Pad Under Glass Tank?

carefreepastor · 11/20/2009, 07:42 AM

Quick background: I am an old salty dog coming back to reefing after 5 years. I have a brand new starphire 90 T. I want to make sure that I set it up as well as as I am able with all of the last techniques. Obviously, since these crazy starphire tanks cost a fortune, I want to ensure that it is set-up in such a way as to give it a firm foundation; the thought of a crack developing because of a poor job of set-up makes me queasy. I have a very stable, heavy stand. Certainly, I will make sure that it is level.

Question: Do folks still place a pad under the tank between the tank and the stand? If so, do you still use styrofoam insulation board for the job? Something else?

der_wille_zur_macht · 11/20/2009, 07:52 AM

It depends on the tank, so contact your manufacturer and do exactly what they suggest.

In general though, there are two ways tanks are built:

1) Bottom captured by the sides: The sides are glued to the edges of the bottom, such that the bottom is raised up and the sides extend down beyond it. Typically the bottom has plastic trim, but if you turn these tanks over and look, you'll see that there's an "edge" that extends down such that the bottom pane of glass doesn't actually touch anything. This style of tank is designed to be supported only on this perimeter rim. On this style of tank, it is VERY IMPORTANT that the bottom remains free floating. If you use thick foam padding, the bottom may contact the padding as the tank sinks in to it, which can ultimately cause the bottom to crack. Hence, with this style of tank, it's advisable not to pad the bottom at all. Most commercial stands for this style of tank are "open" in that the stand has no top.

2) Sides glued on top of the bottom - on this style, the bottom pane of glass is fully in contact with the stand. The stand generally needs to have a solid top that the bottom can rest on, and the tank generally needs full support. Some smaller commercial tanks are made like this (some of the higher-end nanos, for instance) and some large custom glass tanks are. Nearly all acrylic tanks are made like this. Most manufacturers of this style of tank suggest a foam padding.

der_wille_zur_macht · 11/20/2009, 07:53 AM

PS - as you have mentioned, having a solid stand that is LEVEL and FLAT is pretty important. It's a big mistake to try to use any sort of padding to make up for an imperfect stand, regardless of the tank's construction.

carefreepastor · 11/20/2009, 08:27 AM

In addition to the information, thank-you for such a quick response!

pbnj · 11/20/2009, 10:25 AM

I'm bookmarking this thread for my build. Thanks.

albert7753 · 11/20/2009, 10:38 AM

glad I looked in here before I asked the same question

aquasport24 · 11/20/2009, 10:46 AM

I was going to post the same question for my new shallow cube...thanks for the info.

fishy125 · 11/20/2009, 10:47 AM

Wow, sure glad I didn't use the foam padding now.

der_wille_zur_macht · 11/20/2009, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishy125

Wow, sure glad I didn't use the foam padding now.

In many cases on tanks in the first case above it will do no harm, especially if it's really thin - but it's also likely not going to solve any problems, either.

ardo_ski · 11/20/2009, 10:52 AM

On my Marineland Deep Dimension 150 Cube the stand only supported the tank on the sides. There were no supports for the front or back. So when I asked if this was mistake they said "NO". The way the tanks are built that is all the need. I ended up returning the stand for another reason and had one built, but still had it supports on all edges with it open in the middle.

PQ45 · 11/20/2009, 01:00 PM

In my case my tank and stand was level, I set it up, after three week it began to leak. Drain the tank found a crack on the bottom of the tank. Make a long story short my floor was unlevel, Had my tank repaired was told to put foam underneath. Two years later no problem.

11/20/2009, 07:42 AM	#1
carefreepastor Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Carefree, AZ Posts: 15	Pad Under Glass Tank? Quick background: I am an old salty dog coming back to reefing after 5 years. I have a brand new starphire 90 T. I want to make sure that I set it up as well as as I am able with all of the last techniques. Obviously, since these crazy starphire tanks cost a fortune, I want to ensure that it is set-up in such a way as to give it a firm foundation; the thought of a crack developing because of a poor job of set-up makes me queasy. I have a very stable, heavy stand. Certainly, I will make sure that it is level. Question: Do folks still place a pad under the tank between the tank and the stand? If so, do you still use styrofoam insulation board for the job? Something else? __________________ Robert Hutson, Jr.

