What to put under acrylic sump??

[M_norrick]

i am in the process of a 180 gallon reef build. My sump is 4' x 17" x 20" that I am assembling out of 3/8 acrylic. (Man that stuff is tricky to work with). I am placing the sump under the tank on a concrete floor. I'd hate to scratch up the bottom of the sump so I was wondering what others use to prevent this. Foam board? Thin rubber? Also where to get such material.

 

[kstone2274]

Leave the paper on the bottom.

 

[engelphotos]

I have a 40 gallon glass sump. I put the black material for tool box draw liner, from Harbor Freight inexpensive and works fine as a barrier and to keep from scratching. It's not completley solid, so it breathes and doesn't keep water under the mat in case you get a couple drips from something

 

[jt17]

I used rubber mat that is used for horse stalls. Tractor supply sells it in 4' wide sections that are cut to the length you want. It's about 1/4" thick. I used it to absorb any pump vibrations that may transfer through the sump to my wood stand. The mat is black and my sump is clear acrylic so I put white contact paper on the bottom of the sump to make it easier to see to clean.

 

[AndrewC]

i am thinking of the same question. i think i will try a bit of Styrofoam.

 

[ebushrow]

The only problem with the suggestions above is that if water gets under the mat, you could have mold/mildew....even directly on the floor as you can never get all the water dried up from under the sump. Ive used the rubber feet you can get at home depot and position them so that thw weight is distributed evenly to reduce this area of water collection. Just my opinion though.

 

[M_norrick]

I am also concerned about mildew under the sump. I am thinking about getting rubber mat and cut into strips so water can get out if needed but still evenly distributing the weight evenly like what you are taking about @ebushrow.