styrofoam and tank leveling

[donJ]

I'm about to set up my 75 gallon cichlid tank. I've heard that you
should put a piece of styrofoam under the tank to even things out when
it settles. My question is, how thick should this be? 1/2 inch, 1
inch?

Also, there's a centre brace on both the top and bottom of the tank.
Would I need to carve out a groove in the styrofoam so the centre
brace at the bottom could slide in? Not sure if the styrofoam could
break the brace or something under all that weight. The brace is
flush with the plastic bottom edge of the aquarium.

thanks in advance.

[Margolis]

"donJ" > wrote in message
om...
> I'm about to set up my 75 gallon cichlid tank. I've heard that you
> should put a piece of styrofoam under the tank to even things out when
> it settles. My question is, how thick should this be? 1/2 inch, 1
> inch?
>
> Also, there's a centre brace on both the top and bottom of the tank.
> Would I need to carve out a groove in the styrofoam so the centre
> brace at the bottom could slide in? Not sure if the styrofoam could
> break the brace or something under all that weight. The brace is
> flush with the plastic bottom edge of the aquarium.
>
> thanks in advance.


throw the styrofoam in the trash. If it is a glass tank you do not want
anything at all touching the bottom of the tank. The only support should be
the tank edge. As long as your stand has a fairly smooth top everything
will be fine.

--

Margolis
http://web.archive.org/web/20030215212142/http://www.agqx.org/faqs/AGQ2FAQ.htm
http://www.unrealtower.org/faq

[Ian Smith]

On Sun, 21 Nov 2004 12:06:52 -0600, Margolis > wrote:
> "donJ" > wrote in message
> om...
> > I'm about to set up my 75 gallon cichlid tank. I've heard that you
> > should put a piece of styrofoam under the tank to even things out when
> > it settles. My question is, how thick should this be? 1/2 inch, 1
> > inch?
> >
>
> throw the styrofoam in the trash. If it is a glass tank you do not want
> anything at all touching the bottom of the tank. The only support should be
> the tank edge.

Depending upon teh construction of the tank, of course, since some do
want support and some don't.

If it's a tank that needs support, leave a cut-out around teh brace -
the whole point is o avoid concentrating stress, and from the
description, it sounds like you'd have one at the brace if you just
put it down on a continuous layer of foam.

regards, Ian SMith
--
|\ /| no .sig
|o o|
|/ \|

[donJ]

Thanks for the reply. The surface is pretty flat, but not perfect.
When I place the empty tank on the stand (home made), there's a little
bit more than a 1/16 of inch difference between the tank and the stand
(on one side). Is that good enough?


"Margolis" > wrote in message >...
> "donJ" > wrote in message
> om...
> > I'm about to set up my 75 gallon cichlid tank. I've heard that you
> > should put a piece of styrofoam under the tank to even things out when
> > it settles. My question is, how thick should this be? 1/2 inch, 1
> > inch?
> >
> > Also, there's a centre brace on both the top and bottom of the tank.
> > Would I need to carve out a groove in the styrofoam so the centre
> > brace at the bottom could slide in? Not sure if the styrofoam could
> > break the brace or something under all that weight. The brace is
> > flush with the plastic bottom edge of the aquarium.
> >
> > thanks in advance.
>
>
> throw the styrofoam in the trash. If it is a glass tank you do not want
> anything at all touching the bottom of the tank. The only support should be
> the tank edge. As long as your stand has a fairly smooth top everything
> will be fine.

[donJ]

It's a perfecto tank. If I were to use styrofoam, what thickness should I use?
>
> Depending upon teh construction of the tank, of course, since some do
> want support and some don't.
>
> If it's a tank that needs support, leave a cut-out around teh brace -
> the whole point is o avoid concentrating stress, and from the
> description, it sounds like you'd have one at the brace if you just
> put it down on a continuous layer of foam.
>
> regards, Ian SMith

[NetMax]

"donJ" > wrote in message
om...
> Thanks for the reply. The surface is pretty flat, but not perfect.
> When I place the empty tank on the stand (home made), there's a little
> bit more than a 1/16 of inch difference between the tank and the stand
> (on one side). Is that good enough?


