Styrofoam under a 180 Glass

[geronimo69]

Depends on the floor. If the floor is wood or anything that might cause vibration to the tank, then I would use styro. My 75 gallon (floating glass bottom) doesn't have styro, but it's in my basement on a hard concrete floor that dosn't have any vibration.

I actually have the edges of the tank sitting on the stand, but the middle ( of the bottom looking up ) is just hanging there. I can see the bottom of my substrate from one end to the other.

 

[vfc]

I do not use styrofoam under my large tanks because it is too stiff; I use 1" thick foam mats.

One analogy is that I don't sleep on hard floors because the pressure points on my hips and shoulders would be very painful. If I slept on a 1" sheet of styrofoam, I would have the same amount of pain because the foam is too stiff. However, I could sleep comfortably on the 1" closed-cell foam mat that I put under my tanks. The idea is to redistribute the forces over a larger area of the body (or tank frame) to relieve the high pressure points.

The key to protecting a tank from an uneven (and changing) wood stand and floor is using the proper density mat that will compress ~ 20-30% when the tank is filled initially. Anything more or less is not effective.

The mattress industry has been hard at work for years coming up with the best material that will compress ~ 20-30%. Best solutions as of today are the "space foam" and air/water mattress.

 

[12 Volt Man]

this is a debate that will likely never go away.

Aqueon and Oceanic insist that styrofoam will cause more harm than good for their floating bottom glass tanks and do NOT recommend it. they say it can lead to an uneven edge (and a cracked bottom I assume??)

not sure what Marineland or other tank makers say.

I do not use styro on my floating bottom glass tanks.

others insist the tank makers are wrong and they use it anyway.

to each his own.

you will get 5068967906689077 different opinions on this.

bottom line is, its your tank and you need to do what you think is right.

just keep in mind that not following the manufacturers recommendations can void the warranty in many cases so you are taking a chance if something goes wrong if you expect coverage.

 

[vfc]

this is a debate that will likely never go away.

Aqueon and Oceanic insist that styrofoam will cause more harm than good for their floating bottom glass tanks and do NOT recommend it. they say it can lead to an uneven edge (and a cracked bottom I assume??)

not sure what Marineland or other tank makers say.


you will get 5068967906689077 different opinions on this.

bottom line is, its your tank and you need to do what you think is right.

just keep in mind that not following the manufacturers recommendations can void the warranty in many cases so you are taking a chance if something goes wrong if you expect coverage.

Just to provide a more balanced argument for or against styrofoam, here is the warranty summary from the OEM's web sites for the major aquarium manufacturers:

Glasscages - Use must use 3/4" styrofoam sheet under the tank or the warranty is void.

Perfecto - You must use a Perfecto stand to qualify for the 20 year aquarium warranty. You must have proof of purchase for the tank and stand (same date). Otherwise the warranty is only 90 days. No mention of styrofoam or that using styrofoam will void the warranty.

Aqueon & Oceanic - Same as Perfecto (must use Aqueon or Oceanic stand).

Since many of us use homemade or reuse old stands, we basically have no warranty. I use 1" foam strips as an insurance policy.