what to put under a starphire tank?

[thepollock]

iam building a starphire tank and what i was wondering is what do i need to put between the tank and the stand if anything? the tank is a 187g 60x30x24.

 

[Agu]

Glass tanks are supported by the edges of the vertical glass. All you need is a solid and stable surface where the tank edges meet the stand.

 

[LNell]

I believe that some tanks are built with the bottom glass on the bottom. These tanks need styrofoam underneath them.

 

[thepollock]

thanks for the info. will it hart to put styrofoam underneth it any way?

 

[LNell]

I don't think it will hurt even if it's the kind of tank that Agu's describing. I could be wrong on this though. Is there a rim around the bottom edges of the tank? If not, look at the glass and see how it's put together. If the side pieces are on top of the bottom piece of glass, then you need to have styrofoam underneath the tank. Since you say the tank is starphire which would indicate that it's a custom tank, I would guess that you would need styrofoam.

 

[thepollock]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12072285#post12072285 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LNell
I don't think it will hurt even if it's the kind of tank that Agu's describing. I could be wrong on this though. Is there a rim around the bottom edges of the tank? If not, look at the glass and see how it's put together. If the side pieces are on top of the bottom piece of glass, then you need to have styrofoam underneath the tank. Since you say the tank is starphire which would indicate that it's a custom tank, I would guess that you would need styrofoam.

yes it is custom built tank. i bought the glass and i need to silicone it together.i think the bottom is goin to be 1/8" off the stand.

 

[JCTewks]

Really, you are still going to be better off just supporting the perimeter. There COULD be issues when using foam under the whole bottom pane. Foam can create pressure points that can lead to failure of the bottom pane. If you are dead set on using foam, I would cut the center out of the foam and just have it supporting the outer 1 - 1 1/2" of glass.

 

[thepollock]

iam not dead set on it i just dont want any thing to happen down the road. this is my first tank like this and iam still kind of new to the hobby. i have heard that i also need to drill in the plywood undr the tank to help out so i dont build to much press. under the tank. i dont know if that is true. on a nother note i was thinking of useing Dow corning 795 to slicone it togther. is that a good slilcone to use?

 

[cowboycorals]

I would use some soft foam. This will help stabilize temp. and help distribute any pressure points created by heavy rocks placed on the inside. You definitely want the whole weight of your tank supported by the front, back, and side panes of glass. As for silicone... I will only use aquarium silicone. You can get it for about the same price as any other on the web. You don't have to fret about the consequences of toxic additives like mold retardant.