Styrofoam Under tank???

tony_3a · #1 08-01-2011, 08:02 AM

Hey guys, I recently got a 6 foot 120 gallon tank, Im wondering if I should put styrofoam under the tank? I am building the stand and am going to put a sheet down that i could put the foam on and then rest the tank on it.

Another thing, The bottom pane of glass is like 3/4 of a inch raised up on the inside and the black plastic covering around the bottom of the tank is coming apart? I filled the tank with with water and it holds fine.

Im just concerned because this is going on my main floor and i have a 2 year old who is always standing looking at the tank, I just want it to be as safe as possible.

thanks for your time
Tony

Lampshade · #2 08-01-2011, 09:29 AM

Hey Tony, I have my 6 foot right on the wood stand, the plastic trim on the tank is my cusion. Most people do use foam to balance out the tank's weight, if your stand settles then there should be less stress points on the tank. I would use foam If you think your stand may move at all (even an eighth of an inch) The plastic trim doesn't hold any stress, so you shouldn't have to worry about that cracking, other the the looks.

As for the 2 year old thing... Make sure you GFCI everything. My fish tank is baby proof, my fishroom is babyproof(baby door knob things), and there is a baby gate at the bottom of the stairs. My 2 year old tripped the GFCI this farthers day morning by getting past all those items and pulling out a reactor hose spraying the room, and finallly the powerbar. 20 gallons of water on the floor, some very confused fish, but everyone was ok.

MarkoD · #3 08-01-2011, 02:07 PM

styrofoam will level out your tank if your stand or floor isnt perfectly level.

Myka · #4 08-01-2011, 02:10 PM

Tony, I would suggest you look at replacing that bottom trim. If it cracks in a way that the trim is no longer supporting that one spot you could be looking at a cracked tank and 120 gallons of water on your floor.

I use styrofoam under all my tanks. I just use the 1/2" stiff insulation foam.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lampshade

As for the 2 year old thing... My 2 year old tripped the GFCI this farthers day morning by getting past all those items and pulling out a reactor hose spraying the room, and finallly the powerbar. 20 gallons of water on the floor, some very confused fish, but everyone was ok.

Yikes! Glad everything was ok. That's scary.

tony_3a · #5 08-01-2011, 04:16 PM

I should be a bit more clear, its not cracking, but in some places it is coming away from the glass, and the corners where the 2 pieces of trim meet are not together anymore.

Myka · #6 08-01-2011, 04:47 PM

I would replace the trim. I'm trying to find new trim pieces for a bunch of 20 gallon tanks I have that are cracked the same way as yours, but they are hard to find! If I don't trust the old frames on a 20 gallon tank, I think you're nuts to trust it on a 120 gallon tank!

RedCoralEdmonton · #7 08-01-2011, 05:21 PM

Is the tank a Hagen tank? Is the trim cracked at the edge or just separate pieces? If its just separate pieces, ie; not structural, then its not a problem, but if the trim was supposed to be all one piece then i would replace it if possible

Steve

tony_3a · #8 08-01-2011, 06:37 PM

It is a Hagen tank, does not appear to be structural at all, I could be wrong tho. And yeah it's just pulling away from the glass.

RedCoralEdmonton · #9 08-01-2011, 06:44 PM

Ya I figured from your description that it might have been, there is no center bracing on the top and bottom as well, the plastic peeling is no big issue, you can take it off and re silicone it or just stick some glue in there to stick it back on....as long as your silicone in the tank is in good condition you should be fine!

Steve