Why Add Styrofoam Under Your Aquarium?

[veron]

sooo all the tank makers are wrong?? I think a 90g tank with rock,sand and water gets pretty heavy! and that brace can cut threw. and ridged foam will not even out an unlevel stand.the foam will be unlevel as well so the tank will still be unlevel causing stress on the tank

[PoisonJello]

the foam is not there to level anything, it is just incase there is a stress point on your stand..for instance if there is a flaw or maybe a bump from dirt that you didn't notice when you put your tank on the stand it will cause a stress point and over time can weaken the glass and cause a break, then you have an even bigger problem with water everywhere...with foam there won't be any stress points
tank builders alway recommend buying there stands because they don't make money if you buy someplace else or build one yourself (not to mention those store bought stands are made really cheap)
they don't recommend foam because there is many different kinds of foam and not everyone would think to use proper stuff..if you used foam that is not dence enough it will just compress and that could cause problems also
so really it is up to you in the end, you can believe the people that make the tanks that want your money and probably don't even own aquariums or you can believe the guys and gals that have kept aquariums for years... with or without foam its still just about the fish

[NetCop]

I don't think they're saying all the tank makers are wrong; it just depends on the situation of your tank, the stand you are using etc would all play factors in this.

Such as in my situation, I have a 6' long 100G with no trim on the bottom.
The bottom plate is flush, not raised.
I wasn't going to fuss about how it was made... I got it for free.
But from what has been brought up here, as I said in each thier own situation, I am best to buy 1" pink foam to lay my tank on to absorb any shock when I move it to it's new spot (after I make sure the stand it's going on is level).

Oh, and of course bribe a friend with alcohol to help me move the sucker!
*and bend at the knees!

[veron]

your tank is definatly out of the ordinary. that type of buils is nomaly reserved for very big tanks. but for the 99% of tank owners of glass tanks foam is not recommended. the stand should be sturdy
and flat.chances are if the person is looking to use foam then there must be a stand issue. theres lots of new tank owners reading this site and I'd hate to give them the impression that whatever is wrong with the stand they want to use [furniture] that it can be just fixed by foam. I've had tanks since I was 12, I'm 43 now so I have had a few tanks and I built my own 500g glass tank.

[charlie]

The original reason for adding styrofoam underneath a tank was based on two distinct factors.
The first being that the tank had the bottom plate truly on the bottom, whereas most tanks now are made with floating bottoms, in that they bottom pane of glass is not the bottom of the tank, it is suspended from within the tank about an inch usually from the base.

The second being that the surface which the tank usually resided upon was either homemade or a piece of furniture such as a dresser or such and as such was not always a truly flat surface.

These two conditions would meet together and create what were called stress risers in a tough and flexible homogeneous material that sadly has a distinct breaking point, with the usual accompanying sounds.  These stress risers would culminate in catastrophic failure from a single point in the two surfaces having so much pressure applied, and that often meant water everywhere all at once.

Why we still do it, is for similar reasons, but largely to meet two objectives, the first being that it is a good insulator for the tank to not lose, or sometimes gain heat too easily, and also to keep the irregular contact surfaces from creating these errant stress risers.  Busdriver can explain what happens when a stress riser erupts on the front panel of a 150 gallon tank with a 30" height.  It made a mess.

Do not be misled or mistaken in the belief that styrofoam will level a tank, it will never happen.  Your stand must be solid, secure, and perfectly level, and the styrofoam will iron out the little imperfections in either surface.

Any thickness is good, making certain that the mounting of tank onto the foam won't become imperiled by instability, but I use 1" commonly, and have lately been finding that the 5/8" foam is equally amusing.  I believe there is 1/2" as well, and by styrofoam, I do not mean the white packing foam, I am referring to the blue or pink extruded foam that is found at any hardware store.

Veron, perhaps you missed this post, i think it addresses your concerns.
Regards

[PoisonJello]

maybe there is a better way to see why people use styrofoam under any tank...
take a small plain of glass and put a pebble under it then put some weight on top of the glass to see what happens  (that will show what a stress point can do)
you could try the same with plexiglass but it will not have the same affect (plexiglass will just bend but with a lot of pressure it might crack) 
styrofoam is a good thing especially with a flat bottom
if your stand is prefectly flat, foam is not needed but the odds that it is prefect are pretty slim, and those store bought stands well....just ask busdriver 

In life you just have to go with what you know or ask someone else and be just as lost as they are 

[Dr. Ashtray]

Makes sense!

Jeffrey...