Using foam under an All-glass aquarium with plastic trim

[mille239]

After reading several threads about whether to use or not use foam under glass aquariums that have the frame/trim around the base, in order to compensate for any minor flaws in the stand surface, I e-mailed All-Glass Aquariums;

Here was their (short and sweet) response:

Hello,

Some people do think they need to add the foam, but we haven't ever recommended it. Good luck with and enjoy your new set-up.

Best regards,
Judy/Central Aquatics

[matty0h_52]

Well i did not use the typical hard foam but i did use 1/2 "soft" foam weather stripping.

[Maxius]

All the aquariums with plastic trim will not benifit in any way from foam been inserted under them.
This is only usefull when using glass only or acrilic tanks.
The glass tanks without plastic trim use foam to distribiute weight of the glass on an uneven surface.
same goes for acrilic tanks.
These type of tanks have to have full bottom support thefore you need foam under the acrilic tanks
some stands are not finished poperly and therefore the very tiny high spots on the top
those could lead to spot fracture
this is why some use foam

Hope this explains it all

Zack

[mille239]

Thank you Zack. I agree in entirety, but when I searched the threads, you wouldn't believe how many people disagree... I just figured I'd get the answer from the manufacturer

In all honesty, I thought it might be detrimental not just pointless, in that the entire weight of the aquarium, water, rocks, sand, inhabitants is resting on the outer trim, which may compress the foam around the outside, while the middle may exert force upwards on the actual glass in the middle of the bottom pane. these types of tanks are designed to be supported around the edge only.

[alten78]

hmmmm, i may just have to rethink this foam thing when i setup my new 75, thanks for sharing!

[brian3]

That can be the problem with some reef central threads - many opinions but not necessarily the right ones.

[RichConley]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6649725#post6649725 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mille239
Thank you Zack. I agree in entirety, but when I searched the threads, you wouldn't believe how many people disagree... I just figured I'd get the answer from the manufacturer

In all honesty, I thought it might be detrimental not just pointless, in that the entire weight of the aquarium, water, rocks, sand, inhabitants is resting on the outer trim, which may compress the foam around the outside, while the middle may exert force upwards on the actual glass in the middle of the bottom pane. these types of tanks are designed to be supported around the edge only.

I have my 58 on rigid foam, and when putting the trim on, I accounted for a 1/4" of foam compression. You can see the tank trim above the stand trim, so there has been much less than a 1/4" of compression on this 1" sheet of foam.


Saying that the foam compressing under the tank plastic trim and putting undue pressure on the middle of the glass is misleading, and false.

[JustOneMoreTank]

If you are very confident in the smoothness and flatness of the stand then you do not need any foam under the plastic trim/border of the tank.
I did not have that confidence in my DIY stand for my 120g tank so I have foam under the trim along the outside edge. You do not put any foam under the middle support strap of plastic. If you look closely at it you can see that it was not meant to touch the surface of the stand because it is recessed. Therefore it is not meant to be "pushed up on".
Hope that helps. :)

[mille239]

Thanks for contributing guys...

Rich, I apologize. I didn't mean to come across as saying that compression would happen, I just said the idea crossed my mind that it might occur, but your experience shows otherwise.

I am confident in my stand building capabilities, and so I think I will omit the foam from this new tank set up.

[RichConley]

Sorry, my comment came off harsher than it shoudl have.


It sounds to me like this would be totally dependant on PSI that the tank is exerting, and this would be largely determined by the depth of the tank.

Compression could be an issue with very deep tanks, but I havent seen it yet in tanks up to 24" high.