To Styro or Not to Styro?

[12 Volt Man]

You guys have a very parochial view of the world when you recommend not putting foam under a tank

you do realize that this view is one that the leading tank manufacturers in the world (Aqueon, Oceanic and Marineland) also take right?

my tank is an Aqueon tank. foam is not recommended for it according to them.

I ask again: do you believe that the manufacturers are wrong?

 

[vfc]

Finally a technical discussion.

The chart shows a 75G exerts ~5.5lbs per frame inch. The 1/2" exercise mat from Target has a sweat spot of 7.5lbs/in. It is just a bit too stiff to handle a low corner ideally. However, it would be great match for a 120 or 150G

The blue 3/4" play mat sold at Toy R Us is a better match for a 75G.

You can clearly see the pink styrofoam is way too stiff. I have one tank on pink foam and I still have gaps between the tank and stand after 1 1/2 years. The stuff is too stiff for the tank to settle into.

I can see why guys like you and some tank manufacturers don't recommend stryofoam; it just passes the twisting force to the tank.

 

[12 Volt Man]

what we are essentially saying is this:

if you set up your tank properly (flat, level, good stand, proper non sagging floor lol etc) foam is of no benefit.

what you seem to be saying is: that if you don't (ie you have a sagging floor, sagging stand, tank is not level, tank is not flat etc) then you need foam to compensate for these issues..

we then say: no, foam will not help if this is happening, you need to correct these problems properly rather than relying on a foam sheet to save your house from extensive water damage..

you seem to say that foam will save your tank from these problems..

that seems to be the nature of this debate..

 

[vfc]

12 Volt Man,
Yes you got it. Most of the real world will violate all your parameters and do nothing unless the tank cracks, seam leaks, center brace breaks, etc.

The foam will protect the people from themselves.

Now if some manufacturer developed a 1" universal foam mat or a fluid filled bladder that fits in a channel around the perimeter of a tank; we would have Nirvana in the fish world.

 

[Pharaoh]

Finally a technical discussion.

The chart shows a 75G exerts ~5.5lbs per frame inch. The 1/2" exercise mat from Target has a sweat spot of 7.5lbs/in. It is just a bit too stiff to handle a low corner ideally. However, it would be great match for a 120 or 150G

The blue 3/4" play mat sold at Toy R Us is a better match for a 75G.

You can clearly see the pink styrofoam is way too stiff. I have one tank on pink foam and I still have gaps between the tank and stand after 1 1/2 years. The stuff is too stiff for the tank to settle into.

I can see why guys like you and some tank manufacturers don't recommend stryofoam; it just passes the twisting force to the tank.

I would have to disagree that the target mat would even be a good match for a 150. A 150G tank exerts 7.8lbs per square inch. that means that the tank would only compress a hair over 10% or 1/20", to be generous, 1/10". This is still a far cry from resolving a 1/4" difference in the stand.

Please post the numbers of the Toy-R-us foam and we can evaluate it as well.

 

[12 Volt Man]

The foam will protect the people from themselves.

but will it really? if you have a big heavy tank on a floor that is sinking/sagging, or one corner way higher than the other, foam won't help. its not going to stop your floor from sagging, or your stand from sagging, and its not going to level your tank if it is setup off level.


all it has done is given you a false sense of security

which is a dangerous thing..

 

[vfc]

For the 1" universal closed-cell mat, I was thinking it would be two 1/2" mats of different compression ratios glued together. The weaker foam would accommodate a smaller tank (e.g. 75G, <18" deep) and the stiffer foam would handle a tall tank (>24" deep).

I'll add this project to the list of things to do in my spare time.

 

[Pharaoh]

I would venture to say that by the time that you find a foam that would adjust to a twisting force, the ability of the foam to even support a tank would be compromised.

 

[vfc]

Pharaoh,
I was doing some technical and marketing research yesterday. I could combine three 3/8 foam pads together; each with a different compression strength. A large tank would flatten the top layer, but settle nicely into the next two layers. A small/shallow tank would sit a little higher and settle into the top layer.

My plan is to produce a package of eight 36" long by 1" wide strips with double sided tape on the stand side of the foam. You cut the strips to length and stick them around the perimeter of the stand, and under any tank center braces if you have a flat top stand. The three layers of foam would be shades of gray/black so it will look descent.

So in the future, when you buy a new tank, the package of closed-cell foam strips will be one of those must-buy accessories.

 

[Pharaoh]

The one question I have comes from the opposing force frame of mind. After all the compression on the three lower side has taken place, the force required to "push" back against the tank in order to support it would be fairly high. Although foam may offer some "support" in very minute situations, I just caution that this would become an easy fix to a problem that cannot be corrected that easily. If your tank is off by 1/16" or 1/32", foam might be the solution for you, but if you have something like 1/4" difference or more, I think the action would be to level the tank/stand.

When stacking the foam, would there be any structural benefit of this? If one layer compresses 10% at 7.88 lb per square inch. (Example above) Then having the extra foam would be futile as the two pieces would theoretically compress 5% each, thus rendering no added benefit. I might be thinking about this wrong, but it makes sense to me.