Styrofoam under glass tank or not?

[sree]

Acroholic;517774 wrote: I wouldn't worry about it. You should come by and see the black Marineland pine stand that my 265 gallon Marineland tank is on. It would make you shudder. About 6 points of contact for a tank that when filled with water weighs 2600 pounds. Entire stand is only made of 3/4" thick pine. Been fine for 4 years so far.

I guess then marieland surely knows what they are doing.. I am quite relieved now.

 

[sree]

sollie7;517782 wrote: how thick?

could i use cardboard or a hand towel instead?

I wouldn't use cardboard. if it gets wet, then its ruined. I would get the 1/2" styrofoam they sell in the buildings supplies section in homedepot. The big sheet is only $10.

 

[acroholic]

Sree;518120 wrote: I wouldn't use cardboard. if it gets wet, then its ruined. I would get the 1/2" styrofoam they sell in the buildings supplies section in homedepot. The big sheet is only $10.

That is where I got the 3/4" I used for my 100 rimless.

 

[sree]

I finally got the explanation from marineland engineer on why styrofoam shouldn't be used on a glass tank with support braces. What he explained was that the whole design of the stand is to provide support only on the edges. Styrofoam, especially the thinner ones, could crush so much that it could distribute the load to the center of the top thereby causing support issues for the stand. He aslo said that only every 2 to 4 feet of the long edge needs the support and if there are gaps there, use wood shims to fill this gap but never use anything soft like a styrofoam.