How thick of styrofoam insulation are you using under the tank and on top of the stand? 1/2" or 3/4"?Illbuyourcatfish;4167248; said:
Seams on Acrylic tank?
- Thread starter Illbuyourcatfish
- Start date
It appears to be 1/2. It also came with the tank, is 1/2 sufficient, or should i drain it down and use 3/4?
It's a 180g 8 x 24 x 24 right? 1/2" is fine...Illbuyourcatfish;4167322; said:
I'd try to get a fresh piece, just in case it has been compressed in areas that need to be full...Hard to put it back under there exactly where it came off, so I get a new piece and reset the tank on it, then mark it for refference.
It's like 6 bux for a 48" x 96" x .50" panel 'round here...
Okay, went out and could only find 1/4 styro, then i see pharaohs post and feel better haha. Its under the tank and its filling right now. Then ill put it all back together.
Question, how long after I've filled it and got it running can the bichirs go in? It will has two established xp3s and an established 404 for filtration. Should I wait a few days or do i run the risk of losing bacteria because the lack of ammonia?
Question, how long after I've filled it and got it running can the bichirs go in? It will has two established xp3s and an established 404 for filtration. Should I wait a few days or do i run the risk of losing bacteria because the lack of ammonia?
As long as your temp is good and you have a few established filters up you should be good. If you want you can add some stress coat and some cycle to the tank as well to give it a boost. If you are concerned about it tho just give it time and run your tests.
Well I know YOU and the Indy boys can rely on a thinner thickness of styro, I have seen your workmanship...But remember we are all not as flat and level as you guys...this side of the rockies things become geometrically challenged, don't ask me why!!Pharaoh;4167511; said:
1/4" on some of this stuff I seen lately, and you'd be asking for trouble, believe me!!
Actually, it depends on who you talk to...there are different schools of thought on the subject...those1;4168486; said:
In MY opinion,
I use the foam insulation to buffer the slight irregularities in the FLAT surface of the stand...
Flat to me is of far greater importance than level.
Level is also important, but that is more of what's pleasing to the eye.
Flat is structurally important.
If the surface isn't flat, let's say one of the corners is a tad higher than the rest, then you place a torsional load on the seams, all of them.
The force of the water in weight is trying to equally settle it's self...water pressure exerts it's force in all directions equally, so when there is a bow or a tall corner or anything that is off from flat, by the water trying to exert it's force equally it creates spots of extra stress.
Think of it as stepping on a lego in your bare feet!...big time stress!!
Now if you were to put something like styrofoam insulation on the lego and step on it in your bare feet, the styrofoam will compress over lego and you won't have near the stress on the bottom of your feet...
I choose my foam insulation based on how far off from flat my stand is, and
how thick my Acrylic is...
After I am satisfied with the "FLAT", then I can worry about level... It is only a matter of shimming the end that has the "least" space from the waterline to the trim...
I prefer to shim a flat stand to get level
not
shim a level stand to get flat...
Hope that confused you less than it did me...
I do the front to back first then the end to end (left to right)]last
