New tank catastrophe :(

[RD.]

I have only ever shimmed the stand, never shimmed a tank, or ran a sheet of anything under a tank with plastic trim.


A couple of past threads that you might want to check out, Barrett.

Who puts polystyrene underneath their tank

Ive done this in the past, and wanted to know if it is absolutely essential or not. and what other things can you put instead, im guessing anything that will even out the pressure on the glass.

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

Cinder block stand

Guys im looking for quick and cheap way to build a stand for a 75 gal or 40b tank. Can you guys give me some pointers on doing it with cinderblocks and possibly post some pics of you're stands. Some questions off the top of my head: Points of contact - where on the bottom of the tank should...

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

Pics missing from first link above can be seen here:

Found the pics ..........

View attachment 1301082


View attachment 1301083

 

[RD.]

So all good? Did you fill it up yet?

 

[islandguy11]

Was just about to make an update post, Thx for following up and further info Neil. Just took a quick gander at those links, good information. But after reading that I was think you mentioned "moulded plastic frame", and I'm wondering if we're talking about the same thing: the plastic trim around this tank I think is only decorative. Each side of the tank has it's own 1.5" piece of acrylic trim that is slapped on with a thin strip of silicone and doesn't wrap around under the tank or around corners. While the plastic does go slightly lower than the glass bottom, I'm kind of skeptical that it could actually hold the weight of a filled tank for very long if at all (though I could be wrong) -- hence the reason why local manufacturers guarantee the exact opposite of those in US/Canada -- LFS told me they wouldn't guarantee this new tank if I didn't use stryofoam under it.

I can't take any photos showing it clearly at the bottom of the tank but here's a couple of photos from the top, it's pretty much the same as bottom but opposite (and it's 2" at top) -- plz let me know if we're actually talking about the same thing:

 

[RD.]

Yeah no, we are talking about something different. Also, always best to do as the tank builder states, or LFS in this case.

 

[RD.]

This is what I am referring to.

Perfecto tank

 

[islandguy11]

Yeah no, we are talking about something different. Also, always best to do as the tank builder states, or LFS in this case.

Ok cool, that had me kinda worried. And yeah from pix above I can see different, not quite same standards of engineering here lol (though to be fair this recent disaster was the first time I've had a problem with one); hoping it was a one-off, will update about this tank after I do an over-due water change on the the Goldenhead's 325.

 

[RD.]

What the pics don't show is on the more common aquariums sold in the USA, Aqueon, Perfecto, All-Glass, etc, that bottom pane of glass is raised slightly from the black trim, and the tank then rests on the black trim, and when using one of their stands such as above, it only rests on each 4 corners. If one used styro on those style of tanks, when the plastic trim settled, it could potentially push the styro up enough to cause a crack in the glass, or a leak in a seam.

 

[islandguy11]

What the pics don't show is on the more common aquariums sold in the USA, Aqueon, Perfecto, All-Glass, etc, that bottom pane of glass is raised slightly from the black trim, and the tank then rests on the black trim, and when using one of their stands such as above, it only rests on each 4 corners. If one used styro on those style of tanks, when the plastic trim settled, it could potentially push the styro up enough to cause a crack in the glass, or a leak in a seam.

Yeah makes sense, I wonder why but I can't recall seeing any moulded tank frames like that here (though I might have seen a couple of similar older-style metal framed tanks at Chatuchak market, next time I go there I'm going to take a closer look at the tanks instead of only fish and accessories .

 

[Coryloach]

I think they're called floating base tank here. I have a 21 gallon like that. Even if you want to, you can't put a foam underneath as it won't touch the glass, unless you decide to stuff it in but then common sense should kick in The glass is raised and does not touch the stand and the tank sits on the plastic trim.

 

[RD.]

Believe it or not, I have seen a number of larger tanks in the 125-240 gallon range in the style that I posted, that folks had sitting on a home made stand, with a sheet of stryo on top of a solid wood base. In that case scenario that styro serves no purpose, and voids the warranty of most manufacturers.