Stand on Carpet, am I going crazy?

[ems3411]

I have my 110 gal ready to start setting up for real (not just water) and will be putting the stand on the carpet and tank on the stand.

Does onyone see anything wrong with this (110 gal Oceanic tank and stand) Just called the home manufacturer and will be placed across several joists on on outside wall.

I see so many tanks that are on tile, cement, etc. Is the carpet a good leveler? I have a 30 that has been on carpet and a 35 Hex on Tile both are fine even after years of service (4+)

Help me feel better about my decision...

Thanks for any help,

Bob

 

[danmhippo]

What kind of carpet? Long, short, stainmaster, or cheapy office use types?

 

[Anonymous]

When I was going to put my tank on carpet or wood floor, I was planning to make a sealed plywood 'tray' with a 2 inch lip all the way around that would go under the stand and stick out 2 inches all the way around it. This would catch any little spillage. I was also going to put a drain in the tray and go through the floor.
As for leveling, I see no problem with carpet.

RR

 

[jhaag]

I have a 90gal sitting on carpet and it has been fine for years. Basically, the shear weight of the tank will flatten the carpet and level itself out pretty good. The major reason people use tile, etc is in case of spills. If you get the carpet wet with a minor spill, it is a beast to clean really tight against the stand (toothbrush works great). If you get a massive spill, the carpet can get damp under the stand. Basically, if you have planned right and allowed for most failures, you shouldn't have any massive spills. Besides, if you have that massive of a spill, you probably have bigger problems then a wet carpet. Drips can also be a pain on carpet and will leave dirt stains since the salt dries sticky. It will steam clean out fine, but it can still be unsightly. I solved this one by buying a cheap rubber backed 48"x30" carpet from Walmart for $20. If I am going to be playing in the tank, I unroll the carpet in front of the tank that way any drips or splashes will be caught instead of getting the carpet messed up. Structurally though there is little reason you can't place it on the carpet. Just make sure you miss the trim strip... approx 2" from wall since it will stick up (of course, you'd notice this when you began to fill the tank since it wouldn't be anywhere near level.) Hope this helps.

 

[Osama]

I put under my 180g a carpet witha rubber backing to prevent water spills ( which I had more than my share off .) from soaking into my wood floor. After 2 plus years everything continues to be stable. If you have a choice I would say tile or linoleum are better for water spillage than carpeting or wood floors.

 

[O P Ing]

hi.
The university housing department require me to put a plank underneath the stand on a carpeted floor, but when I moved the tank, all the area of the carpet under the planks was flattened and never "spring" back. I was charged dearly for this.

 

[jeddy]

I have mine on carpet. Tank is fine but my dog barfed on the carpet and it is now permanently stained. Don't know how to get new carpet without dismantling my tank.

Jim

 

[Tanger]

I also had a 90 with the stand on top of the carpet. Until one day my son had a bad nail day and dumped my wife's entire jar of fingernail polish on the carpet. The carpet was totally ruined and insurance company was called. To my a long story short, the carpet could not be pulled out from under the stand to replace it and cutting the edge of the carpet around the stand would make the tank unstable. In short the new 90 was paid for with the carpet by the insurance company and the new stand was built directly on the sub-floor, ie: plywood. That should have been the way to do it in the first place. Thats only my opinion and experience.

To answer your question, put the stand on the sub-floor........

 

[jhaag]

Wow, you got you're insurance company to pick up a new carpet after spilling nail polish on it... That's pretty impressive!!!

 

[Chucker]

With a 110, you're not likely to experience it, but..... Anyone using the open angle iron style stands should be aware that SW running down them will leave rust stains on the carpet. Best to put a section of plastic doormat underneath the whole tank if possible.

Not that I'm speaking from experience or anything......

 

[Anonymous]

I use a length of plastic runner from home depot to go under my tanks on hardwood floors and carpets.

I've had the iron stands leave the rust in a carpet at an apartment once before I used the plastic but it came out easily.

If you are going to put the tank on the carpet, try not to put the stand on the carpet tack strip cause it won't be level with the front of the tank. I like my tanks just about to the wall myself.

HTH

 

[AgentSPS]

I have an even scarier scenario than yours! I have a 44 inch tall stand holding a 75 gal tank half on a brick fireplace mantle and half over carpet!!! So I needed to design a platform to support the front half of the tank so it is flush with the brickwork! Here is the engineering solution which may work for you too.

You do not want to have particle board or ply directly on the carpet. It will tend to float too much initially. It will compress much more carpet surface area over time. Instead you can go to Home Depot or Lowes and in purchase 1" or 2" steel square tubes. They sell ones that are drilled every inch on all sides. Have a piece of 3/4 ply cut to the size of the stands base. Cut the rods to the proper length (perpendicular to the joists) and then bolt them to the wood every foot or 1.5 feet.

Now you will have a much more stable structure which will dig down deeper into the carpet and padding. It will also do less damage to your carpet over time. Also if you do have a big spill, you will have a nice gap under the stand to allow airflow for evaporating that spilled water.

Not bad huh!

 

[camp6]

i have a friend who placed his 125 on a peice of stone, like the kind that go in front of fireplaces. then put the carpet up to that. it looked very nice, like the tank was on a platform, and stone is hard to hurt.

 

[Chucker]

Another FWIW....

I specifically registered for those furniture glider thingies as a wedding gift. I plan to put them under the tank next time I have to set it up. Idea is to make it easier to move to clean up spills and do maintenance.

 

[AgentSPS]

Another FWIW....

I specifically registered for those furniture glider thingies as a wedding gift. I plan to put them under the tank next time I have to set it up. Idea is to make it easier to move to clean up spills and do maintenance.

You are kidding right?

 

[O P Ing]

hi.
Chucker's tank is 10 gal, so it will slide nicely on a steel top table with those "movers".... :wink:

Ah, Telfon(tm), a bachelor's best friend! (even after he got married).

 

[AgentSPS]

Oh few! Thought we were talking like 100GALs

 

[SPC]

Posted by Seven:

Chucker's tank is 10 gal, so it will slide nicely on a steel top table with those "movers"....

-I thought he still had the 5 gallon? The 10 must have come with the new wife .
Steve

 

[O P Ing]

hi.
FYI:

It's all my girlfriend's fault.
I hadn't had fish in years, and she brought her old 10g hex over...

I built a dolly for a tank in my back yard. It got 4 wheels, and I can move it all by myself when it is empty. Don't laugh... it weights ~600 lb when empty.

I also have pics that I took when moving a 60 gal (80% full) when I needed to clean the carpet. I also built a dolly for the occusion. If anyone interested, just PM me and I will send you the pic of them.

Most glider "thingies" are just too small for moving any tank of reasonable size on carpet, but I would be interested if someone tried and can do it. For hardwood floor or other firm surfaces, it maybe possible.

 

[O P Ing]

hi.
Upon request, I decided to attach the following pics. They were taken not for the purpose of demonstrate how to build it, but it is all that I have handy. The concept of the dolly is what's important. If anybody need further detail, just PM me and drop me a line.