New Flooring - Tank Dangers ??

DragonReef

DragonReef

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Hi guy's next Monday I'm having the carpets at home pulled out and we installing laminated wooden flooring.
This is going to be in the lounge where my tank is situated. The tank isn't moving though, they going to be flooring around it :)

I've been through the process with the guy's a gazzilion times already to make sure I've got all the bases covered.
The process itself, other than being very dusty is relatively simple. The existing carpets are pulled up and the new floor is laid. Being laminated it's all pre done and is interlocked like a puzzle. The only bonding that is done (so I'm told) is silicone in the joints to allow for expansion. Other than that no adhesives are used.

So my plan is to cover the whole tank with a sheet for 2 days to stop all the dust from getting in. I will switch all the lighting off and keep it in the dark to avoid heat build up with the sheet covering it.

It sounds pretty simple, but it's causing me some grey hair at the moment.. I hate having anything happening near my tank..

My question is has anybody had anything similar done and is there something I need to look out for ?
 
Hey DR those floors are really nice, just make sure you get extra to cover the tank area when you move because they tend to change the style every now and again and you may not match it in 5 year's time....
 
Yeah good point, need to make provision for that :)
 
Aaiish, my biggest concern here would be any epoxy used. Tanks make it really difficult to do any alterations around the house.
 
DR,

I have seen these guys put in a laminated floor. They are quick and efficient. As I can remember, the most dust was from the carpets being pulled out. The only other problem I can see, and I think this should be the most concerning, is that these guys don't care about furniture etc. I would watch them carrying/moving those long pieces of wood around the room.

Good luck...nervous times.
 
anthony, i wont be too worried about the installation, but the "maintenance". I'm not sure what their plan is for where the floor would join your cabinet. Laminated flooring is okish with water dripping on it, but if any water gets underneath it, it will damage the floor. Seeing as this is a tank where there is constantly water being spilled you will need to take extra precaution when adding/removing anything from the tank.

I had laminated flooring installed in my previous places's kitchen.(this was against all the recommendations.) and never had a problem with water spilling on the floor itself but on the edges it would of just been a matter of time before i ran into problems. I asked them to glue my floor together instead of just having it click into each other. This might be another option for you.

They can cut all the boards outside, so dont let them cut the boards in the room as it would help with the dust issue. This is a fairly painless installation and nothing I would worry about, execpt the water spillage.
 
Yeah Galibore I hear you, they asked us to move all the breakable items - TV's etc and they would move the heavy stuff. I opted to move all the stuff myself anyway, don't trust them.
Regal, yeah it's worried me too about the laminate getting wet. Thankfully most of the messy work gets done outside on the verandah. I've got a plastic sheet that I use now when I work on the tank to prevent water going on the carpet, I'll just carry on using it with the new floor. At most I spill a couple of drops removing a coral or something.
 
Fitting laminate floor is a realy clean process - so the dirtiest bit will be pulling the carpet out.

You have nothing to worry about.

Laminate floor does not like moisture though - so make sure you dry up any water-spills when you have your hands in the tank.
 
please make sure that you are present when they gonna be working around the tank!
 
in property development and we do l/w floors all the time, quick and relatively clean, the only prob, and I'm in that boat at the moment is moisture on the floors. keeping them dry around the tank is crucial, granted I am a sparkling newbie to this so i doubt you are gonna have any of the plumbing problems I'm goin thru at the mo'. should be fine, chillax.
 
Ok thanks for all the advice guy's, looks like I'm fairly safe. I'll keep you updated as to how it works out.

Now just need to phone my insurance company and make sure I'm covered for leaking aquarium plumbing...
I did insure my tank on the last update though :)
 
DR how did the insurance co take to the tank? Its something i still have to do but been putting it off.
 
I also gave up on my carpets 6 months ago....and replaced with tiles. Makes tank maintenance so much more pain free.....every time i spilt water i would get running death slaps from the wife:017: ;... because the carpets were still smelling from the week before.:wheelchair:

I would permanently have a fan stationed next to my tank to take care of spills.
Also looked in to laminates. Decided against it because i still mess nearly every day. Hope you better than me
 
Make sure you keep a couple old towels close to the tank in future. And clean up any spills ASAP.
 
Ok guy's just to update this. The new floor is in and the tank isn't any worse for wear. Was messier than I expected, they ended up chopping out the parque(sp) floor that was under the carpet as well. I'm Glad I covered the tank with sheets.
Here is the end result:

NewFloor002.jpg
 
Cool thanks guy's, happy with how it all turned out. Actually does the tank justice too ;)
 
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