Aquarium on carpet...

Leo

Leo

Active Member
Another crazy thought. My last tank, from 8 years ago, sat on our hardwood floor. Before that, as a kid all my small tanks were usually on a piece of furniture. I'm picking up a used RS 250 this friday. ( YES, I'm super excited!!!) The only place I have where I'm Allowed to put it is carpeted (did anyone catch that?) allowed :)... Anyway, sitting on carpeting just made me wonder if that could be a problem. Say with drips and what not. obviously anything major would be what it is, a disaster. So I was thinking if there is a thin pad or something of the sort that someone may have heard of. Something that would be under the tank and say a few inches out all around it. Just trying to be proactive here....
 
Coraljunkie

Coraljunkie

Well-Known Member
My tank is on the carpet in my parlor. I didn't put anything under it except for a couple shims to level it out. Whenever I do anything to the tank i put down a bunch of towels. It's been working fine for a while now.
 
TEA

TEA

Active Member
My RSM C250 is in our family room on carpet. I just made sure it's level when setting it up. Like coraljunkie I do put down towels when performing maintenance and I have a towel that I leave behind the tank to catch any drips from opening the canopy.
 
Leo

Leo

Active Member
Thanks everyone. ! I am concerned about the back of tank even more. I think I'm going to buy a small plastic tarp, lay it out first and after positioning the tank cut it with an exacto blade around bottom so it sits below and come out from behind. Therefore butting a plastic liner up against the wall. The front and sides will be the good ole towel trick :)


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TEA

TEA

Active Member
I like the plastic liner idea. I wish I'd thought of that before I set up my tank. Oh well, guess the towel in the back will have to make do.


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StirCrayzy

StirCrayzy

Well-Known Member
I've had lots of tanks on carpet, the towels work best, but the fact is once you remove the tank, you'll have a huge dent that won't come out. so no matter what you do, you usually have to cover that spot with furniture or replace the carpet anyway.
It's a lose/lose situation not to be stressed over.
On a side note, what does everyone use as shims for carpet.
I use old burned cds beause of the large surface area and they can be slid under and hidden very easily.
The trickiest part of leveling on carpet is you don't get a real level until the carpet is fully compressed. I like to fill a new tank with FW and let it sit for a day or more to do this, then take measurements for how many shims to start with.
Empty tank, install starting shims.
Check level/add shims every 20g until full.

Remember it's always easier to add more shims than remove them. :)
 
Mayja

Mayja

Social Media Moderator
RS STAFF
My 90g 4' long tank sat on a thick, plastic mat like the kind you get at an office supply store for your desk chair. I found one on Amazon that was 4' long so it would run the length of the tank. It was on that, on top of my carpet, for almost a year. When I moved it last weekend, we pulled up the mat. The carpet was in great condition! Just a little flat. The weight had been distributed very evenly. I didn't need shims or anything because it stayed so level. After a day, and a quick vacuum, that patch of carpet looks like it did before.
 
Coraljunkie

Coraljunkie

Well-Known Member
I use the black composite shims from the hardware store. They almost feel like a rubbery plastic, one side is smooth and the bottom side that sits on the carpet is serrated so it stays in place and won't slide.
 
Leo

Leo

Active Member
Well my vote goes out to Mayja! Excellent thinking. Will stop by office supply store and pick up plastic mat. I really need to be proactive on this as I still don't have that full support we all want ! [emoji41]


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Mayja

Mayja

Social Media Moderator
RS STAFF
Leo said:
Well my vote goes out to Mayja! Excellent thinking. Will stop by office supply store and pick up plastic mat. I really need to be proactive on this as I still don't have that full support we all want ! [emoji41]
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Click to expand...

I got one that also stuck out in front of the tank so when I was doing maintenance I could set buckets, hose, wet things down in front of the tank and not get the carpet wet. Pro tip. ;)
 
Leo

Leo

Active Member
Yea. I thought of that too!! I'm sitting on one at work and thought that's instead of cutting the front off, it'd be perfect to put stuff down on top of it!


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IanReefer

IanReefer

Member
I have a 210G and a 175G both on carpet. I've never had any issues with it. Even when I spill a little water, I just soak up the spill with paper towels and it's as good as new.

The only downside is that that is a lot of weight, and you'll find that it will crush the carpet after a period of time. I suppose this is no different than having any other piece of heavy furniture on the carpet. Just rake the carpet when the aquarium is moved and it will be ok.

Ian
 
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