Does Polystyrene Under A Tank Flatten To Level The Tank?

[craigybaby37]

Going to be building the stand for my new 50G tank next week and just wondering if i put say 25mm polystyrene under the tank will it flatten with the weight of the water and level the tank??

or will the polystyrene withstand the weight of the tank and not level it meaning i have to adjust the cabinat so it has a perfectly level top??

 

[ox5477]

I would shim the stand so its close to level either way. The polystyrene should flatten out to level the tank some, but i wouldn't rely on this...

Ox

 

[craigybaby37]

Yea ill check the floor for how level it is and adjust the stand as close as i can to get it level. I can use thin ply wood to make the difference up on the corners and hopefully let the polystyrene do the finishing touches.

 

[ox5477]

Yea ill check the floor for how level it is and adjust the stand as close as i can to get it level. I can use thin ply wood to make the difference up on the corners and hopefully let the polystyrene do the finishing touches.

Thats how I'd do it

Ox

 

[Tolak]

The styro won't level it, it will compress evenly even if the stand is on a severe angle. It will even out any imperfections between the stand top & tank bottom. This is more critical with tanks of a traditional design, where the weight of the sides is supported by the bottom, and the bottom sits flush with the top of the stand.

With tanks of the floating base design, the bottom is supported by the sides, about 1/4" above the surface of the stand. If your styro is thick, and puts pressure on the bottom of tanks of this design, you risk blowing out the bottom.

With floating base tanks I use no styro, never have. I check around the perimeter with a matchbook cover, if any length of longer than a couple of inches has a gap large enough to fit the matchbook it is time for me to fix the stand or rack.

 

[Sea Turtle]

I went to my local hardware store (or Home Depot) and bought a bag a wooden shims. They use them for installing doors windows, etc. I just drove one in on each side under the cabinet keeping a level on top of the tank until it was level. This works well because the wood is hard and won't give when you fill with water. Then, once it's filled, just break the end off the shim that is sticking out. This worked very welll for me.