styrofoam under tanks

[The Grizz]

With the sides, front and back glass sitting on top of the bottom pane of glass there is way more chance of the tank cracking under the weight of the side glass. All it take is to get one corner a little higher then the rest and you have a stress point. make sure that the bottom of the tank is sitting perfectly flat EVERY WHERE. A properly built tank has all side on the outside of the bottom pane, its called a floating bottom.

[lockrookie]

i thinn the 180s are built like koles i just took off my broken piece of glass and found that it too sits on the bottom pane.. not sure why they did this with 180's but thats what caused me to make a measurment mistake of 1/2 inch.oops but i too will be doing plywood then foam then tank.

[Myka]

Hmmm...I don't have any tanks designed like that. Maybe ask a tank builder for their opinion?

[sphelps]

Most standard tanks from builders have the sides on top. The other method is actually more of a DIY thing that some custom builders do as well. Professional builders will make sure the glass is flat and has enough silicone in the seam so the glass will not chip. For exceptionally large tanks above the standard you see more of the base within approach as the glass is thicker and heavier but these will also come with specific requirements regarding supporting the entire tank area.

The reason why the "sides on top" method is used is it can be supported by the standard trim around the edges and doesn't require full support under the entire tank area. This works better with standard stands and eliminates the need for foam or other layers between the tank and stand. Despite what we all believe to be better practice, placing foam between a tank with trim and the stand is not required.

[kole]

Originally Posted by lockrookie

i thinn the 180s are built like koles i just took off my broken piece of glass and found that it too sits on the bottom pane.. i too will be doing plywood then foam then tank.

Thanks lockrookie I thought I had seen this before on a 125.

Originally Posted by sphelps

Most standard tanks from builders have the sides on top. The other method is actually more of a DIY thing that some custom builders do as well. Professional builders will make sure the glass is flat and has enough silicone in the seam so the glass will not chip. For exceptionally large tanks above the standard you see more of the base within approach as the glass is thicker and heavier but these will also come with specific requirements regarding supporting the entire tank area.

The reason why the "sides on top" method is used is it can be supported by the standard trim around the edges and doesn't require full support under the entire tank area. This works better with standard stands and eliminates the need for foam or other layers between the tank and stand. Despite what we all believe to be better practice, placing foam between a tank with trim and the stand is not required.

Sphelps I have read something like this on an old thread on another site. It was posted by a person who was said to be in the aquarium building industry with a larger company. glass less than an inch can be placed on top of the bottom pane.

I have read so much my head hurts lol.. My only concern with supporting the tank with plywood and then styrofoam is the bottom of the tank is almost flat it is only raised by the 90 degree angle piece of plastic trim. So when the edges of the tank sinks into the styrofoam the bottom pane will have upward pressure placed on it by the styrofoam. Thoughts?

[justincgdick]

I'm confused. All of the store bought tanks I've had are raised bottom pain with the four sides surrounding it, black trim over that. I've fired them on a million different things without foam. Most makeshift stand bow in the middle and I've had many tanks where I could slide a card under the center of the tank. I'm not saying this is good, but I've never had a tank leak. I usually just try to find a stand that is pretty darn flat.

If you add foam to this kind of tank it shouldn't push on the bottom pane.
The bottom is supposed to float and be supported by the trim. I've actually seen a tank that was half over a flat bar top, lengthwise, and the two floating corners propped with 2x4s on end. Once again, bad bad idea, but the point is you don't support the bottom and you would be hard pressed to blow a tank supporting it by a couple points on the trim as long as they are flat and level to each other. A leak would be caused by twisting or torquing the tank.

Custom build tanks/ quality tanks generally have the sides sit on top of the bottom pane. Smaller tank go on a rubber-esqe mat on a flat surface. Large tanks on a very flat surface followed by 1/2-1" dense foam (not the white stuff) and then the tank. Usually it's fine to remove the support material around bulkheads within reason.

Have a high point with this tank and you could cause the pane to crack.

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by kole

Thanks lockrookie I thought I had seen this before on a 125.



Sphelps I have read something like this on an old thread on another site. It was posted by a person who was said to be in the aquarium building industry with a larger company. glass less than an inch can be placed on top of the bottom pane.

I have read so much my head hurts lol.. My only concern with supporting the tank with plywood and then styrofoam is the bottom of the tank is almost flat it is only raised by the 90 degree angle piece of plastic trim. So when the edges of the tank sinks into the styrofoam the bottom pane will have upward pressure placed on it by the styrofoam. Thoughts?

That sounds about right, 1/2 is pretty much the thickest used for "standard" tanks, the biggest being around 230gal.

Your plan sounds fine, if the foam compresses enough so the bottom pane makes contact no worries, any pressure the foam applies to the glass is normal to the pressure from the water weight so it actually subtracts not adds. In other words the pressure from the foam is a reaction and will reduce the load on the glass. If the stand is perfectly flat and supports the tank trim without any gaps then foam isn't required, it really doesn't hurt though so if it doesn't bother you might as well use it.