1/4 styrofoam should be sufficient then. Look for expanded polystyrene
(not extruded). You want the one made of little bubbles.
--
www.NetMax.tk

>
>
> "Margolis" > wrote in message
> >...
>> "donJ" > wrote in message
>> om...
>> > I'm about to set up my 75 gallon cichlid tank. I've heard that you
>> > should put a piece of styrofoam under the tank to even things out
>> > when
>> > it settles. My question is, how thick should this be? 1/2 inch, 1
>> > inch?
>> >
>> > Also, there's a centre brace on both the top and bottom of the tank.
>> > Would I need to carve out a groove in the styrofoam so the centre
>> > brace at the bottom could slide in? Not sure if the styrofoam could
>> > break the brace or something under all that weight. The brace is
>> > flush with the plastic bottom edge of the aquarium.
>> >
>> > thanks in advance.
>>
>>
>> throw the styrofoam in the trash. If it is a glass tank you do not
>> want
>> anything at all touching the bottom of the tank. The only support
>> should be
>> the tank edge. As long as your stand has a fairly smooth top
>> everything
>> will be fine.

[Margolis]

"donJ" > wrote in message
om...
> Thanks for the reply. The surface is pretty flat, but not perfect.
> When I place the empty tank on the stand (home made), there's a little
> bit more than a 1/16 of inch difference between the tank and the stand
> (on one side). Is that good enough?
>
>

as long as it's not a large gap it will be ok. As long as 99% of the frame
is supported it should be fine. My 135 has about a 6" section that I can
slide a piece of paper between the full tank and stand, and it has been fine
for 16 years ;o)

--

Margolis
http://web.archive.org/web/20030215212142/http://www.agqx.org/faqs/AGQ2FAQ.htm
http://www.unrealtower.org/faq

[[email protected]]

On Tue, 23 Nov 2004 07:08:25 -0600, "Margolis" >
wrote:

>
>"donJ" > wrote in message
om...
>> Thanks for the reply. The surface is pretty flat, but not perfect.
>> When I place the empty tank on the stand (home made), there's a little
>> bit more than a 1/16 of inch difference between the tank and the stand
>> (on one side). Is that good enough?
>>
>>
>
>as long as it's not a large gap it will be ok. As long as 99% of the frame
>is supported it should be fine. My 135 has about a 6" section that I can
>slide a piece of paper between the full tank and stand, and it has been fine
>for 16 years ;o)

Almost always true, but I have seen a tank that started to leak from a
its unsupported base after 20 years. The unsupported part was about 6
inch long. Glass bends into the gap if the sealer weakens. It is best
policy to arrange for 100% flat base support.

Steve

[donJ]

I was thinking about getting the pink styrofoam used to insulate
basements. Is that what you're talking about?


"NetMax" > wrote in message >...
> "donJ" > wrote in message
> om...
> > Thanks for the reply. The surface is pretty flat, but not perfect.
> > When I place the empty tank on the stand (home made), there's a little
> > bit more than a 1/16 of inch difference between the tank and the stand
> > (on one side). Is that good enough?
>
>
> 1/4 styrofoam should be sufficient then. Look for expanded polystyrene
> (not extruded). You want the one made of little bubbles.
> --
> www.NetMax.tk
>
> >
> >
> > "Margolis" > wrote in message
> > >...
> >> "donJ" > wrote in message
> >> om...
> >> > I'm about to set up my 75 gallon cichlid tank. I've heard that you
> >> > should put a piece of styrofoam under the tank to even things out
> >>

when
> >> > it settles. My question is, how thick should this be? 1/2 inch, 1
> >> > inch?
> >> >
> >> > Also, there's a centre brace on both the top and bottom of the tank.
> >> > Would I need to carve out a groove in the styrofoam so the centre
> >> > brace at the bottom could slide in? Not sure if the styrofoam could
> >> > break the brace or something under all that weight. The brace is
> >> > flush with the plastic bottom edge of the aquarium.
> >> >
> >> > thanks in advance.
> >>
> >>
> >> throw the styrofoam in the trash. If it is a glass tank you do not
> >> want
> >> anything at all touching the bottom of the tank. The only support
> >> should be
> >> the tank edge. As long as your stand has a fairly smooth top
> >> everything
> >> will be fine.

