Styrofoam, cork, rubber, nothing .... what should I use?

[Len]

I'm thinking about putting material under the tank. Styrofoam, cork, or rubber .... what do you think? My old tank had nothing at all between the stand and tank, so I'm half tempted to go the lazy route and not put anything beneath my tank again.

 

[K9coral]

If it is even I would go with nothing also.

 

[Anonymous]

I have never put anything between my tank and stand.

 

[K9coral]

I like to put pennies under the corners to keep it "exactly" level.













:wink:

 

[ChrisRD]

It seems to be the new trend, but I have never put anything between the tank and stand either.

 

[Anonymous]

It is a glass tank IIRC. I would not put anything. Just make sure the stand is level. I have a sheet of plywood under my acrylic, but that is SOP so acrylic tanks.

 

[liquid]

FWIW, I put 3/4" styrofoam sheet under my 30 gal acrylic. I'm not sure if I needed it or not but it was just a bit of added padding I guess...

Shane

 

[Anonymous]

3/4" styrofoam is like $6.00 at HD. I put a piece under my 300G. The tank manufacturere required it in the installation instructions.

It can't hurt anything.

Louey

 

[Anonymous]

for glass tanks, most have the edge around the bottom. That dispirses(sp?) the weight around the perimeter. Acrylic tanks have a solid bottom without the lip. So all the weight is on the whole bottom, so you need foam.

If you glass tank sits on the bottom pane, raher than an edge, I'd foam it.

B

 

[liquid]

3/4" styrofoam is like $6.00 at HD.

...or in my case was free since I work for a furniture manufacturer.

Shane

 

[GSchiemer]

I like to put pennies under the corners to keep it "exactly" level.

:wink:

I'm not sure if this was a "joke" or not (in that case I didn't get it), but this is a bad suggestion. One of the worst things you can do is create gaps when leveling an aquarium. The prolonged stress can weaken acrylic and crack glass.

Although I've never done it, I see no harm in adding a layer of styrofoam between the aquarium and stand. It can help absorb any inconsistencies between the base of the tank and stand that exist initially or develop over time.

 

[EVO]

This maybe un-related but... I've been thinking of putting a thin sheet of packing foam under my sump ... hoping it would reduce the humming noise from the loud CA 1600 skimmer pump... ugh... if that doesn't work I migth get another quiet one to run the skimmer.

 

[K9coral]

Joke - hence the :wink:

 

[GSchiemer]

Joke - hence the :wink:

I thought it might be a joke; I just didn't get it.

 

[K9coral]

Well, since you didnt get it maybe it is really more like sarcasm. Ive seen the front glass on a 90 tall break due to "pennies" and other corner raising methods.

 

[Len]

Tank is glass, no trim. The stand was professionally built and from what I can tell my straight edges and levelers, it has a very flat, even top deck.

 

[K9coral]

I had a 90 on the garage floor and though the stand was excellent...the garage floor was at a very slight angle (for drainage). Worked out great :x

 

[dgasmd]

If it is glass and the entire bottom surface is sitting on a "flat surface", then I would put some sturfoam. With the average tanks like AGA and such, they have the entire tank's weight sitting on the edges of the tank, but the bottom is completely suspended. If you have a stand that is like a table for lack of better words, any small raised imperfections on that surface will be a pressure point against the glass. Any pressure point will have a huge aount of pressure ont he glass and may crack it. It may be paranoia, but it is solved with a $8 piece of styrofoam from HD and you don't have to ever wonder about it.