Self-leveling cement for tank base

Cirrus

Arowana blogger
I am setting up an in-the-wall 300 gallon tank (Marineland 300 tank and stand), in my basement laundry room. I noticed that I have a 3/4 inch differential in floor height over 6 feet, enough to interfere with the sump overflows in the tank I think. Unfortunately we had already had the floor tiled. I thought of using some little wood shims, but the thought of all that weight unevenly spread out is unnerving. And so I decided to experiment with some self-leveling cement poured over plastic sheeting inside a simple wood frame that matches the tank base dimensions. My thinking is that since the cement is poured over the plastic, when the tank eventually goes, all I will have to do is pick up the slab of self-leveling cement off the floor (with the plastic sheeting underneath it)

Photos below.
 

Attachments

  • 300tank.jpg
    300tank.jpg
    38 KB · Views: 643
  • Copy of March 2011 019.jpg
    Copy of March 2011 019.jpg
    30.1 KB · Views: 646
  • Copy of March 2011 020.jpg
    Copy of March 2011 020.jpg
    52.2 KB · Views: 643
  • Copy of March 2011 021.jpg
    Copy of March 2011 021.jpg
    58.1 KB · Views: 638
  • Copy of March 2011 022.jpg
    Copy of March 2011 022.jpg
    51.8 KB · Views: 640
  • Copy of March 2011 023.jpg
    Copy of March 2011 023.jpg
    46.4 KB · Views: 659
  • Copy of March 2011 024.jpg
    Copy of March 2011 024.jpg
    41.8 KB · Views: 648

Juice604

New Member
great idea , glad it worked for you

did the mix have any fibre-glass in it ?? reason i ask is , i am a concrete formworker (carpenter) , and anytime we have small pads like this , we always make sure to get a mix with fibre-glass in it , to prevent cracking .
 

Cirrus

Arowana blogger
No fiber glass is in the cement to my knowledge; I made the pad bigger by about 1 inch around the perimeter, and it is under the 1/2 inch plywood sheet now; hopefully if it cracks it will stay put and continue to provide a solid base for the tank.
 

Juice604

New Member
No fiber glass is in the cement to my knowledge; I made the pad bigger by about 1 inch around the perimeter, and it is under the 1/2 inch plywood sheet now; hopefully if it cracks it will stay put and continue to provide a solid base for the tank.

ya i hope it works out for ya too, what a nice tank setup , is this the one you mentioned in my 210 thread ?
 

Cirrus

Arowana blogger
Exactly the same tank/set up. I have a connection, have helped other forum members obtain one too. Let me know if interested.
 

DragonfishExotics

New Member
I checked out that sand filter, looks like the same one mike uses on his rack for the small pups, looks like it would do that job! Just a bit loud tho.
 
Top