11/20/2009, 07:52 AM	#2
der_wille_zur_macht Team RC Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: NY Posts: 17,749	It depends on the tank, so contact your manufacturer and do exactly what they suggest. In general though, there are two ways tanks are built: 1) Bottom captured by the sides: The sides are glued to the edges of the bottom, such that the bottom is raised up and the sides extend down beyond it. Typically the bottom has plastic trim, but if you turn these tanks over and look, you'll see that there's an "edge" that extends down such that the bottom pane of glass doesn't actually touch anything. This style of tank is designed to be supported only on this perimeter rim. On this style of tank, it is VERY IMPORTANT that the bottom remains free floating. If you use thick foam padding, the bottom may contact the padding as the tank sinks in to it, which can ultimately cause the bottom to crack. Hence, with this style of tank, it's advisable not to pad the bottom at all. Most commercial stands for this style of tank are "open" in that the stand has no top. 2) Sides glued on top of the bottom - on this style, the bottom pane of glass is fully in contact with the stand. The stand generally needs to have a solid top that the bottom can rest on, and the tank generally needs full support. Some smaller commercial tanks are made like this (some of the higher-end nanos, for instance) and some large custom glass tanks are. Nearly all acrylic tanks are made like this. Most manufacturers of this style of tank suggest a foam padding. __________________ Inconveniencing marine life since 1992 "It is my personal belief that reef aquaria should be thriving communities of biodiversity, representative of their wild counterparts, and not merely collections of pretty specimens growing on tidy clean rock shelves covered in purple coralline algae." (Eric Borneman)

11/20/2009, 07:53 AM	#3
der_wille_zur_macht Team RC Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: NY Posts: 17,749	PS - as you have mentioned, having a solid stand that is LEVEL and FLAT is pretty important. It's a big mistake to try to use any sort of padding to make up for an imperfect stand, regardless of the tank's construction. __________________ Inconveniencing marine life since 1992 "It is my personal belief that reef aquaria should be thriving communities of biodiversity, representative of their wild counterparts, and not merely collections of pretty specimens growing on tidy clean rock shelves covered in purple coralline algae." (Eric Borneman)

11/20/2009, 08:27 AM	#4
carefreepastor Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Carefree, AZ Posts: 15	In addition to the information, thank-you for such a quick response! __________________ Robert Hutson, Jr.

11/20/2009, 10:38 AM	#6
albert7753 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Balch Springs , Tx Posts: 26	glad I looked in here before I asked the same question __________________ Albert Duarte 120gal Rimless Starphire Current Tank Info: 120gal new build 2/08

11/20/2009, 10:25 AM	#5
pbnj Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 381	I'm bookmarking this thread for my build. Thanks.

11/20/2009, 10:46 AM	#7
aquasport24 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: sa tx Posts: 109	I was going to post the same question for my new shallow cube...thanks for the info.

11/20/2009, 10:47 AM	#8
fishy125 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 62	Wow, sure glad I didn't use the foam padding now.

11/20/2009, 10:52 AM	#10
ardo_ski Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Grand Blanc, MI Posts: 66	On my Marineland Deep Dimension 150 Cube the stand only supported the tank on the sides. There were no supports for the front or back. So when I asked if this was mistake they said "NO". The way the tanks are built that is all the need. I ended up returning the stand for another reason and had one built, but still had it supports on all edges with it open in the middle.

11/20/2009, 01:00 PM	#11
PQ45 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: miami Posts: 83	In my case my tank and stand was level, I set it up, after three week it began to leak. Drain the tank found a crack on the bottom of the tank. Make a long story short my floor was unlevel, Had my tank repaired was told to put foam underneath. Two years later no problem.