Rimmed/Braced tank…mat/foam underneath on stand or no?

[CincyReefer07]

Rimmed/braced tanks… do you guys put foam, mats, padding, anything of the sort underneath your tanks when placing it onto your stand? Or is that only for rimless and/or acrylic tanks??

I always understood it as rimmed tank or acrylic tank, yes you need it…rimmed/braced tank you don’t need it.

My tank is a rimmed 310 gallon Planet Aquarium tank with center overflow and will be going on a wood stand made using 4x4’s as posts and 2x6’s for the perimeter and bracing and a 3/4” plywood top.

 

[shakacuz]

i would always place a mat under. an extra layer between the wood to help with protecting the wood from water

 

[fishface NJ]

No mat on a rimmed tank

 

[aws2266]

Rimmed/braced tanks… do you guys put foam, mats, padding, anything of the sort underneath your tanks when placing it onto your stand? Or is that only for rimless and/or acrylic tanks??

I always understood it as rimmed tank or acrylic tank, yes you need it…rimmed/braced tank you don’t need it.

My tank is a rimmed 310 gallon Planet Aquarium tank with center overflow and will be going on a wood stand made using 4x4’s as posts and 2x6’s for the perimeter and bracing and a 3/4” plywood top.

Hello from just north of you. I've never considered putting anything under my tank until I saw this post. I'm setting up a 120g rimmed so this is something to think about. Great work on the stand. I'm so jealous of people who can do those things.

 

[fishface NJ]

The mat or foam is generally used for rimless or frameless tanks. The issue with putting anything under a framed tank is the chance it puts pressure on the bottom glass and not just the frame. The bottom glass is not meant to support weight, so it may crack.

 

[CincyReefer07]

Hello from just north of you. I've never considered putting anything under my tank until I saw this post. I'm setting up a 120g rimmed so this is something to think about. Great work on the stand. I'm so jealous of people who can do those things.

It honestly wasn’t too difficult at all. 4x4’s and 2x6’s and 3/4” plywood is what I used, 1/4” sanded plywood for the finished exterior, Couple hundred 3” and 3-1/2” long screws, couple bottles of waterproof wood glue, 4 foot level, a laser level(not needed but helpful) a square, circle saw and dremel, some sandpaper, tape measure, pencil, drill bit to drill a pilot hole where your screws go to keep the wood from splitting, stain and polyurethane from Home Depot, and lots of patience and measure not once, not twice but 4 times so you don’t mess up any measurements

 

[tharbin]

Nice stand! Very good work.

fishface NJ said it best. Rimless need a pad. It is there because the stand and/or the tank may not be absolutely flat and a bump/depression on one or the other could break the bottom glass. The mat absorbs the small irregularities. Rimmed are not designed for them, do not need them and may, potentially, be damaged by them (unless the manufacturer specifically recommends one). That said I have used a thin mat, a drawer liner for a tool box, under a 5.5 gallon rimmed tank that was making me nuts with noise from the wavemaker.

 

[nereefpat]

If the bottom panel is floating, sitting on top of the frame and doesn't touch the stand, then no.

 

[Mr Fishface]

I have never on my rimmed or braced tanks. That is a nice looking stand by the way. I enjoyed making my stands for a 75g and a 40b. Is that a stain on the front of your stand? I like the color.

 

[sfin52]

 

[JumboShrimp]

Glass Cages supplies a styrofoam pad to be placed under its rimless tanks. I added a thin neoprene pad on top of that.