Self-leveling cement for tank base

[Cirrus]

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.

 

[Juice604]

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]

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.

 

[DragonfishExotics]

Tank looks good Theo, what will you be running for filtration?

 

[Juice604]

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]

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

 

[Cirrus]

Tank looks good Theo, what will you be running for filtration?

I am still really debating that. I have an Eheim 2260 and a UV sterilizer, along with a sump; The sump is a bit small though, and more suited to a 180-220; thus, I might look for another sump. I like the look of the Ultimafilter Matt used (see post #10 here), and am thinking of combining that with a 24/7 water change system courtesy of BWI.

 

[Cirrus]

These look interesting: http://www.aquaultimafilters.com/AquaLink-Filter-Tanks/AquaLink-Filters-Tiny-p-284.html

 

[DragonfishExotics]

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.