Basement reinfocement

[sphelps]

Removing tile is not only pointless but it could hurt resale of the house, 95% of the time buyers aren't going to want the fish tank so it will have to be removed, if that's the case finding the same tile to put back in will be challenging and on top of that the grout will have to match. In a buyers market that could cost you the sale.

Also I'll note once more that butting up support walls tight from your main floor to the basement slab is bad idea. When you frame basements you're suppose to leave expansion gaps and even though most people don't the walls are rarely slug to the point they become load bearing. If you want to crack tile frame up your walls so tight there's no room for expansion then with the change in seasons you can watch your basement slab movement transfer straight into you main floor. Many places in NA require as large as a 3" gap for expansion by building code due to huge insurance claims in those areas. While we don't have such regulations in Alberta our slabs still move and it should be considered.