foam board under tank

[trebor69]

Not sure why anyone would be so strongly against foam. LOTS of people do it without a hitch.

If you are a master carpenter and build a stand that is perfect...sure you can get by without it.

If you are the average DIYer just screwin together some 2x4s then the foam absorbs some minor imperfections and as a bonus adds some insulation.

I have a homemade 2x4 rack that holds eight 20 gallon tanks. I put 1/2" blueboard foam under the tanks.

Gosh I cannot remember how long it has been set up like that but it has to be fast coming up on 20 years. 2 years ago I moved to a new house and I had to relocate it. The foam under the tanks had only a tiny indentation ring where the frame of the tanks was. It was a noticeable indentation but very minor. I re-setup the tanks placing them right back in the same indentation and they've been running like that ever since.

Those are store bought tanks with the black plastic frames so the frames are all that is in contact with the foam not the tank bottom glass.

The foam board I used is just the normal stuff for insulating walls. If you are concerned they make special higher density foam for use on floors. You can walk on that stuff without crushing it.

 

[89must]

not against it at all just tying to understand all the diffrent reasons why people use it

 

[Mastiffman]

not against it at all just tying to understand all the diffrent reasons why people use it

Another main reason that people should consider using foam all of the time under their tank is that it absorbs vibrations. Vibrations can stress fish out. Stressed out fish can lead to loss of slimcoat. Loss of Slimcoat leads to susceptibility to disease....

 

[kmc150]

do you put the foam under the brace of the tank

 

[epond83]

So you all are talking about glass and acylic tanks? I always thought acylic yes foam and regular glass with rim no foam

 

[jdbrock]

Doesn't matter what type of tanks. Foam can only help.

 

[vfc]

I use closed-cell exercise mat under my tanks. It acts like a bed mattress and redistributes pressure points caused by the natural shrinking or expansion of wood floors and stands. Styrofoam is too stiff.

Attached are pictures of the exercise mats I use and a piece of pink Styrofoam that was on top of a stand that ended up very uneven when the 4x4 pressure treated stand legs dried out and shrank. You can see some compression of the Styrofoam, but not enough as there were still gaps under the tank big enough to slide a credit card under. After this experience I switched over to exercise mats.

 

[vfc]

.... If you are a master carpenter and build a stand that is perfect...sure you can get by without it. ....

You may construct a perfectly flat stand; but if you put the stand on a wooden floor, over time the floor joists will sag ever so slightly, and you will end up with a tank being subjected to a twisting force. In addition, the wood you use in your stand will shrink and twist a bit over time.

The only time I would not use an exercise mat is if I had a perfectly flat iron stand on a perfectly flat concrete floor.

 

[MTWiley]

I wouldn't attempt putting any tank on a stand that has more than a piece of paper to a credit card worth of gap between the tank and stand surface... JMO though...

i was just wondering why i see everyone on here saying you almost have to put foam under tanks if the stands are built right and flat i dont see the need and since it doesnt seem to compress much and takes awhile to compress very little insulating is a whole other story

From what I understand allowing the tank to bow into the foam helps prevent it from bowing as much on all sides. If the tank can't alleviate some of the pressure by bowing downwards it's going to bow even more so in all the other directions.

 

[cockroach]

I like it!