Did I get the right foam board?

[Bennlfer]

I realized today after putting the sand into my new 180 that there was a gap between the middle of the tank and stand. So I drained the tank, went to Home Depot and got a white 3/4" foam board and cut it to size. Put it on and filled the tank back up but I can still slide my ID card into the crack. Not a debit card though, the numbers don't fit. My questions are

1) Did I get the right foam board? I've read of pink and blue but all they had was white.

2) how long does it take for the foam board to fully compress?

Thank you

 

[hart24601]

Do you know the manufacture of the tank? I would ask them. I love forums and the information, but for stuff like that I always go straight to who made the tank and do what they say. They deal with thousands of setups and know what works and what comes in broken.

 

[wednesday13]

If its a glass tank with trim or acrylic tank you do not need foam at all... get urself another sheet of plywood for the top, dont screw it down...and shim inbetween the new piece and existing piece on the stand to level er out.

 

[DN328]

+1 on what Wednesday said.

If you do have a rimless glass, I was advised and use the 1/2" R-Tech brand at the big box stores. I too was going to get 3/4", but he thinks 1/2" crushes better for tanks.

I'm not suggesting what you used won't work, just sharing what I use for my tank. I put the foam on top of my 3/4" MDO (which sits on top of my metal stand).

 

[DN328]

BTW, "he" = my tank builder

 

[rodger]

If its a glass tank with trim or acrylic tank you do not need foam at all... get urself another sheet of plywood for the top, dont screw it down...and shim inbetween the new piece and existing piece on the stand to level er out.

I disagree if it's an acrylic tank. They need support under the entire bottom of the tank, not just the edges. A little googling and you can find plenty of horror stories. I do agree about talking with the manufacturer and see what they suggest.

 

[Bennlfer]

How long should I give it to compress before deciding it's not the right one? I can still see a small gap. It's been 3 days.

 

[Red_Man]

It's been too long. The foam under my 125g settled over night and I am using 1/2" white foam.

 

[DN328]

The gap must be significant to still have a gap with 3/4" foam. Is the top of your stand warped?

edit: I just re-read the op, we're talking gap of an ID card? I guess even with the compression, the foam would still give if we're talking something like a driver's license being inserted.

 

[Bennlfer]

The gap must be significant to still have a gap with 3/4" foam. Is the top of your stand warped?

edit: I just re-read the op, we're talking gap of an ID card? I guess even with the compression, the foam would still give if we're talking something like a driver's license being inserted.

Yeah I have to kind of push my drivers license in to get it in. The gap was pretty big before I put the foam in