20 Gal Nano Reef Build thread!

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Originally Posted by daniella3d

Is this really necessary for a 20 gallons tank?? it does not weight much.

This is not meant to cause concern for anyone not up on the topic, just some info to ponder ...
The purpose of rigid foam is to take up the minor inconsistencies between the tank and the stand.
In a lot of cases, especially with long glass surfaces, but also with small/thin-walled tanks, it helps or stops stress on the different panes by not flexing the tank.
It's a judgement call as to whether it's necessary for a 20g. After all, a 20g only holds 167 pounds of water, before you throw in sand and rock. So a larger estimate would be more like 2-250 pounds. Now, stand on a flat piece of glass with a pebble under one edge and see what happens
Grab a cardboard box and twist it. Eventually something will buckle.
With the stress already in a tank, why add to it?
Most store-bought stands are OK, but I've seen some crappy ones. Unless it's virtually flat, it's risky.
Hope that helps answer your question without raising more