Type of Plywood to Place Under Stand?

mnl119 · Jun 29, 2023

I've also put rubber mats under the tank to help prevent "denting" of floor materials. It helps to smooth out weight distribution over textured flooring. You can buy it by the foot at Lowes or Home Depot. For stands that have legs, I've used 1/8" rubber squares that are used to set mobile homes on their bases to ensure good contact/distribution.

BTW, treated plywood is treated with alkaline copper quaternary. I would not recommend it's use around the tank.

SteveMM62Reef · Jun 29, 2023

If you are going to use Plywood, do what I did. 1/3 Polyurethane Spar Varnish, 1/3 Tung Oil, and 1/3 Mineral Spirits. Let dry for a week, with as much daytime outdoor exposure as possible. Then apply Two to Three Coats of Polyurethane Spar Varnish, straight out of the can. I used Helmsman, which is easily available, on the bottom and anywhere else the natural wood was exposed. Went over it with Rust Oleum Topside Paint, on the visible parts of the Stand. I left the underside of the Stand, with a clear finish, as I have a Borescope, I can look under it to see if there is a problem.

Naekuh · Nov 29, 2023

Hi don't want to necro a 6 month thread, but i had a simular question.

I am getting ready to setup a 150g IM Lagoon. The same APS stand the OP has.
I was thinking of putting a ruberized gym mat on the base floor to seal the outter rim of the stand, then plywood.
I was thinking the ruberized gym mat would prevent water from seeping under the stand if i should spill.

Will i have leveling hell from the compression of the gym mat, or is this idea not feasable in sealing the underside of the tank?

SteveMM62Reef · Nov 30, 2023

Read through this thread, personally I would not recommend an exercise mat between the bottom of the Stand and floor, I think it will act as a Sponge and hold water and salts. My Aluminum Plates, Elevated stand has worked very well. Recently had a major spill, used a pump up bottle, sprayed water under the Stand and mopped it up. Looking with a Borescope, it was dry and clean the next day.

Naekuh · Dec 1, 2023

SteveMM62Reef said:
Read through this thread, personally I would not recommend an exercise mat between the bottom of the Stand and floor, I think it will act as a Sponge and hold water and salts. My Aluminum Plates, Elevated stand has worked very well. Recently had a major spill, used a pump up bottle, sprayed water under the Stand and mopped it up. Looking with a Borescope, it was dry and clean the next day.

The only problem i see with your method and the APS stand is on the leveling.
I am pretty sure my floor isn't fully leveled, and having it lift off pads and rubber would prevent me from putting or installing any types of shims.

But I can totally see and understand the "Sponge" effect.
I was hoping that the sponge would allow the tank to auto level itself.
What if i was to use a type of closed cell foam, or wrap the foam in a 6mil plastic floor sheet so i couldn't get the sponging effect.

SteveMM62Reef · Dec 2, 2023

Why couldn’t you use Aluminum Stock or a High Durometer Solid Rubber to Shim the Aquarium Stand? Under my 120 Gallon the Floor is Perfectly Level. The 65 Gallon is not level and I had to shim it. BTW, under the 120 Gallon, I used Scraps of the “Yogi“ Yoga Mat, but that was to prevent Aluminum Staining of the Tile. The Yogi mat was used between the Aquarium and top of the stand.