My Own Fish Store Build!

IMO, concrete flooring is the only way to go. No matter how well you plan and how careful you are, you're still going to get water on the floors. Hopefully you're able to come up with something that looks nice, is practicable and doesn't break the budget.

Good luck, looks great so far! Keep us posted.

 

what a dream come true

i would love to have someone in my small town of oregon have a great store and some knowladge of saltwater, somewhere i could go for exciting finds and good information congrats

 

I can just imagine you are gonna have accidental overflows and spills. Especially with all those tiered systems. One of my LFS's came in one morning to find 2 inches of saltwater covering the floor, which came from their big square rimless softies tank.

I'd even think about a small sump/bilge recess in a low spot with a bilge pump and float switch, thats connects to your drain, so if there's ever a problem at night or when no ones around it'll prevent flooding.

We use these on our catamarans. West Marine: Rule-Mate Fully Automatic Bilge Pumps Product Display

 

The LFS around me that have carpet smell bad. The ones that don't smell normal.

Concrete isn't the only option though. Linoleum, those little linoleum type tiles or a spray on covering like you see in some garages.

Carpet has to be replaced when it gets stained or messed up (if you want it to look nice) but hard floors don't...

Anyway, I've yet to walk into an LFS, see concrete floors and get a bad impression... I pretty much expect concrete or tile.

Good luck. Seems like a dream come true (and a lot of work!).

 

Sounds like I might need to be removing the carpet. We will see --I dont want a smelly store!

With no padding and just glued down carpet doesn't seem like a big deal for cleanup if it does get wet. I would think there would have to be carpet runners in anyway so people dont slip a fall.

 

Wow, how exciting!!! I can't believe you're going to have your own store. Amazing! Congratulations!! Can't wait to view the progress!!

 

You could just do concrete around the tanks, like a 3 or 4 foot track, and keep the rest. It would still look nice. People dont expect any carpet in a fish store, it's understood that water is usually splashed and would ruin the carpets. I would love to open a shop, but would never do it, its a hobby for me, not a job. I'm happy there are those out there willing to take the effort.

 

There is a good thought leave carpet in the dry goods area and out of the area where you walk while you are bagging and if front of the tanks.

 

my lfs has carpet everywhere except where the fish tanks are. the one room with fish in it has linoleum. i think it looks nice.

 

yes, cleanup is fairly easy, the trick is getting it dry before the mold grows - that requires industrial grade blowers running all night