Finished it just need to use the mallet and make all the blockade even as they’ll get. Used plywood and 4x4s.
had enough room for the 75 on bottom.
had enough room for the 75 on bottom.
125g Cinderblock Stand
- Thread starter BlueJacks
- Start date
No center bracing?? How big is the tank going on the top rack? If it were me I'd also center brace the bottom 75 gallon.
Check this out from
RD.
infoPlacing styro under a tank with a moulded frame (which Perfecto & All-Glass tanks all have) is a waste of both time & money, and in most cases will also cause the warranty of the aquarium to be void. The key is to level the stand, not the tank.
Aquariums only need to be evenly supported (as in no twisting force) on all 4 corners. The fact that many hobbyists use styro, and/or swear by it, doesn't prove anything. Many hobbyists also swear by using eggcrate to support rocks etc, and feel that it is somehow distributing the weight of the rocks better than the glass could. It doesn't.
The original All-Glass tanks in the US were built without any plastic frame, without any kind of frame at all. European tanks are for the most part still frameless. Europeans use styro as the vast majority of their tanks do not have plastic moulded frames, and in that case using something such as styro is a very good idea. In many cases the manufacturers of those tanks (solid glass bottoms) will void the warranty if you don't use styro under the base of the aquarium. Ditto to many larger tanks built in the USA.
So to styro or not really boils down to what style of tank one owns.
Just to prove a point that aquariums with molded frames only need to be supported evenly in each of their 4 corners ......
Andy Hudson from Central Aquatics (the owners of All-Glass aquariums) Research & Development dept. states the same thing and I have seen him set up tanks with rocks loaded to the brim, solid rocks, with no eggcrate, and no styro under the tank. Load testing to the extreme.
When in doubt, check with your aquarium manufacturer as per their set up instructions, and their warranty.
And some from D dogofwar
My fishroom is entirely on concrete blocks (6" ones) and two-by wood. Works great!
so I used 4x4s the tank is 6t long 18inches wide. Used 4x4 post so I had the strength to support the weight and not need a center brace. Topped the 4x4s with plywood and made sure every thing was level using a level.
I slide a 4x4 under the center of the 75 on bottom.
from everything I’ve read I should be ok and not have to worry. But any and all advice helps!
awesome stuff. yes styrofoam under a rimmed tank like an Aqueon/Allglass tank does much more harm than good. When I setup my my Aqueon 150g (13 years old and still running) i emailed Aqueon (Central Pet) and was told it can lead to a cracked bottom by creating an uneven edge. Aqueon tanks are designed to sit directly on the stand with nothing in between.
Problem is, the styro or yoga mat myth is one that just wont die and I believe it is the cause of many failures out there.
Problem is, the styro or yoga mat myth is one that just wont die and I believe it is the cause of many failures out there.
Good to know, figured as long as everything was level and set on everything even I’d be good. At first I was more worried about to much weight in the cinderblocks but doing some read pretty much eased my mind on that. They support a ton of weight per square inch is the weight is all dispersed evenly.
The top tank does not need center bracing as It has the full length of 2x4s as support. The bottom tank I do think need as center brace even if it is 4 feet long. Right now the middle is floating. That will be ok for a 10g, not for a 75g, imho. Nice setup!
Well that's good to know. Makes me feel a lot better about my "overkill stands".
hey you’re sleeping better initially than I probably will the first month but at least it’s in my basement and I have a sump pump if anything fails.
