# Mat underneath fish tank stand to protect carpet?



## iplaywithemotions (Dec 18, 2008)

I'm moving to a new apartment and want to protect the carpet from leaks/spills during water changes. Can anyone recommend any kind of a cheap mat to place underneath the tank? I have a 55 gallon.


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## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)

Suppose you could find some indoor/outdoor carpet that would do the job.
A good sized "beach towel" could be spread in front of the tank during maintenance as well.


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## Pali (Dec 22, 2009)

Yeah make shure it's something that will allow the carpet under the cover, so traped moisture can escape if you anyway spill a little or the humidity gets high in the room.

I use the "beach towel infront of mt tanks when I do water changes, I have wood floors in most of the house but in the bedroom it's only a cheap parquet floor and it can't handle getting really wet from water spillings.

Just my 2 cent.


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## fox (Jun 11, 2009)

We use the Beach towel mat on a few of our tanks, all cichlid tanks, when feeding. Funny that.

It seems we get more water splashed during feeding than spilled during maintenance ... except for mebbe that one python incident :roll:


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## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)

fox said:


> We use the Beach towel mat on a few of our tanks, all cichlid tanks, when feeding. Funny that.
> 
> It seems we get more water splashed during feeding than spilled during maintenance ... except for mebbe that one python incident :roll:


Can`t just leave it there.
Come on, fess up.
What happened.


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## iplaywithemotions (Dec 18, 2008)

KaiserSousay said:


> fox said:
> 
> 
> > We use the Beach towel mat on a few of our tanks, all cichlid tanks, when feeding. Funny that.
> ...


Yes, spill the beans! :lol:

Looks like I'll just stick to the beach towel :thumb:


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

A bath towel in front will likely work out better. For those all over soakings, there is little to stop damage. For the occasional spill soaking it up and then getting the wet towel off the carpeting is better. Letting a wet item stay on the carpeting just slows the drying and makes it more likely to rot over time. Once carpet pad get saturated, I go for a stack of towels. I put the towel down and press on it to soak as much out of the pad as possible, remove the towel and then just let it air dry. For worries about tubing or filters leaking, there is a cheap bit of insurance against those going days without you seeing it. The plumbing departments may have a small battery operated water alarm you can set below the tank. It operates on a 9V battery and screams when it gets wet. They are designed for use under water heaters that may leak.


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## fox (Jun 11, 2009)

KaiserSousay said:


> Can`t just leave it there.
> Come on, fess up.
> What happened.


Ahh yes the incident that must never be spoken of in the presence of the wife :roll:

You know how it seems like forever to put 30 or so gallons inna tank when refilling ... I left a 125 filling for only a moment to let the dog outside mebbe 10 or 15 seconds it seemed at most...

The hose popped off the gravel vac and in those few seconds pumped what seemed like fifty gallons from floor to ceiling before I could stop the flow. And at that precise moment the wife arrives home with my sister inlaw to see this taking place


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## iplaywithemotions (Dec 18, 2008)

PfunMo said:


> A bath towel in front will likely work out better. For those all over soakings, there is little to stop damage. For the occasional spill soaking it up and then getting the wet towel off the carpeting is better. Letting a wet item stay on the carpeting just slows the drying and makes it more likely to rot over time. Once carpet pad get saturated, I go for a stack of towels. I put the towel down and press on it to soak as much out of the pad as possible, remove the towel and then just let it air dry. For worries about tubing or filters leaking, there is a cheap bit of insurance against those going days without you seeing it. The plumbing departments may have a small battery operated water alarm you can set below the tank. It operates on a 9V battery and screams when it gets wet. They are designed for use under water heaters that may leak.


Makes perfect sense. Thanks a lot for the info :thumb:


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## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)

Thanx for sharing,
*at that precise moment the wife arrives home with my sister inlaw to see this taking place*
Is that not always the way it plays out.


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## marvo (Nov 24, 2010)

bath room floor runner.....who layed carpet ??will have tots of scrap


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## master chi (Jan 3, 2010)

sham wows or other super absorbent material works best for me .

you can find these at most auto stores.

they work great for drying your car after a wash as well.


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