FOAM? Yes or no?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
The shims will make the tank level initially. However, over time the weight of the tank will cause the wood in the stand and floor joists (if not on a basement floor) to settle (i.e. compress or sag). Sometimes the shims add to the problem. If you space the shins too far apart, the stand can sag a bit between them.

If the wood settles evenly, then there will be no issue. However. if a couple 2x12 floor joists under one end of the stand sag a little more than the others, then you have a twisting force stressing your seams.
 
Ok-- thanks vfc! im getting my 180 delivered here in the next few days and trying to think ahead about leveling also..
 
Do you put the foam under the stand or in between the tank and stand, or both?
 
I build all of my stands with self leveling capacity.

Acryllic tanks flex a LOT more than glass tanks...NOT the other way around.

The bottom pane of a glass tank is designed to float on the plastic rim...bedded in silicone.

Any changes in level due to settling minor enough not to show up in the tanks water line will NOT damage the tank. (lowering the water level to exactly an inch below the rim and then taking measurements is a VERY accurate and quick level.)

Almost every catastrophic tank failure I've seen included large rocks or heavy decorations in the tank. Force is multiplyed expotentially as the size of the impact site decreases....In other words a single point of a 6 lb rock knocked over by a fish can break a glass pannel that a 200lb man can normally stand on. A couple of other failures I looked at had ENTIRE intact pannels laying on the ground...this was obviously a bond failure from poor construction.
 
Your tank is from glasscages correct? Don't they require foam for their guarentee?
 
WOLF3101,

The bottom pane of a glass tank is designed to float on the plastic rim...bedded in silicone.

The glass tanks I have looked at seem to have the bottom plate laying directly on the plastic rim. The silicon was on the top side attached to the verticle panes. Maybe the high-end tanks have the silicon bead between the bottom and plastic frame. Although I'm not sure how much that bead would absorb any twisting force. A 3/4" wide bead of silicon would compress far less than a 3/4" wide piece of foam.


In other words a single point of a 6 lb rock knocked over by a fish can break a glass panel that a 200lb man can normally stand on.

I agree, the lbs/inch force of a rock hitting the bottom is far greater than a stationary man standing on the bottom (even up on one leg). However, the 6lb rock would weigh considerably less under water (depending on rock density/water displacement) and travel slower through the water as it falls from the top of a rock stack. Impact failures are a different story; nothing to do with an unlevel surface that a tank sits on.


A couple of other failures I looked at had ENTIRE intact panels laying on the ground...this was obviously a bond failure from poor construction.

Actually a failure from a twisting force could also "pop" an intact panel off onto the ground. You would draw the same conclusion that it was a bond failure. The question is, was the bond failure from poor construction, or from a twisting force that exceeded the design specification for the seam, or from both (a weak spot in the seam that would not fail on a perfectly flat stand AND a higher than expected twisting force)?
 
I use foam under all my tanks, from 20 to 220 (they all came with foam when bought). As far as I'm concerned a little padding for a little cost is well worth it.
 
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