foamboard under tank?

[monkeyreefer]

I have had a few people recommend placing a piece of pink foamboard under my 96"x30"x24" acrylic tank. Helps distrbute the weight more evenly i have been told, as well as "soak up" any irregularities in the wood stand.

Any truth to this?

[monkeyreefer]

anyone?

[jpfelix]

yes

[OldmillXxX]

Does it also apply to large glass? Like the AGA 125?

[tom obrecht]

I've always put it under all my tanks just for piece of mind.

[Red Sea Purple Tang]

Does it also apply to large glass? Like the AGA 125?
I was wondering that myself. If there's a gap between a part of the tank and the stand...with that much weight....what's a piece of pink foam going to do?

Hey MonkeyReefer...Greetings from the land of Cheese!

[windsor-aquatic]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6902669#post6902669 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by monkeyreefer
I have had a few people recommend placing a piece of pink foamboard under my 96"x30"x24" acrylic tank. Helps distrbute the weight more evenly i have been told, as well as "soak up" any irregularities in the wood stand.

Any truth to this?


It's standard practice in the UK to use polystyrene sheeting underneath the tanks, but construction methods are different here. The front, back and side panels sit on the base, not alongside it as so many of the US tanks that I've seen. We stipulate it as a condition of our warranty, but contrary to popular belief, the polystyrene does not take out any pronounced uneveness in the base, it simply helps distribute the weight evenly over the whole area.

[Pilot Fish]

For any acrylic tank you must have the tank fully supported-(not just around the edges like glass tank stands) and a foam pad to compensate for stand irregularities. If you don't the tank may encounter undue stress and crack or fail. Go to Lowes and get a thick piece of home insulation foam board. They have it stacked back in the lumber section and it should only cost you $12 or so.
Good Luck

[monkeyreefer]

i got 3/4", is that thick enough? or do i need 1", or 1 1/2" or 2"

[monkeyreefer]

BTW, my tank has the front, back and sides resting on the bottom, and is acrylic of course!

[Johnsteph10]

You don't need a foam pad underneath an acrylic tank.

Use plywood to distribute the weight evenly and you are good to go! I used 3/4 inch ply under mine.

[monkeyreefer]

ok, so no need for foam on acrylic then? i already have 3/4" plywood on the stand, so that is all i need then eh?

[Zoos]

you do not need a foam pad under allglass tanks they come with a plastic frame and the glass never actually sits on the stand. the foam is for custom tanks.

[Pilot Fish]

YOU NEED THE FOAM! The only way you can get away without it is if your stand has been perfectly manufactured by your tank builder for your acrylic tank. I would use the foam on top of your plywood. I used 1' foam on top of my plywood for my 375 but the 3/4" should be ok.

[monkeyreefer]

so 1" is the way to go?

[Pilot Fish]

I would go with 1" for your 300 to give you the most padding.

[bstone]

I have a 675 gallon glass tank (120x48x30) and I biult my own wood stand. I put a stryfoam under my glass tank, put I didn't use the pink or blue foam. This is why:

The square inches for my tank is 5760 in^2. The total estimated weight for this area (tank, water rock, sand) is about 8650 lbs. So that would mean that the tank puts about 1.5 pounds per square inch. Now, that is not much at all!! So, why put a very stiff/hard piece of styrofoam under a tank that will only put about 1.5 psi pressure. So, what I did was use the foam board that has the small white beeds. This type of foam board compresses more, and isn't as stiff. I used a 1" piece and it hardly compressed. Just my 2 cents w/ math!

Here is the LINK (http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=694341&perpage=25&pagenumber=1) to my thread on the construction of the stand.

[skriz]

I have a 120x35x35 and i used the pink board (1"). I didn't compress at all! Can't hurt to use it. the way I figure, take the precaution now, so you don't say "doh" later!