[donJ]

So do you recommend using the foam?

wrote in message >...
> On Tue, 23 Nov 2004 07:08:25 -0600, "Margolis" >
> wrote:
>
> >
> >"donJ" > wrote in message
> om...
> >> Thanks for the reply. The surface is pretty flat, but not perfect.
> >> When I place the empty tank on the stand (home made), there's a little
> >> bit more than a 1/16 of inch difference between the tank and the stand
> >> (on one side). Is that good enough?
> >>
> >>
> >
> >as long as it's not a large gap it will be ok. As long as 99% of the frame
> >is supported it should be fine. My 135 has about a 6" section that I can
> >slide a piece of paper between the full tank and stand, and it has been fine
> >for 16 years ;o)
>
> Almost always true, but I have seen a tank that started to leak from a
> its unsupported base after 20 years. The unsupported part was about 6
> inch long. Glass bends into the gap if the sealer weakens. It is best
> policy to arrange for 100% flat base support.
>
> Steve

[NetMax]

Probably not. BTW, styrofoam is a trade name owned by DOW chemical. The
stuff is generically called polystyrene, and it comes in 2 popular
formats, expanded and extruded, and in various colours. If your pink
basement insulation is smooth to the touch (not composed of many small
bubbles) then it's the extruded type. This works better for very large
aquariums (150g+), but really does not compress much for smaller tanks
(<100g). If you have protrusions in your stand's surface (ie: screw
heads) and the stand is otherwise parallel to your tank (known as
flatness), then the extruded polystyrene will work fine. If you have
gaps between the tank and stand, then you want something more malleable,
like the expanded polystyrene.

Note that depending on where the loss of flatness occurs, the effect can
be insignificant to disastrous. If one of your tank's corners is in the
air, this is a bad condition (when filled with water, the side silicone
will be sheer-stressed). If the gap is along the front (or back), away
from the corners, then it's probably much less significant, as many tanks
will be fine with only corner supports. hth
--
www.NetMax.tk


"donJ" > wrote in message
om...
>I was thinking about getting the pink styrofoam used to insulate
> basements. Is that what you're talking about?
>
>
> "NetMax" > wrote in message
> >...
>> "donJ" > wrote in message
>> om...
>> > Thanks for the reply. The surface is pretty flat, but not perfect.
>> > When I place the empty tank on the stand (home made), there's a
>> > little
>> > bit more than a 1/16 of inch difference between the tank and the
>> > stand
>> > (on one side). Is that good enough?
>>
>>
>> 1/4 styrofoam should be sufficient then. Look for expanded
>> polystyrene
>> (not extruded). You want the one made of little bubbles.
>> --
>> www.NetMax.tk
>>
>> >
>> >
>> > "Margolis" > wrote in message
>> > >...
>> >> "donJ" > wrote in message
>> >> om...
>> >> > I'm about to set up my 75 gallon cichlid tank. I've heard that
>> >> > you
>> >> > should put a piece of styrofoam under the tank to even things out
>> >>
>
> when
>> >> > it settles. My question is, how thick should this be? 1/2 inch,
>> >> > 1
>> >> > inch?
>> >> >
>> >> > Also, there's a centre brace on both the top and bottom of the
>> >> > tank.
>> >> > Would I need to carve out a groove in the styrofoam so the centre
>> >> > brace at the bottom could slide in? Not sure if the styrofoam
>> >> > could
>> >> > break the brace or something under all that weight. The brace is
>> >> > flush with the plastic bottom edge of the aquarium.
>> >> >
>> >> > thanks in advance.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> throw the styrofoam in the trash. If it is a glass tank you do not
>> >> want
>> >> anything at all touching the bottom of the tank. The only support
>> >> should be
>> >> the tank edge. As long as your stand has a fairly smooth top
>> >> everything
>> >> will be fine.

