using foam to level a tank

[prcdslnc13]

Ok so after a week of concrete and all kinds of crap to get my floor level I think im finally close. well close enough to shim it and forget it. Ive read lots about people using foam to level tanks but nothing descriptive.

What kind of foam are you using? how thick? are you using it under the stand or between the tank and stand?

Im trying to set up a 125g tank with about 100 pounds of gravel and some huge chunks of drift wood. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Im hoping to get it running tonight.

 

[Bartek]

put it under a cabinet,that should help,i got same problem but at my house floor is just over the top =P

there was an difference by 4cm!!
I levelled it to 1.5-2 cm

 

[prcdslnc13]

what kind of foam did you use though?

 

[Bartek]

I used one for an koi filters
you can but them cheap.

 

[hybridtheoryd16]

people use styrofoam to cushion between a tank and stand. But it will not level a tank. The only way to level a tank is to use something hard enough to bare the weight of the full tank. If the shim material smashes flat under the weight then you have no shim effect.

 

[Guapote]

The only way to level a tank is to use something hard enough to bare the weight of the full tank.

I was thinking the same thing.The use of styrofoam will be a MINIMAL improvement. I tried it where my estimates showed me a 3/4" slope over 7' and the styrofoam didn't help much at all.

 

[Noto]

Right. When people use foam to 'level' a surface they mean it is used to make a bumpy, warped or uneven surface closer to flat, so that the tank's weight distribution is not concentrated on a few pressure points. Foam cannot change a slope.

Like this:

The yellow layer is the foam.

 

[prcdslnc13]

ok this makes perfect since. I think my floor may be to a point now were foam would be the way to go vs shims. Im now to a fairly level surface with a small hump

 

[snake_charmer]

Facing the same dilema right now. Someone recommended the foam but obviously this wont correct a sloping problem in the floor. I am currently shimming around the majority of the tank. The frustrating part is shimming the whole thing, making an adjustment at ONE point, and then finding that all of the other shims need to be redone to compensate for the adjustment that was made....grrrr. Hopefully, I'll have it done tonight.

 

[vfc]

A 125G tank (72" length) has about 6.2 lbs/inch of frame pressure on the stand. The best foam to absorb any tank to stand gaps or corner high/low spots is the closed cell 3/4" foam they sell at Babies R Us. The foam compresses about 20% under 6 lbs/inch of force. And because it is closed cell, it won't permanently compress much over the years.

It won't level the tank much, but it will prevent stress from a tank not sitting on a perfectly flat stand.