Hardwood floor

[Véronic]

Hi,

I am buying a new house and I would like to know if their is a species of hardwood I should take to support my 46 G. Bowfront tank that is on a stand.

I was wondering if birch hardwood will be affected by the weight or it is better to have mapple hardwood?

Thank you

Véronic

[beowulf]

Have you ever considered bamboo?  Great for the environment, very strong and looks good.  This is what I am getting in my next house which I am going to try and build as "green" as possible.

http://www.bamboodirect.ca/

[sdivell]

Hardwood floor is hardwood floor.. not a huge difference between the different hardwoods.

The only difference would be if you happen to find a softwood floor like pine or spruce but thats extremely rare because nobody wants a floor that can dent and scratch that easily.

as long as your tank doesn't have a stand that has very small legs on it you should have no problem.. if your tank has small legs maybe get a piece of plywood cut to fit and put it under the stand so the load is spread out more.

[Tsukiyomi-sakura]

Bamboo Is awesome you can even get it stained into different shades, Maple is also good, can't go wrong there!

[kennyman]

save a panda cut down a maple tree 

It's all about the joists and subfloor. the finish has nothing to do with structure. My 90 and 55 are on 2" of pine and they dont leave dents.

[Tsukiyomi-sakura]

save a panda cut down a maple tree 

No you mean save the boreail forests, Bamboo can grow three meters a day, Tree grows about three MM a day.

[kennyman]

No you mean save the boreail forests, Bamboo can grow three meters a day, Tree grows about three MM a day.

No there is a great deal of habitat loss for such creatures. Pandas who live in mature bamboo forests for instance.

http://archives.cnn.com/2001/TECH/science/04/05/panda.endangered/index.html

Also the boreail forest is predominately softwood lumber. The source of spf (spruce Pine fir) construction lumber as well as pulpwood. It grows quite quickly and produces massvie amounts of board feet of lumber per acre. But
the flooring in quesion is probably a thin veneer of hardwood that is selected for its resistance to wear. It is just a covering over the plywood floor in a modern house.

[Soeman]

No there is a great deal of habitat loss for such creatures. Pandas who live in mature bamboo forests for instance.

http://archives.cnn.com/2001/TECH/science/04/05/panda.endangered/index.html

Also the boreail forest is predominately softwood lumber. The source of spf (spruce Pine fir) construction lumber as well as pulpwood. It grows quite quickly and produces massvie amounts of board feet of lumber per acre.

This is not an simple topic, but to suggest that boreal tree species grow 'quickly' is quite an exageration. Forestry articles that indicate high growth rates are reported from tended land areas (which is not financially feasible on a landscape scale), and still do not come close to obtaining the magnifiscent growth rates of bamboo. Moreover, since harvesting in the boreal relies on clear cutting large tracts of relatively small trees to obtain the same MBF (million board feet - actual lumber obtained from the trees) as can be obtained from smaller land areas of the much larger bamboo a much greater land surface is disturbed, and many more roads are required. Even worse is the fact that under a mature black spruce forest lies a huge carbon bank in the form of peat.

The turn-around time for a boreal forest stand is 80-200 years, whereas for bamboo it is in the range of 10-20. This doesnt even account for the fact that fires ravage a large portion of the boreal each year, reducing the amount available to be harvested (and dont even get me started on salvage logging!). This, combined with the low MBF per land area for boreal species means small land tending in the boreal is not feasible, and new land must constantly be exploited. This is in contrast to the potential (while I am fully aware that it is unfortunately not the general practice) for small land tending of bamboo, and thus not disturbing new areas.

The 2004 Coulombe Commision report on the state of Quebec's forests (http://www.commission-foret.qc.ca/) indicated that the boreal was being harvested too intensely and recommended that the "potential timber yield for FSPL group (fir, spruce, jack pine and larch) be reduced by 20%". While forestry operations in the boreal in an important economic activity for many towns throughout Canada, the implications of razing it to the ground are profound, and care must be taken to manage our national legacy in a sustainable manner.

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I forgot to mention - for those who care little for ecosystems as a whole, but would rather focus on cute furry animals, the boreal is home to the timber wolf which is listed as extinct or endangered in most American states. The wolverine is already deemed to be extinct in Quebec, and endangered in the other provinces and territories. Bison are making a fortunate recovery (mostely due to it's economic value in supermarkets), but are still listed as threatened. There are still other animals in the boreal without fur, but scales, feathers, and carapaces (insects) which are endanged.

[THEKINGCOBRA]

I can not believe the "Tree hugging" I just read hear!
Who really cares, or should I reword that to say, the post asked simply for an opinion on whick hardwood surface would be most resistant to dents....not what the effects of using bamboo could do to the rainforest ...seriosly...who cares!
Now to answer the question....I lay all my own flooring...have for years...I have 2 tanks...one sits on flooring that is an oak engeneered hardwood (thinner yet stronger than traditional) and the other sits on 5/8" rustick oak hardwood. The point is...both are Oak, I have no dents, marking of any sort from either. Even from spills I have never had any problems. I dont think it really makes any difference as long as stated previously that its not softwood such as pine whick is not ment for high traffic areas.

[Adam]

I've had tanks on oak floors and they were fine.

As an aside, choosing a floor that has less impact on the environment might matter to her.  Unfortunately it seems as though you don't care how much you rape and pillage the world as long as you get what you want.

[THEKINGCOBRA]

I've had tanks on oak floors and they were fine.

As an aside, choosing a floor that has less impact on the environment might matter to her.  Unfortunately it seems as though you don't care how much you rape and pillage the world as long as you get what you want.

You would be correct

[beowulf]

You would be correct

And that is pretty sad.