[donJ]

Wow!! thanks. You sure know alot about styrofoam. My tank is a
little off at the corner, so I think I should use some foam...I guess
the expanded type.

thanks again.

"NetMax" > wrote in message >...
> Probably not. BTW, styrofoam is a trade name owned by DOW chemical. The
> stuff is generically called polystyrene, and it comes in 2 popular
> formats, expanded and extruded, and in various colours. If your pink
> basement insulation is smooth to the touch (not composed of many small
> bubbles) then it's the extruded type. This works better for very large
> aquariums (150g+), but really does not compress much for smaller tanks
> (<100g). If you have protrusions in your stand's surface (ie: screw
> heads) and the stand is otherwise parallel to your tank (known as
> flatness), then the extruded polystyrene will work fine. If you have
> gaps between the tank and stand, then you want something more malleable,
> like the expanded polystyrene.

>
> Note that depending on where the loss of flatness occurs, the effect can
> be insignificant to disastrous. If one of your tank's corners is in the
> air, this is a bad condition (when filled with water, the side silicone
> will be sheer-stressed). If the gap is along the front (or back), away
> from the corners, then it's probably much less significant, as many tanks
> will be fine with only corner supports. hth
> --
> www.NetMax.tk
>
>
> "donJ" > wrote in message
> om...
> >I was thinking about getting the pink styrofoam used to insulate
> > basements. Is that what you're talking about?
> >
> >
> > "NetMax" > wrote in message
> > >...
> >> "donJ" > wrote in message
> >> om...
> >> > Thanks for the reply. The surface is pretty flat, but not perfect.
> >> > When I place the empty tank on the stand (home made), there's a
> >> > little
> >> > bit more than a 1/16 of inch difference between the tank and the
> >> > stand
> >> > (on one side). Is that good enough?
> >>
> >>
> >> 1/4 styrofoam should be sufficient then. Look for expanded
> >> polystyrene
> >> (not extruded). You want the one made of little bubbles.
> >> --
> >> www.NetMax.tk
> >>
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > "Margolis" > wrote in message
> >> > >...
> >> >> "donJ" > wrote in message
> >> >> om...
> >> >> > I'm about to set up my 75 gallon cichlid tank. I've heard that
> >> >> > you
> >> >> > should put a piece of styrofoam under the tank to even things out
> >> >>
> >
> > when
> >> >> > it settles. My question is, how thick should this be? 1/2 inch,
> >> >> > 1
> >> >> > inch?
> >> >> >
> >> >> > Also, there's a centre brace on both the top and bottom of the
> >> >> > tank.
> >> >> > Would I need to carve out a groove in the styrofoam so the centre
> >> >> > brace at the bottom could slide in? Not sure if the styrofoam
> >> >> > could
> >> >> > break the brace or something under all that weight. The brace is
> >> >> > flush with the plastic bottom edge of the aquarium.
> >> >> >
> >> >> > thanks in advance.
> >> >>
> >> >>
> >> >> throw the styrofoam in the trash. If it is a glass tank you do not
> >> >> want
> >> >> anything at all touching the bottom of the tank. The only support
> >> >> should be
> >> >> the tank edge. As long as your stand has a fairly smooth top
> >> >> everything
> >> >> will be fine.

[Cindy]

donJ wrote:
> I'm about to set up my 75 gallon cichlid tank. I've heard that you
> should put a piece of styrofoam under the tank to even things out when
> it settles. My question is, how thick should this be? 1/2 inch, 1
> inch?
>
> Also, there's a centre brace on both the top and bottom of the tank.
> Would I need to carve out a groove in the styrofoam so the centre
> brace at the bottom could slide in? Not sure if the styrofoam could
> break the brace or something under all that weight. The brace is
> flush with the plastic bottom edge of the aquarium.
>
> thanks in advance.

I can't remember what it's called, but I used some stuff that I think was
insulation for between doors and frames. It's foamy tape-backed rubber(?)
that comes in rolls, and you can get it in different widths. I think I used
1" wide 1/2" thick strips between the frame of my 150 and its metal stand.
Worked great. HTH.

Cindy