what foam does everyone use under there acrylic tanks?

[LukeOscar]

getting ready to setup this 320 gallon tank and i am in need of some ideas of foam to go between the stand and tank to take up any irregularities. pretty suprised at the cost of a decent .5" foam sheet these days. any ideas?

 

[wednesday13]

getting ready to setup this 320 gallon tank and i am in need of some ideas of foam to go between the stand and tank to take up any irregularities. pretty suprised at the cost of a decent .5" foam sheet these days. any ideas?

Foam is for plate bottom glass tanks only… acrylic should be placed directly on the plywood. A plus tho, u dont have to buy any lol… Shim inbetween the plywood and stand to shore up and air gaps or areas not touching the plywood around the perimeter of the tank/seams and ur good to go

 

[LukeOscar]

Foam is for plate bottom glass tanks only… acrylic should be placed directly on the plywood. A plus tho, u dont have to buy any lol… Shim inbetween the plywood and stand to shore up and air gaps or areas not touching the plywood around the perimeter of the tank/seams and ur good to go

fair enough. what about using foam under the base of the stand so it self levels? or would you still just recommend shims? also my plywood top layer is 3 seperate pieces spaning 8ft. would it be wise to ditch those and just get 1 solid sheet?

 

[wednesday13]

fair enough. what about using foam under the base of the stand so it self levels? or would you still just recommend shims? also my plywood top layer is 3 seperate pieces spaning 8ft. would it be wise to ditch those and just get 1 solid sheet?

Shims are a must across the board… wood or composite are both fine. I use pieces of acrylic scraps if needed also for under stand legs… 3 separate pieces of wood are also fine for a stand top. I have 3 pieces on a 10’ stand with a 500 acrylic on top no problems. U can use another piece of ply over top of what u have now tho, leave it un screwed down and shim underneath it to make the wood flush to the tank. Start with leveling/shimming the stand 1st then go from there.

I tried the same things with foam in my early years of tank setups. It doesn’t actually do anything beneficial. Tanks never “settled” in and leveled out over time and i actually had an acrylic tank bottom seam let loose 2 times over the yrs before i realized it was the foam. Took the foam out, repaired it for the 3rd time and its been good. Foam can crush over time, cause the tank to shift and its not actually supporting the seams properly like wood or steel. Not sure where the foam for acrylics “myth” started. I fell for it also lol… watched it cause problems 1st hand tho just the same.

 

[LukeOscar]

Shims are a must across the board… wood or composite are both fine. I use pieces of acrylic scraps if needed also for under stand legs… 3 separate pieces of wood are also fine for a stand top. I have 3 pieces on a 10’ stand with a 500 acrylic on top no problems. U can use another piece of ply over top of what u have now tho, leave it un screwed down and shim underneath it to make the wood flush to the tank. Start with leveling/shimming the stand 1st then go from there.

I tried the same things with foam in my early years of tank setups. It doesn’t actually do anything beneficial. Tanks never “settled” in and leveled out over time and i actually had an acrylic tank bottom seam let loose 2 times over the yrs before i realized it was the foam. Took the foam out, repaired it for the 3rd time and its been good. Foam can crush over time, cause the tank to shift and its not actually supporting the seams properly like wood or steel. Not sure where the foam for acrylics “myth” started. I fell for it also lol… watched it cause problems 1st hand tho just the same.

thanks for the tips, much appriciated.

 

[wednesday13]

thanks for the tips, much appriciated.

Any time man

 

[LukeOscar]

Any time man

gotta bug ya again sir.
i have 3/4" layed currently. would 3/8s be thick enough for the final layer that i will shim between? or should it be a thicker plywood?

 

[wednesday13]

gotta bug ya again sir.
i have 3/4" layed currently. would 3/8s be thick enough for the final layer that i will shim between? or should it be a thicker plywood?

Yes, 3/8” should be fine since its just the top layer for shimming and u have the 3/4” underneath…I know ply is stupid expensive right now. Gotta save where u can i agree.

 

[fishguy1978]

I have 1/2in white r3 insulation foam from Home Depot under my acrylic tanks and my glass 220g.
I use the composite shims so I don’t have to worry about them disintegrating because of water exposure.