polystyrene between tank and stand

[bathawk]

I have completed my stand only needs painting . A polystyrene board came with my tank but was wondering if there are better materials to use I know polystyrene likes to crumble and having a heavy tank may take a bit of shuffling around to get it straight on the satnd.

 

[ADawson23]

Pics of the tank may help. Also if the tank was purchased by you and bought new, you’ll want to use what was supplied as it may void your warranty. Also a homemade stand my do so.

Just some thoughts to consider.

 

[fishdance]

You can't beat polystyrene except its white and cockroaches eat it.

Use some PVC tape (like electrical tape) at the front edge of polystyrene board to secure to stand. This will stop the polystyrene sliding back when you push the tank on. Then pull the tape out when your done.

Another method is to use PVA craft glue to fasten the polystyrene board the day before as it takes a few hours to dry.

If you want to make the polystyrene less visible, you can paint it black, use a black marker pen or tape which is also good to hide the waterline at top.

 

[bathawk]

luckly the polystyrene that came with the tank is dark grey it is just visible to the right of the photo I may glue as you advised the stands were too expensive £600 + for a good wooden stand and would have been a nightmare to get through my narrow house doors I will make sure the stand dosen't have torsional twist in it.

 

[TwoHedWlf]

Not really much better than polystyrene, it doesn't really crumble, I suppose you might scrape off a few beads from the edges but it really doesn't matter.

 

[bathawk]

would this be overkill using the polystrene plus the iko foam insulation bearing in mind my tank is 180kg empty

 

[TwoHedWlf]

It would just be a waste, one or the other would be more than enough. All it does is cushion any high spots or imperfections in the stand. A thin layer will do fine.

 

[bathawk]

Yes your right I think I will use the iko insulation board as the smooth surface will make easier to position the tank once it is on the stand the polystrene I will store it as it may come in handy at a later date.

 

[bathawk]

forgive me if this is a silly question once the tank is full of water and substrate will the weight of the tank and water even out those depressions in the insulation board.