Underlayment for new 180 Gallon?

[Sduvall81]

Hello everyone. My new 180 gallon tank is coming this weekend. I've already built the stand, but I was wondering what, if anything, I should put on top of the plywood to set the tank on. I've heard of people using Styrofoam. If thats the case what thickness should i go with? Any advise is appreciated. Ive atached a pic of the stand i build. Still havnt skinned the front or sides, but the top is 3/4 inch plywood.

 

[xcaret]

I believe if the tank is acrylic, a flat sheet of padding is required; I have purchased from Costco before rubber padding for play/garage areas; comes in squares and pretty darn cheap, you can cut it to size; is colored dark gray, by the tools/garage isle of Costco.

 

[rygh]

I used 1/2" styrofoam (acrylic aquarium). Standard 4x8 insulation from Lowes.
Note: If you go bare bottom, you may want to pain it first.
Glass: Nothing.

 

[Sduvall81]

thanks for the replies xcaret and rygh. I ended up going with the 1/2 inch styrofoam insuluation from lowes.

 

[tygunn]

I have used the pink styro insulation in the past with glass tanks. As long as its not rimmed then I think it is generally a good idea.

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[Coral reefer]

What's the reasoning for styrofoam with acrylic but not glass?

 

[tygunn]

What's the reasoning for styrofoam with acrylic but not glass?

I always assumed for either the styro was to prevent point loads from things like a stray sand grain or imperfections on the stand.

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[iani]

I don't think you should put foam under acrylic tanks. IME acrylic tanks with trends to bow more than tanks without.

 

[rygh]

What's the reasoning for styrofoam with acrylic but not glass?

The theory as I understand it:

With glass:
It is often built with a metal frame that is meant to support everything.
Since that metal frame has a fairly small contact area with the foam, it could end up
crushing the foam in spots under the frame, and you end up with a surface that is no longer effectively flat.
So no foam.

With thick acrylic: The foam nicely supports it evenly, and will get rid of any tiny irregularities,
such as screw heads, paint blobs, and so on.
So foam is good.

With thin acrylic: The very edges have a tendency to bend down as the front bows out.
Those edges are not supported as well by foam, so it bends slightly more, and you
get a bit more bowing. Bowing is bad for joints, so not the best plan.
So maybe foam, maybe not.

 

[Coral reefer]

That makes sense to me. Thanks

 

[Ezy33]

Never used anything under any aquarium. 40+ years experience. Metal or plastic frames all weight is carried on the edges. Plexiglass tanks actually bow so the edges carry no weight. Try running a Business card under the edges and you'll find all of the weight is towards the center of the bottom. All you need is a flat and level surface. With acrylic The Front and back edges actually bow up away from the flat surface.