# Large aquarium (84g) on new laminate "wood" floor?



## shift (Dec 21, 2012)

I'm thinking of doing some renos which would involve some nice new laminate hardwood. I know this type of floors isn't a fan of water and curious if having an aquarium on there will be an issue? Both for moisture/water and potentially the weight (stoping contraction/expansion).

Will this be an issue? My backup though is moving the tank to the future office which was slated for hardwood but I could just re-use the carpet in the pic in there


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

If it's cheaper type laminate flooring that's basically glorified cardboard with a thin wood veneer or even just a plastic sticker that makes it look like wood then I would say it's likely a bad idea. Water destroys that stuff quickly so even a small spill that sits on it will ruin it and cause it to buckle as it dries. 

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## architeuthis (Apr 22, 2010)

I'd stay away from laminate. It doesn't do well with water.


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## MEDHBSI (Sep 4, 2011)

I know a friend of mine installed a news type of laminate flooring thats actrually made of rubber. It looks like wood but its totally waterproof and you can cut it with a razerblade for installation. Ill try to find out the name of it.


* its called Loosely luxury vinyl flooring, he bought it from "jordans place and go"


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

They do make rubber/vinyl flooring that looks like laminate and is completely waterproof. Usually just refer to it as Vinyl laminate. But it is more costly than laminate in most cases. Good for the right application. But the problem with it is it can damage easy (dropping sharp objects and such), show deficiencies from the floor it's installed over ( where wood laminate won't) and having something heavy on it for an extended period of time can leave a permanent impression in the floor since it is rubber/vinyl. But they do have some nice looking products that you would believe is regular laminate.
The trick with laminate is to clean up spilled water ASAP, do not let the water sit on the floor or it will eventually seep thru and cause damage. I install it in alot of kitchens and bathrooms though we usually advise against bathrooms. Alot of good laminates now have a waxed edge which helps to keep the water from seeping into the joints. I have a 6'x6' section on my balcony that has had a decent laminate for about 4 years not. It has gotten soaked,, been covered with snow and still has no water damage along the joints. Probably wasn't the typical .99 sq ft stuff lol Try to avoid any products made in China if you are looking for laminate flooring. Home Depot carries a decent product made in Austria and has pretty reasonable prices. Laminates made in Germany, Canada & USA are also your best options. If it says "Made *FOR* such company" chances are it was made somewhere else. I noticed that tricky wording on some crap flooring I installed recently. King of floors has great prices and carries some good products. Most of the avg flooring places in town carry crap made in China so I would avoid most of them lol
Another problem you might run into is fish tanks = humidity. I haven't see in happen with laminates that were 12.9mm, but I have witnessed it with 10mm flooring. There was a place that had 2 x 55 gal tanks in their dining room and apparently created enough humidity for the floor to expand enough to cause a hump in the middle of the next room. Easily solved with a dehumidifier but a point to mention.
I did a 12.9mm floor for a gal who had atleast 10 s/w setups from 10g - 90g in a 900 sq ft condo and she hasn't had any problems that I know of, she was pretty careful with the water & did use a dehumidifier though. 
If your using a canister filter , I find a rubbermaid tote lid makes a perfect tray to set the filter into avoid spills from that when cleaning. Get some old towels to put around the tank when your doing water changes or whatever. Better safe then sorry with any floor you have, with the exception of rubber and vinyl.
In the end it is all sawdust pressed and glued with a sticker for a finish. It doesn't do well with water as it will react like a sponge given the opportunity. But the quality of some is way better than it used to be. And if your careful.. it' is do-able. Many people have fish tanks and laminate flooring and have little issues. I'd have more concerns about a dishwasher leaking as it will leak under the floor and damage it before you know it's going on. Atleast with a fish tank, if it's leaking it will most likely be noticeable before it become a problem. Unless the side blast out lol then it's not just the floor to worry about. Luckily that is a very rare occurrence. Just my 2 cents


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## MEDHBSI (Sep 4, 2011)

don't forget you can replace vinyl flooring easy, just a single piece if you want to


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

you can do the same with laminate  they both use the same click/ lock system. To do that with either properly, the floor would have to come apart all the way to that plank. Though with wood there is a trick to doing it w/o taking the floor apart. And laminate is far easier to work with IMHO....not that I do it professionally  lol they all have their pro's and cons's ...another con for vinyl is you do not use an underlay with it & it's thin... so it feels like walking on concrete to me and there is no sound absorption if there are rooms below.


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

I have an engineered bamboo floor under my 400. It's taken plenty of spills and no problems so far. I guess it is still risky but as John said the key is to wipe it up sooner rather than later. I've had significant water spills and knock on wood so far so good. 

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## randylahey (Jun 25, 2013)

If that is where you are planning to keep the tank in that location for a long time, you could always tile a section. Heck, while you're at it, do a curb and a drain too 

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## kacairns (Apr 10, 2012)

I've got my 180g, a 29g, 37g and a 55g in one room on my 12.9mm Dark Walnut laminate, just wipe up any spills before it can soak in and it is fine. I only had 1 problem and that was when my 37g blew its bottom seam due to crappy building style used from Top Fin.... Yes laminate had about 30g of water on it, and that is the only time any damage occurred, but at that point, regardless of the type of flooring its coming out if you can't dry it properly and don't mind the look =)


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## shift (Dec 21, 2012)

Thanks for all the tips So the weight of the tank stopping floor board expansion isn't an issue?


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## kacairns (Apr 10, 2012)

shift said:


> Thanks for all the tips So the weight of the tank stopping floor board expansion isn't an issue?


As long as the floor is given the proper clearance at the other walls it should not be a problem. expansion/contraction problems are usually due to there not being enough room to expand, ie they cut it to close to the wall, and that will cause the floor to buckle


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## April (Apr 21, 2010)

The best solution is to return the tank to its original owner! 
But yeah that rubber laminate is nice. The guy who sells it at Jordan's is a discus customer of mine. Go look at the ssfeway store. They are using a rubber floor that looks like old barn planks in the produce section.


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## shift (Dec 21, 2012)

If i make it down the in the near future I'll go take a peak. April. I'll trade it I'm only if you give me a cooler tank


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## April (Apr 21, 2010)

I don't have a cooler tank too bad, so sad. But you did wonderful things with it that I have no patience for.


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