How much will foam compress under my glass 240???

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NOLAGT

NOLAGT

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Dec 5, 2007
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Louisiana
The tank is from GLasscages...he says to use foam under his tanks...it has a lip but its super thin...like 1/8" or less. Anyway the tank is a 240 long glass...I want to put it on 1" thick hard closed cell foam (think thats the right stuff) but how much will that compress once the full of water tank is on it?

I need to know because I am having a stand made for the tank and it will have a ledge going around the bottom of the tank. I want the top surface of the ledge to be at a certian point on the bottom of the glass (right around where the top of the gravle will be). So the stand builder need to know where it will settle so he can put the ledge in the right spot.

Follow?
 
1" pinkboard wont compress that much.. you wont really be able to tell..
 
Thats what I was kinda thinking but I never used it before. So maybe if I figure 1/8"? I am trying to get the top of the ledge to just cover the silicon along the bottom edge of the tank. That way when I scrape with the magnet I dont have to worry about dredging through the gravel and tearing up the silicon.
 
You need to calculate the area (i.e., frame inches) of the frame that will contact the foam. Make sure you include the center braces as they will be contacting the foam as well as the outer rim. It is much easier to calculate if the frame trim is 1" wide.

Then estimate the weight of the tank with gravel and rocks included. 240G should be ~ 2200 lbs.

Then calculate force per frame inch. I would venture a guess that you will end up with about 12 lbs/ frame inch.

I set up a test jig and measured 10% compression for the following:

1/2" exercise mat ~ 7.5 lbs/frame inch
1/2" blue foam from Lowes ~ 15 lbs/frame inch
1" pink foam from Home Depot ~ 25 lbs/frame inch

If my estimate (guess) is correct, the 1/2" blue foam at Lowes is the best choice.
 
use a piece of molding or some form of traim to hide it.... pink board is cheaper than the blue i would just use pink... i know several people wth glass cages 300 gallons and bigger who all have them in pink boad with no problems
 
I used 1" foam from the Home Depot. My tank is a 300 gallon Glasscages.
After it was completely filled, I measured less than 1/4 compression.
Of course the foam I used was the softer stuff like used in garage door applications.
Been using the stuff for years with great results. AKA No blown tanks.
 
Ok here is a quick sketch of how its going together. I am using granet tile for the top of the ledge...and thats going to go on some filler wood...so I need a round about compression for the foam. If it compresses more its ok...if it doesnt compress as much that could be a problem.

2eg68hx.jpg
 
SeverumSeeker;2735447; said:
I used 1" foam from the Home Depot. My tank is a 300 gallon Glasscages.
After it was completely filled, I measured less than 1/4 compression.
Of course the foam I used was the softer stuff like used in garage door applications.
Been using the stuff for years with great results. AKA No blown tanks.
Click to expand...

So you used the white open cell foam? I need to call the guy at GC and see if it matters to him if its closed cell or open cell.
 
Tom will say that it does not matter. Just as long as you use some kind of foam.
And as long as your 240 gallon has a flat bottom(I am pretty sure it does). If it has a rim and a raised bottom you will need the blue or pink foam.This is to make sure the foam does not rise up and put pressure points on the bottom glass inside the rim.
If it's flat, you want the foam to be the same all the way from end to end.
I have used the same foam on all my tanks, but I used 1/2 inch white foam on everything but the 300 gallon. Thats because the bottom of my 300 is flat and the rest had a raised bottom.
 
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