gaps between stand and bottom trim of tank, level with Foam?

[mic209]

I'm setting up a 40 breeder, i bought a stand from dr. fosters and smith, and there is gaps between the bottom trim of the tank and the stand, up to 1/8th of an inch in some spots. Should i put a piece of foam under the tank? If i do, what kind of foam do i use, and where do i purchase it?

[pescadero]

i've heard that people use thin sheets of styrofoam. i guess you could also try a strip of carpet padding.

[melev]

Here's what I used:
http://www.owenscorning.com/around/i...s/foamular.asp

[NanoReefWanabe]

you would be better with the Owen's corning 100 and if it comes in 1/2" or 3/4" that would be more then enough..

for what it is worth i only have 1/2" carpet under padding under my 20, but that is considerably lighter then a 40

[Scuba_Steve]

Ive always been told the pink foam insulation is what you want. 1/2-3/4" thick. Btw most glass tanks are supported on the 2 ends, so a slight sag in the middle shouldnt cause probs. I wouldnt take the risk without foam though personally.........

[BeanAnimal]

You should not be using foam under a glass tank. The foam will NOT help even out the gaps, it will just hide them.

If the stand is THAT poorly constructed, I would call DFS and complain.

Steve, the tank is supported evenly around the perimeter. The folks who support them by the ends are playing with fire by putting a LOT of stress on the seams due ot the deflection.

[coralnut99]

Originally posted by BeanAnimal
You should not be using foam under a glass tank. The foam will NOT help even out the gaps, it will just hide them.

If the stand is THAT poorly constructed, I would call DFS and complain.

Steve, the tank is supported evenly around the perimeter. The folks who support them by the ends are playing with fire by putting a LOT of stress on the seams due ot the deflection.

I learned this lesson the hard way, about 6 or 7 years ago when i had a few 10G's on a wooden stand that I built in the fish room. To make a long story short, I forgot one small detail in the construction and ended up with one of the tanks not sitting flat on all four corners by a hair over 1/8 th inch. I just brushed it aside thinking the 10g's of water wouldn't be enough to cause any problems. Well, the bottom of the darn thing cracked from one corner straight across to the opposing corner. I now pay attention to detail when constructing stands for tanks. 10g's aren't tempered on the bottom, so the crack actually bought me some time to empty it and salvage the livestock. A 40 breeder is most likely tempered and will shatter under the right stress levels. You paid for a stand that should be safe to rest a tank of that size on. You should get what you paid for.

[|233F gee|<]

The foam is to help with just that, "TORSION" any kinda of twisting or uneven level the foam should help brace and level off the glass between the uneven stand and the bottom. I am using it on my 70g square, seems to work fine.

p.s. I'm using the same one as Melev.


cheers
David

[BeanAnimal]

The FOAM does not help with TORSION it will simply compress in some areas more than others. That is, the frame will still handle the same forces. The foam does very little to distribute the load over the rim of the tank. MOST glass tank manufacturers DO NOT recomend the use of foam!

[coralnut99]

If you built the stand yourself and were comfortable with the foam as a fix to alleviate the affects of the racked stand, I'd say go for it. But you bought it new, and in my book I wouldn't pay or go out of my way to fix a brand new stand. I understand the headaches of trying to get the product back to them, etc. Not fun for sure. But ultimately the choice is yours.

[melev]

Originally posted by BeanAnimal
The FOAM does not help with TORSION it will simply compress in some areas more than others. That is, the frame will still handle the same forces. The foam does very little to distribute the load over the rim of the tank. MOST glass tank manufacturers DO NOT recomend the use of foam!

In my case, I contacted the mfg (InterAmerican) and asked them what they specifically recommended. I was told to use 3/4" plywood and the dense (not white) foam sheet material. So that is what I did.

[BeanAnimal]

Yup, some manufacturers recomend the use of foam. Is you tank bottom flat against the stand or is there bottom trim?

[melev]

Mine has some type of thin black plastic trim. Not that tall brown stuff you see on Oceanic tanks.

[jman77]

Foam DOES help slight gaps or imperfections.

manufacturers do not recommend foam for tanks with trim because if the foam compressed too much on the trim part, the foam on the inner part will push on the inside part of the glass causing pressure that can crack the bottom pane of glass. Simple solution to this is to place the tank on the foam, fill to mid point, leave over night, take tank off foam, and cut out center piece of foam that does not support trim which is now easy to see because there should be an outline on the foam from the tanks trim

Tanks with no bottom trim, or acrylic tanks NEED to be layed on a sheet of foam and should not be placed directly on the wood/metal.

I have placed tanks on stands that I know 100% would have caused the tank to crack, but since the tank had a layer of foam on the bottom, they have not cracked. My standard protocol for all new builds is to have the tank sit on foam, no matter what type of tank it is.

That said, I would contact DF&S and tell them about the problem , do not settle for a bad stand that you had to pay for.

[jman77]

Where do you guys pick up that Owen's corning foam ? I've used the white stuff from HD, and would like to try the " pink stuff " on my new build

[melev]

Pink or Blue is sold at Home Depot or Lowes, near the insulation.

[mm949]

i guess im lucky.....probably set-up over 1000+ tanks and never used foam....

[samtheman]

Well,
I have set up a few myself. I prefer marshmallows at the corners. Remember, if you stand on air, you weigh less.

[gadgetboy]

Meh, if it's not set up yet, I would say go for it but I have a 55g that's been set up for quite a while now without foam and I can tell it's not level and it hasn't burst yet. ~famous last words~! Although, it's one of those old Hagen tanks -gotta love 'em- that has like 1/4" glass.