Do I need styrofoam under my 200G Glass Tank?

[Legacy]

Hi,

I have a 200G Glass Tank (84x24x24) and I wanted to know if it was important for me to put a sheet of styrofoam in between the tank and the stand. The tank is made of 1/2" glass. If I do need to put the foam under the tank, how thick should it be?

Thanks,
Dave

 

[Andyvette]

Hi,

I have a 200G Glass Tank (84x24x24) and I wanted to know if it was important for me to put a sheet of styrofoam in between the tank and the stand. The tank is made of 1/2" glass. If I do need to put the foam under the tank, how thick should it be?

Thanks,
Dave

I would definately put styrofoam (polystrene) under any tank over 20 gallons. Remember that when all is said and done, a 200 gallon system weighs about 2000 pounds!!! Not to mention, weight will never be distributed evenly. That is always important when you look at the stress the glass takes, as well as the stand.
So, bottom line- Yes.... why not?

 

[Rondory]

This is one more thing that I didn't know!!! I haven't filled my tank yet with water or gravel. When I look thru the bottom of my tank I can see into the stand...gulp! DO I need to do something with my setup? LOL
I guess I never thought about this before so thanks for bringing it up.

Sorry for the thread hijack

 

[bapski]

omG... havent heard of this till now... i did not put anything except for a non-slip pad between my tank and the stand..

 

[Fishyfanatic]

We don't have anything under any of our tanks. I've never heard of this except for keeping the tank level.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Don't worry about the center of the tank. What's important is supporting all the edges. And no, the tank won't blow a hole down the middle. They are made to support the weight if properly supported on all 4 edges. I would definitely use styrofoam to help give even support around the edges. Also, if the non-slip pad has some thickness to it and it's like rubber, you are just fine with that.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

The main reason people recommend styrofoam is if there's any imperfections in the stand, such as not being perfectly level all the way across with small hairline dips, the foam will give even support across the full edge of the tank. (Basically filling in any hairline gaps that could possibly put stress on the glass)

 

[Andyvette]

They are made to support the weight if properly supported on all 4 edges. I would definitely use styrofoam to help give even support around the edges. Also, if the non-slip pad has some thickness to it and it's like rubber, you are just fine with that.

exactly

 

[Legacy]

Thanks for the advice! I brought the tank up 2 flights of stairs today to get it from the garage to my living room and it only took 5 grown men to do it! Haha!

 

[Andyvette]

Thanks for the advice! I brought the tank up 2 flights of stairs today to get it from the garage to my living room and it only took 5 grown men to do it! Haha!

I believe it.... my arms were gonna fall off with 2 of us moving my 100 gallon about 15 yards..... I would sell my house and buy a 1 story, or find a place on the first floor for it

 

[Legacy]

Thanks for the advice! I brought the tank up 2 flights of stairs today to get it from the garage to my living room and it only took 5 grown men to do it! Haha!

I believe it.... my arms were gonna fall off with 2 of us moving my 100 gallon about 15 yards..... I would sell my house and buy a 1 story, or find a place on the first floor for it

My dad is a structural engineer and he seems pretty confident that it will hold just fine. I guess what it really comes down to is how high the water level is and over how many square feet it's spread over.

My tank will only hold 100-120G of water. It wont ever be full. Even so I'm looking at about 1000lbs total. My first floor is actually above the garage so if the tank falls through the floor it will total one of the cars as well. Talk about a blaze of glory!

 

[sudz]

I know that i don't have the perfect setup for my tank. I used 3 pieces of cardboard from the box i got my perfecto 44 gallon hex in... used an exacto knife to cut it out... stacked em up, and placed the tank on top. The tank is on a high-quality highdensity fiberboard desk, with a dresser underneth the desk supporting it. THe desk isn't on legs, it has full sheets of MDF as its "walls" on 2 sides, and another on the next section of the desk, My only real concern was AFTER i set up the tank... i noticed it wasn't perfectly level. In fact, the water level varies about a half inch from the front of the tank to the back of the tank. My dad said this floor was tilted at the wall anyway, my desk just exxagerated it.

My test to see if it would hold the 500 pounds was getting on the desk with my brother, and jumping up and down as hard as we could at the same time. It held for 5 minutes of this punish, then i checked everything for cracks, shifting, bows and splinters...

It sitll makes me nervous though... i don't lean on the desk, thats for sure!

 

[tropicfishman]

I've never heard of this till now either, thats a really good and simple idea to keep stress off the glass

 

[Legacy]

I wasn't able to get the polystyrene in time. Home Depot sells it in huge sheets that I couldn't fit in my car anyway... I'll need to go back and get some and cut it up in the parking lot. Yesterday was the only time I could get enough people together to move it. I'll just have to lift one corner at a time and have my wife slip pieces of foam under the bracing I guess.

How crucial is it?