on the floor. I'd also put something under it just to keep the sharp edges off of it. There's plenty of "coasters" that you can pick up at Lowes / Menards / Home Depot for putting underneath furniture that should suit your application.

Shane

 

[Anonymous]

Anybody have a tank resting on a Pergo type floor? I'm having to move the tank into a room with that type of flooring and I know my current low rent iron stand probably isn't a good idea and needs to be replaced with a wooden one. Has anyone had issues with stands marring that type of floor?

Pergo flooring is really pretty resistant to marring and scratching based on the testing we conducted at my previous employer. Currently it's either a low pressure melamine laminate or high pressure melamine laminate -- both of which are very resilient (they have to be given the warranty and the usage). That being said, it is a laminate with the melamine impregnated woodgrain alpha-paper over top of particleboard that uses either a urea-formaldehyde or phenolic binder to "stick" the wood chips together. Both binder systems will allow the wood chips to swell with exposure to water over time w/ the phenolic being more resilient -- but they both will swell. The joint would be the spot that I'd be the most worried about as that's the first place water will seep into if it gets onto the floor. I'd do everything possible to keep water from getting on the floor. I'd also put something under it just to keep the sharp edges off of it. There's plenty of "coasters" that you can pick up at Lowes / Menards / Home Depot for putting underneath furniture that should suit your application.

Shane

They are indeed resilient, but sharp metal (like a bur on a tank stand) will scratch it immediately. Or say a wood screw left on the floor that somebody steps on and slides a bit...huge scratch. Or sliding a heavy coffee table, and a small grain of something caught under one of the legs...scratch.

I've installed various brands and they're all great, but not nearly as hard and scratch resistant as say tile, and that outer layer is very thin. Great under normal use, but some caution is warranted.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks guys, I was thinking about making a platform of sorts out of marine plywood with the soft plastic underlayment underneath (floor contact side). molding around the edges (to catch the accidental oops) and paint it.

 

[Anonymous]

My 6 year old put the first scratch in the new pergo floor today. I elected to put the tank on tile rather than pergo. In my experience, scratching will not be the issue, but rather separation of the joints where the individual slotted sections are joined together. Water then gets in. I think the best solution would be to put a second layer of material, like a 1/2 thick sheet of plywood, between the pergo and the stand. This will help to more evenly distribute the weight. I lip around it might help contain spills, but if water gets between the two layers, all bets are off.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks guys, I was thinking about making a platform of sorts out of marine plywood with the soft plastic underlayment underneath (floor contact side). molding around the edges (to catch the accidental oops) and paint it.

Sorry, guess I should read first. Anyway, exactly.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks SubCom. I am seriously thinking of changing my setup to either a JBJ type cube or some other alternative that doesn't have a sump or chance of overflowing. With my schedule, I leave the tank for at least 30hrs at a time. So it might be to my advantage to do something that's a little more failsafe. Although if I decide bigger is better....there are tons of used 60 cubes around.

Hmmmmmm....

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks SubCom. I am seriously thinking of changing my setup to either a JBJ type cube or some other alternative that doesn't have a sump or chance of overflowing. With my schedule, I leave the tank for at least 30hrs at a time. So it might be to my advantage to do something that's a little more failsafe. Although if I decide bigger is better....there are tons of used 60 cubes around.

Hmmmmmm....

My luck with sumpless tanks overall has been much better. It is not as crazy as it sounds.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks SubCom. I am seriously thinking of changing my setup to either a JBJ type cube or some other alternative that doesn't have a sump or chance of overflowing. With my schedule, I leave the tank for at least 30hrs at a time. So it might be to my advantage to do something that's a little more failsafe. Although if I decide bigger is better....there are tons of used 60 cubes around.

Hmmmmmm....

My luck with sumpless tanks overall has been much better. It is not as crazy as it sounds.

Can you discuss that further? Having a flood while I'm on the rig for 36hrs is a constant worry with me. Equipment-wise I'd have to get a HOB skimmer for sure but it's not like I need a calc reactor or other high end SPS type gear.

 

[liquid]

I ran with a sumpless 38 gal for years using nothing more than a BakPak skimmer. Worked fine for me and I didn't have to worry about an overflow getting plugged.

Shane

 

[Anonymous]

I ran with a sumpless 38 gal for years using nothing more than a BakPak skimmer. Worked fine for me and I didn't have to worry about an overflow getting plugged.

Shane

The one time the overflow got plugged on my current tank (damn snail!) I happened to be home but I've been paranoid about it happening ever since. A local has this type tank/stand/canopy (65 gallon acrylic not drilled) for sale pretty cheap and I'm going to go take a look at it:

The only problem is the canopy has normal lighting, I'd have to figure a way to DIY or upgrade it.

 

[Anonymous]

It looks like it could have a lot of potential!

 

[Anonymous]

(GRINS) bigger tank = more coral for you to ogle my friend.

 

[Anonymous]

:lol:

You're nothing if not considerate. Seriously, I hope I can provide some payback eye candy this time next year. 8)

 

[Anonymous]

We'll see Tom. Of course, thinking on it this morning that new tank would be a substantial investment in both time and money...I've got to think about it :|

 

[Anonymous]

Not an easy decision, that's for sure. Particularly given how much this hobby costs in both time and money, as you say.