Gap under tank

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aaronalam

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Apr 16, 2011
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United Kingdom
I hope this is the right place to put this but, seeing as it's my saltwater tank I put it here, lol.

Well, my tank sits on polystyrene but the polystyrene is short at the front, leaving a 1cm gap between the front edge of the tank and the stand.

It's really bugging me now, the thought of all that weight on that one seam bugs me, would it be OK to just push some more in under the tank?

Push the polystyrene/cardboard under the gap, so it's a tight fit?
 
I would take some sort of action pressure points can cause stress cracks overtime.

You need to find a way to evenly distribute the pressure of the tank. Was it recommended to put polystyrene underneath? I know some tank manufactures will tell you to some won't, and I think if they don't recommend it, it isn't good for the tank structurally.
 
I think you should try to fill the gap with more if thats possible.

Try sliding some in the gap if possible and then cutting off the extra. You would want it to be snug along the tank, stand and other piece.
 
I know a person on this site that put it under his 180 and the tank cracked. The manufacturer advised that it was likely due to the polystyrene. Tanks are designed to sit on the framework of the tank to evenly distribute weight. Putting anything under it is asking for trouble if you ask me. The reasoning behind this is that the poly is flexible and will alow the tank to flex. Not good when you are talking about glass.
 
I see your point, don't want that happening.

Hmm then, I was advised to use polystyrene and I think it's incase there's any debris on the stand causing pressure points on the glass?

What to do now then?
 
Well some manufactures recommend that you put polystyrene underneath the tank.

It doesn't make sense to me, but I guess they know better thank me.
 
I just read something about tanks something like:

"It depends upon the tank. Tanks like Juwel tanks have a suspended base and so don't need polystyrene. If however the tank glass is sitting directly on top of the cabinet then you need to put it on polystyrene or a tank mat in order to distribute the weight of the tank evenly so as to prevent any localised pressure build up upon the bottom glass which could cause cracking or fractures."
 
gapz.jpg
 
I'm curious who told you to put it under the tank?

Edit: Can you give another shot a little farther back?
 
The guy at the LFS told me to put it under the tank, the tank itself came with the polystyrene aswell.

I read on the net that glass to unit needs a layer of polystyrene between it, where as some tanks (like my juwel) has a floating tank, where it rests on a support rather than directly on the unit.
 
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