To Styro or Not to Styro?

[NOLAGT]

Great info thanks! I know what happens when temp glass brakes...and I thought it was a heat process but wasnt sure.

 

[zennzzo]

Great info thanks! I know what happens when temp glass brakes...and I thought it was a heat process but wasnt sure.

Yeah it is much like pre-stressed concrete...when the internal stresses are greater than the load, the load has little or no effect on it...

 

[midnight]

i didnt read the replies but....lol

i use styro on all my tanks,why not?
i even have it under my 3g LOL

i can tell you this
im so happy i used styro on my glass 240g

240g,8 feet long
when re setting it up
the ends were sitting on the styro
in the middle,was a large gap
without styro,it would be just "floating" in the middle and thats just

so as i filled the tank
1/4 way,still same gap in center
half way full,i say,gotta sink now,center gap still the same
then at about 3/4 full it sank a bit
then just as it topped off,bam,the center touched styro

now without styro i would be scared the center would have failed cus it was just "floating"
but with styro it sank at the ends and touched in the center

also
you guys think your stands are strait when you build them
check up on them after a few years of water dripping on them and water sitting between the tank and stand,or bad choice of wood "mdf or particle board" LOL

so my opinion is styro cant hurt.....


but then

my gramps used shag carpet between his tanks so......

 

[Pharaoh]

i didnt read the replies but....lol

i use styro on all my tanks,why not?
i even have it under my 3g LOL

i can tell you this
im so happy i used styro on my glass 240g

240g,8 feet long
when re setting it up
the ends were sitting on the styro
in the middle,was a large gap
without styro,it would be just "floating" in the middle and thats just

so as i filled the tank
1/4 way,still same gap in center
half way full,i say,gotta sink now,center gap still the same
then at about 3/4 full it sank a bit
then just as it topped off,bam,the center touched styro

now without styro i would be scared the center would have failed cus it was just "floating"
but with styro it sank at the ends and touched in the center

also
you guys think your stands are strait when you build them
check up on them after a few years of water dripping on them and water sitting between the tank and stand,or bad choice of wood "mdf or particle board" LOL

so my opinion is styro cant hurt.....


but then

my gramps used shag carpet between his tanks so......

I understand you did not read the replies. BUT...

The question has still not been addressed. Just because the fom has filled the gap, does not mean that there is any "beneficial support added to the situation.

How do you know that it was not your tank that flexed and sunk down to touch the foam?

 

[Mattyou]

Here are a few pictures of my Perfecto 75 and Oceanic 70 with gaps under them in the center. 2x4 stand with 3/4 ply dead level, tanks showed light in the center when empty sitting on concrete as well. I wish I had used styro under them but I have never had trouble with them with the gap so who knows. Flex is out of the question on these 2 tanks though. The other tank is a old Oceanic with no bottom trim sitting on styro. Would not have set it up without the styro since it is glass on wood.

I cant help but think if the corners compresed to the point the center hit the foam, the foam would be forced to carry some of the load / add support to the center. You be the judge.

 

[12 Volt Man]

I was under the impression that small gaps between the tank and the stand for a modern glass tank were not a problem as long as the tank is level and flat.

the bottom pane of glass would then have even pressure exerted downard on it via gravity and water pressure above it hence, it probably would not flex at all. so the fact that a small portion of the perimeter is "floating" is not a problem.

eg. some of my big tanks have small gaps in the stand but have been that way for 16 years now..the bottom tank glass does not appear to have sagged/flexed at all. it is perfectly flat - thus the gap has stayed there all this time.

if small gaps were really an issue, I would think we would have 95% of aquariums out there breaking left right and center all the time.

just my thoughts. not sure if this is the right thinking.

 

[Mattyou]

I think your spot on. The plastic frames support the load so the gap isn't an issue I think as long as the tank isn't twisting.

 

[midnight]

I understand you did not read the replies. BUT...

The question has still not been addressed. Just because the fom has filled the gap, does not mean that there is any "beneficial support added to the situation.

How do you know that it was not your tank that flexed and sunk down to touch the foam?

if the tank flexed that far we got problems lol
i have moved tanks that had styro under them
theres an imprint on the styro,even my 20g you could see where the tank was
so ya,if a 20g can leave an imprint i sure hope a 240g could crush a lil styro

and what i dont get about these threads is,what does styro hurt?
lil extra protection cant hurt right?

i have styro under
3g-gl
10g-gl
20g-gl
55g-gl
90g-acr
240g-gl
styro under 240g's sump
styro under all my pond liners

 

[12 Volt Man]

and what i dont get about these threads is,what does styro hurt?

from what I understand, it actually CAN hurt, depending on the stand setup.

if your tank were on a stand that has a top like a table, and you place a modern glass tank (with braced frame on the bottom) on top of foam, you can get a sitution where the tank pushes down on the foam such that the bottom glass itself can be forced down upon the foam, which is in turn forced down upon the stand.

this creates a situation where the foam/stand are pushing UP on the glass (as it pushes down between the braces) which normally would be 'floating'.

this can lead to a cracked bottom.

its sort of hard to explain, but its newtons law of action/reaction at work.

tank glass that is normally floating is not floating anymore and is being pushed up as it pushes down.

this can cause fractures apparently.

 

[midnight]

ya im lost
if it pushes up to the glass "and it shouldnt ever lol" then its glass on styro
and many tanks sit flat on the styro
but if this happens you did something wrong