foam under tank

[dragonfisher33]

i did some research on the topic of foam under tank and i understand that there's a few perspectives on why one would or wouldn't have a piece of foam under the tank. what pulled the trigger for me was when i found out there's ~1/16" to 1/8" on one corner of the top of my stand.

having said that, is this foam sufficient? there's a side that has the reflective "aluminum" stuff and the other side is what appears to be plain styrofoam material. which side should be facing up?

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Expanded-P...Actual-0-687-in-x-3-875-ft-x-7-875-ft/3365568

 

[jsker]

That will work, I would just use a plastic shim if the system is up and running. If not the foam is a good way to level the system. I would still suggest using a shim with the foam.

 

[dragonfisher33]

That will work, I would just use a plastic shim if the system is up and running. If not the foam is a good way to level the system. I would still suggest using a shim with the foam.

Which side of the foam should face?

 

[jsker]

Which side of the foam should face?

I really dose not matter, unless you are bare bottom. Then if you are bare bottom, I would think to have the label down so that no one will see the label through the bottom

 

[themadman]

i did some research on the topic of foam under tank and i understand that there's a few perspectives on why one would or wouldn't have a piece of foam under the tank. what pulled the trigger for me was when i found out there's ~1/16" to 1/8" on one corner of the top of my stand.

having said that, is this foam sufficient? there's a side that has the reflective "aluminum" stuff and the other side is what appears to be plain styrofoam material. which side should be facing up?

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Expanded-P...Actual-0-687-in-x-3-875-ft-x-7-875-ft/3365568

I did quite a bit of reading on this topic as well. From what I read the experts seemed to all agree that if your tank has the black rim around the bottom of it you should not put any kind of foam under the tank. But if the tank is rimless on the bottom then foam needs to be under it. I put foam under my current tank and it has the rim on the bottom and I haven't had any issues. But I was confused since mine is rimless on top I thought it needed the foam. I'm doing an upgrade to a bigger tank that is the same with the rim on bottom but rimless on top. That's when I did more research and discovered that foam should not go under a tank with a rim on the bottom. So I won't be putting it under my new tank. As far as which side of foam I don't think that would make a difference. I would maybe see if there's a way to level that corner top of the stand first either way.

 

[dbl]

I did quite a bit of reading on this topic as well. From what I read the experts seemed to all agree that if your tank has the black rim around the bottom of it you should not put any kind of foam under the tank. But if the tank is rimless on the bottom then foam needs to be under it. I put foam under my current tank and it has the rim on the bottom and I haven't had any issues. But I was confused since mine is rimless on top I thought it needed the foam. I'm doing an upgrade to a bigger tank that is the same with the rim on bottom but rimless on top. That's when I did more research and discovered that foam should not go under a tank with a rim on the bottom. So I won't be putting it under my new tank. As far as which side of foam I don't think that would make a difference. I would maybe see if there's a way to level that corner top of the stand first either way.

This has always been my understanding as well. Rimmed tank, no foam. Rimless tank, use foam. In either case, my suggestion would be to call the tank manufacturer (if known) and get their recommendation, especially if it's new and/or there is a warranty in play.

 

[dragonfisher33]

The warranty is no longer there. The manufacturer recommends having a foam. As matter of fact, they recommended the foam to be "the squishy-er the better". Just not sure how much of their words I should go by

 

[dragonfisher33]

I did quite a bit of reading on this topic as well. From what I read the experts seemed to all agree that if your tank has the black rim around the bottom of it you should not put any kind of foam under the tank. But if the tank is rimless on the bottom then foam needs to be under it. I put foam under my current tank and it has the rim on the bottom and I haven't had any issues. But I was confused since mine is rimless on top I thought it needed the foam. I'm doing an upgrade to a bigger tank that is the same with the rim on bottom but rimless on top. That's when I did more research and discovered that foam should not go under a tank with a rim on the bottom. So I won't be putting it under my new tank. As far as which side of foam I don't think that would make a difference. I would maybe see if there's a way to level that corner top of the stand first either way.

So i looked around to see if there's a safe way to even out one corner of the top of the stand and couldn't find anything other than some wood/plastic shim. Do you know anything that could be helpful? Also it seems to me the area where it's is off, it's rather long to the point where I would need a very long piece of shim in order to truly level it

 

[dragonfisher33]

The whole conversation regarding foam happened when King of DIY did a vlog of a discus place that he visited in the states and the tank that he was supposed to do a aquascaping lesson for the local fish hobbyists cracked in the middle overnight due to uneven stand. Of all the videos that are out there, all of them only address what happens if the floor is not leveled with the stand. They don't address the issue of when the surface of the stand is not leveled

 

[themadman]

So i looked around to see if there's a safe way to even out one corner of the top of the stand and couldn't find anything other than some wood/plastic shim. Do you know anything that could be helpful? Also it seems to me the area where it's is off, it's rather long to the point where I would need a very long piece of shim in order to truly level it

I'm not really skilled in wood working at all. I just know from much research before starting my tank how much it is stressed to start with a level surface. If your tank isn't already put up I think it would be worth fixing it for structural and peace of mind's sake. A shim would probably work I'm sure but might be difficult if it's that large of an area. But if you could get the shim close to making it square, bonded to the top with wood glue, and sanded to level I think that would work. Maybe some stand gurus will chime in who can give you better advice.

 

[jsker]

So i looked around to see if there's a safe way to even out one corner of the top of the stand and couldn't find anything other than some wood/plastic shim. Do you know anything that could be helpful? Also it seems to me the area where it's is off, it's rather long to the point where I would need a very long piece of shim in order to truly level it

You could always use bondo and level the total edge. Another fix is to have a top for the cabinet, and level the top.

 

[klp]

It seems to me that if you build up the corner without feathering it out you will put uneven stress on the glass and it will crack. Be very careful when making that repair. I am glad you caught the discrepancy now rather than later. I wish you the best on this one.

 

[T Carey]

You could always use bondo and level the total edge. Another fix is to have a top for the cabinet, and level the top.

There are really two separate issues being discussed here. I think they need to be thought about separately. The first one is the issue of the stand being level on all four sides. The second issue is the question of there being a twist in the stand.

If there is a twist in the stand which is what the initial poster's description sounds like, then the tank is highly stressed and can crack as a result. That twist is indicated by there being just one corner or opposite corners that are low . I see twist as the most dangerous condition.

The question of the stand not being level is not a big deal assuming there is no twist in the stand. The forces on the tank will be properly spread across the stand. The water level will be a bit higher on one end compared to the other but that is an esthetic issue rather than a structural issue.

Having said that about level, being level assumes that all four sides are in the same plane just as the tank bottom is. It is possible for all four sides to be level and not be in the same plane. That is, one side could be higher than the others. Suppose that the high side is one of the ends. Then the weight of the tank would be supported by the ends of the tank rather than all along the sides and the ends. That would really stress the tank. This condition is easier to spot because there would be a step where the sides and ends meet that should be visible.

Having a "Squishy" foam under the tank will help more evenly distribute the weight of the tank to the stand. The foam will crush a bit more on the high spots thus removing some of the stress at that point and distributing the weight across a larger area.

 

[jsker]

Good analysis.

 

[marspeed]

I would level the stand best I could then pour self leveling epoxy use tape around edge to contain the pour then 1/8 foam core poster board