New Tank, Fake Wood Floor :\

[MatthewScars]

Well its real wood, but its that wood that slides into place - maybe 1" thick. So I just bought/ordered a 120g tank, 40g sump, 120lb rock, and blah blah. Attached are pictures of one tile in my bedroom that had broken. Note, this is the only tile that has broken, but its none the less broken. I have a 40g tank and 20g sump already set up on this wood flooring with no issues. So about 700-800 pounds in a 25x25" area and its fine.

Should I be concerned? Should I try to remove the wood and put the new tank directly on the cement? I am in an apartment so I'd need to put it all back when i move out (if i can even get the flooring up).

Thoughts? Ideas? :lol_large

 

[Ant8689]

Maybe a 3/4 inch piece of plywood under entire stand

 

[thirty5]

Looks like regular wood flooring to me. All hardwood floor is tounge and groove. I would be much more concerned that you can push the board down like that!!!!

 

[edd]

looks like one of those floating floors, what looks like foam under it. that is how they install that kind of floor on concrete. i would be concerned if it is foam. either pull it up or put plywood for foot print of stand, like ant mentioned.

 

[jaa1456]

That's not a floating floor, it's a real hardwood floor. I would be concerned about the gap under it. If it were a fake floating floor it would have broken through already and a lot more of it would have broken. It looks like concrete u der it but its hard to tell from the pic. Why is there such a gap? That would be my biggest concern and plywood isn't going to help with that.

 

[duke62]

WOW is that just floating there? That doesnt look safe at all even with some plywood there. If you can push that plank down that far something is not right.

 

[albano]

wow is that just floating there? That doesnt look safe at all even with some plywood there. If you can push that plank down that far something is not right.

+1

 

[MatthewScars]

No foam, the floor is floating like 2 inches above straight concrete. This is the only small panel that is broken, but in other parts of the apartment you can feel a few (2 or 3) titles that have a little give to it.

Mah.

 

[edd]

That's not a floating floor, it's a real hardwood floor. I would be concerned about the gap under it. If it were a fake floating floor it would have broken through already and a lot more of it would have broken. It looks like concrete u der it but its hard to tell from the pic. Why is there such a gap? That would be my biggest concern and plywood isn't going to help with that.

i dont think you could bend 3/4 board with your thumb, but it could be. if its a true tung and groove wood floor over concrete they would of had to put down nailers, that would explain the space underneath.

 

[jaa1456]

Look at the pic, it's obviously real wood. And you don't use nailers, you nail each piece to itself and usually to the sub floor. In this case your not nailing to the concrete of course. And the tounge and groove has broken on that piece, and a small piece like that would have flex especially if it broke like that.

 

[duke62]

But mathew the problem is the tongue and groove is only a 1/4 think. You put that much weight the tongue and groove is going to sheer off. I would not put a 125 tank in that spot.

 

[duke62]

Oh and by the way even though the floor is not installed correctly AT ALL they might have nailed it in the correct way and if thats the case it is very hard to remove tongue and groove planks without tearing the plank apart

 

[MatthewScars]

Hm. That is the only part that is loose, so i dont really know how they did the rest of it. I dont see any nails any where, i just looked quickly. My 40g is fine though, been 2 years so far. But i understand a 125g is A LOT heavier.

So what are my options aside from trying to rip the floors up and having my wife kill me?

 

[edd]

if that is a true tongue and groove wood floor, it gets nailed through the tongue on an angle into the subfloor, to hold it tight against the other board. if its over concrete they would have to install a subfloor or nailers, say 16" on center, that would explain the void underneath.

 

[Jarrett]

Can't really tell by the pic but if that's glue underneath those boards and they attempted to glue 3/4 solid wood flooring to a cement slab that is your issue right there the boards are warping from the moisture at least that's what it looks like could be a type of carpet padding inbetween

 

[MatthewScars]

So being a baller, I just ripped the piece up and it looks like it is nailed down to a runner.

Is this good? Should I be cool?

 

[duke62]

I really dont see a safe way to put your tank without ripping up all the planks where the tank is going to go. I couldnt sleep at night knowing there could be more planks like that on the verge of giving way like that one

 

[duke62]

And by your last pic not cool. You alreay have one plank not laying on the runner who knows if there is more. Dude your taking a major chance by attempting to put your tank on that floor

 

[edd]

is the tank running across the runners or parallel with them. if you put plywood over it, it would be a subfloor reversed. usually the plywood will go down first, then the finished floor. i wouldn't worry about it, its over concrete.

 

[MatthewScars]

Well, I mean, it was nailed to it, the end quarter anyway. And if you put a 1" thick plywood under the tank stand it would distribute the weight over a 4x2' area with, assumingly, quite a few 2x4s that are laying on the concrete and the floor is nailed down to.

The reason this panel broke is I stepped on it one day noticed it was loose then jumped on it with force. It obviously broke, but my heel has a very small area. If I smashed that one end of the lose tile with a 4x2' 1" plywood, i doubt it would move.

I am not discounting your advice, I thank you for it, im just trying to come up with a risk/reward to this challenge.