Styrofoam question

[kukki]

so i have read alot about the use of styrofoam under a tank, not to balance really, but just to remove some stress off pressure points the tank might have... and to help keep the heat in

its a new 29 gal, so it has the lip under the tank, where the glass is raised off the surface alittle bit, maybe 1/4 an inch or so. would 1/4 inch styrofoam be thick enough to relieve some stress or would i need more, or less? also how much bigger than the base should the foam be.. getting it exact might in time make it slip under the tank and be less effective and make it uneven

and what about the thickness inside the tank, ill be using around 30 lbs of LR and LS to start off with, will add more LR later as well... also what types of styrofoam are ok to put into a tank that wont release or raise any chemicals and or harm any life i have in the tank?

or, should i just leave it out all together?

i know some use it and some dont, so just lookin for alittle direction, dont want to do anything that might be a bad thing

TIA ~kukki

 

[malkore]

with a tank that size, support for the bottom glass pane shouldn't be necessary. You usually only need that support when you have a larger tank, like a 4foot length (55, 75gallon). I have a 40gallon breeder, which is 36" long and 18" wide. I put little 2" squares of pink extruded styrofoam insulation under my tank, just along the center. The tank has a big footprint, and with 65lbs of live rock, I wanted to make sure the glass wasn't stressed by the rock weight. It was probably not necessary, but it made me feel more secure.

 

[mp3z24]

supporting the bottom of the glass is not necessary. you dont need anything to support the glass other than the lip of plastic that is included with the structure of the tank. every "small" tank has unsupported glass across the bottom. my 55 is the same way.

because i built my own stand, i ended up using the pink rigid styrofoam from the hardware store to ensure the imperfections in the top of the stand would not introduce pressure points in the lip of the tank. i only did this because i built the stand myself and it was 100% perfectly flat on top. it had a ~1/16 inch bow in the wood. anyway, the point im trying to make here is that the foam i used was 3/4" pink rigid foam, like you would see for home insulation. so far, with 4 inches of sand (~150 lb), 60lb base rock and about 25-30 gallons of water in the tank (for cycling), the foam has not compressed any noticable amount.

~mike

 

[kukki]

hmm ok, i wont worry about the foam to much then, still working on the SB front... not sure what to get, around here its just quikrete, there is some stuff at a LFS, i dont know what it is.. im just told its about $4 per 5 pound bag... i have no idea what kind or anything, will have to go or call later and find out what exactly the stuff is.... doubtful its anything i should use tho

$4 per sounds kinda pricey, id love some playsand lol, just not sure if i like the idea of quikrete or not, i know alot use and dont mind it..

anyways, thx for the info on the styrofoam