styrofoam under tank?

[retiredrunner]

Carpet padding works really well also. I put it under my stand and between my tank and the top of the stand. Good carpet padding is made to support some really heavy stuff. I agree that it def isnt going to hurt anything to use some kind of padding so why risk it? No stand is perfectly level so there is always a chance some kind of pressure point could build up over time and then you have a living room full of water.

 

[jsodwi]

3/4 inch foam from Home Depot . I would definatley do this if the top of the stand is solid and not just a frame that the tank sit s on

 

[Radius]

The foam board is a good idea, but I think I like cork more. It'll compress, but not as much as foam and I think would last longer in the end. Plus foam has a way of chipping over time and getting all over the place.

I'm currently designing and getting materials together for a stand I need on a new 240g tank, I never even considered foam under it until now.

 

[Gooda]

You know, I never even heard about putting padding under the tank before...

I think that is a good idea. Better then losing a tank

Thanks

 

[Radius]

Years ago my grandparents used to manage an appartment complex, and on the 5th floor of one of the buildings a guy made his own 200g tank. After he filled it, it blew apart and flooded the apartment and hallway.

I have no idea if the stand was the culprit, but it taught me to always over-engineer and to put every available safety feature into the design you can. You can never go wrong doing it that way.

 

[Saku]

Home Depot carries the foam board that I used. You can use either the blue or pink. Foam board is cheap insurance to help your tank last a long time.
KNH

Just set up a 300 gal with the pink stuff underneath (they were out of blue). Worth the peace of mind IMO.

 

[Radius]

I just realized...

Is this just for stands with a piece of plywood on top? What about stands with an "open top", but that I mean ones that have the support ribs exposed and no plywood on top. Do you use the foam on those too?

 

[guppy]

I do not trust open frame stands for large tanks (55g and up) I cap them with 5/8" or 3?4" plywood and top that with fine grain corkboard.

 

[Radius]

Ok, good to know. I plan on using 3/4" oak for my entire stand, top to bottom so I'll make sure to add foam or cork.

 

[Averi666]

never evan had thought about using foam or anything under my tanks