How many of you actually use Foam?

[combiemaster]

Well guys i have a question i have read on some site that make tanks that as part of your warranty you need to put a 1/4 inch foam pad under your tank? Is it necesary? And what does it do. Ive had my 100g with out one for a while now and all the LFS i see never have those. Whats the deal i am just curious i guess. thanks

[tabblet15]

I have a folded towel under my 10g nano, but its more to protect the funiture rather than the aquarium.

[fyrfytr1717]

It's recommended and sometimes required by warranty that you place some type of foam padding under the tank (especially acrylic) to soak up the inconsistencies in your stand, thereby eliminating pressure points and helping with leveling. My new glass tank actually came with a thin piece of foam already attached to the bottom of the tank.

[Geoff]

i have 1" foam under my tank. i also have the tank on a mantle. the mantle is not perfectly flat. the weight of the tank on the foam makes sure the tank is equal distributed over the entire footprint.

G~

[crvz]

If the tank has a trim on it (such as most Oceanic tanks), then foam is likely not required. The glass does not actually sit on the stand, but on the trim of the tank. But a trimless tank (such as many acrylic tanks), putting down foam is a good idea. I've used the pink, hard builder's foam that is sold in 4'x8' sheets at home depot or lowes. I forget exactly what it's called, but it only costs about 10 bucks for a full sheet.

[Fly Guy]

Interesting......non issue on my acrylic 225 as the top is one solid piece, but on my acrylic 90 it is 2x4's around the edges, with 4 x 4's on each corner.....one 2x4 going across the middle.........no padding. I never thought about it, the stand was used for a couple of different glass tanks in the past.

Hopefully it doesnt hurt anything becasue i surely dont see myself emptying the tank to fix it...........lol

[crvz]

Originally Posted by Fly Guy

Hopefully it doesnt hurt anything becasue i surely dont see myself emptying the tank to fix it...........lol

If it's acrylic, I wouldnt worry about it. Assuming the acrylic tank was built well, it should have no problems. But I've known 2 folks in my immediate area who've had to replace/redo glass tanks due to leaks/glass breaks due to stress. If the stand is not perfectly flat (not necessarily level, but flat) with full, even, support, you could overstress a silicon seam or pane of glass. That's bad news.

[combiemaster]

ok i guess its a good idea to have it there then. if my tanks been there for a year with no problems i guess it ok but with my 180 i will get the foam. Any one have a pic of the foam? I am guessing its the pink insulation foam from HD the one with the Pink Panther. I think i am wrong though. Does it have to be 1 inch or 3/4 inch. thanks for all your input

[fyrfytr1717]

I'm not sure if I know exactly what you're talking about with the pink stuff... the stuff you want should be like styrofoam, not like the pink fiberglass stuff usually associated with the Pink Panther. Thickness shouldn't matter too much so long as it is thick enough to soak up any high points on the top surface of your stand. The stuff that came pre-installed on my tank is only about 1/8" thick. When I've bought it in the past I believe I've used about 1/2".

I agree with crvz about framed glass tanks not needing full support, however, I'd have to disagree about the acrylic tanks not needing full support as any warranty info I've ever read about acrylic tanks states that they need to be on a "solid support top" in order for the warranty to be valid. Here's two warranty examples from the manufacturer's web sites for SeaClear and TruVu aquariums:

http://www.casco-group.com/USFS-faq.html - General Care & Set-Up tab
http://www.truvuaquariums.com/support.html

And from the TruVu set-up instructions manual:


WARNING:

Use only a solid top stand. Use of a perimeter stand (a
stand with an open top) will void your warranty.

Now I'm not saying it can't be done, just that it is not recommended by the acrylic tank manufacturers...

[Loverotties]

Don't use anything.