Jestersix

Staining the floors in the room with a tank

We are thinking about replacing our carpet and adding hardwood floors in our family room. This means ripping up the carpet and sanding and staining the new floors. We stained the back rooms last year and the tank was fine even though the house did smell for several days. This time, however, it would be in the same room as where I have my 125G tank.

My two options are: (1) move the tank, or (2) keep the tank in place and wrap it. Here is my thinking:

1. Moving the Tank

There is not another spot in the house where it fits, at least not without being seriously in the way. We are also staining the floors in the other part of the house, so that does not really protect it. I thought about putting it outside for a few days with an extra couple of heaters and wrapping it in a combination of foil bubble wrap and plastic. Anyone tried this?We don't keep our heaters on at night, so the house dips to 55F when it's cold. It's currently going down to 45 outside, so that is only another 10 degrees. The tank is 3/4" acrylic, so it has decent temperature stability. I would probably need to leave it outside for 4 days. Moving the tank is a HUGE pain, however, so I don't like this idea.

2. Keeping it in Place

This means that when we move, they will need to patch the spot under the tank that will still be carpet. He quoted about $500. This might be 20 years from now (or until I take down the tank). They would have the wood go underneath the tank so no one will be able to tell the floors don't go all the way under the tank.

The bigger issue is how well the critters in the tank will do. I am thinking I would leave the skimmer off for a couple of days and keep the entire area well wrapped. I have a vent line out to the outside I use for the protein skimmer, so it won't be air tight, but it should protect the tank from dust and some of the fumes. Anyone try this?

-Ray
 
If it were me, I'd move the tank and make sure everything gets done. If it's in the way for a few days it's in the way, I lost my garage for the past few months because I needed the space to do something similar, I'll deal with it :) Or borrow some smaller containers that will hold water, try to keep everything out of the way until it's done leave the big stuff outside and then put it all back together when the job is done.

As to the work itself, sanding the floors will put a lot of particulate matter in the air, so I would wrap the entire tank up with plastic regardless of what direction you go while the work is being done. Turn off the lights, everything will be fine without lights for a week. The fumes might be an issue as well, which is why moving the tank might be good unless you can seal everything up air tight.
 
Moving the tank is probably worth it.
It will be a huge pain to get that spot to match. Matching stains after many years can be really tricky.
Plus it will probably look weird with an old carpet under the tank.
Also might be ratty on the edges where they cut the carpet.

Fumes might be an issue at night unless you keep the entire house open, but then you
might have an issue with the stain due to cold. (Keep it above 55 degrees)

Heat should not be an issue.

Alternate : Buy a cheap plastic kiddy pool, and put everything in that for a couple of days.
 
If you can provide the tank with a source of fresh air (positive pressure on the tank side) and exhaust as much inside air as possible you should be good. There's all sorts of construction based temp walls, vents, fans and such. Much easier than moving the tank. :eek:

WB coatings dry real fast too. Exposure wouldn't be that long.

If the tank is going to be there for some time I would expect the floor would need to be redone anyway to make the house sellable. Done right the stand might have a cool built in look!
 
Maybe setup the old tank in the garage temporarily and move livestock out there for a week, then set new tank back up and move everything back into it?
 
There is no patching or separate staining the part under the tank. the entire room will need to be sanded to make it match. especially if years go by before it is done.

I would move the tank and put 1 or @ extra coats of the finish to help seal the floor from future spills.
If you want to go hog wild use spar varnish. Dry time and fumes are an issue though.
 
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