New Juwel Tank. I Do I Need Anything Underneath It?

[jax13]

I have just picked up a 54g juwel tank for a tropical setup and am wondering if I need anything underneath the tank itself or not.

In he past I have always had clearseal oblong tanks and always set them up with a layer of polystyrene underneath them (as per the advice of my local shop) but with this juwel tank and stand there is nothing between them and the tank itself sits on a plinth type base which lifts the glass from the stand.

I won't actually be using the stand, instead the tank is going onto a solid wood worktop in the kitchen but I do t want to start filling and cycling it before I get confirmation as to whether I need something under it or not.

Any help much appreciated as I am hoping to start filling and cycling on Monday.

Thanks

 

[Blondielovesfish]

It probably would be best to put something like polystyrene under it, it helps spread the weight out. It would probably be alright without it but I personally would have something under it just in case.

 

[snazy]

New tanks have a "floating base", meaning that the bottom rims extend beyond the glass, leaving it floating.
If yours is like that, putting something beneath will cause it to crack. From your description it seems you don't need anything.
If it's a flat tank where all the bottom glass touches the cabinet, not just the edges, then it needs something beneath.

 

[Sophie]

Agreed with above. Juwel tanks have floating bases and if you mix with polystyrene they will break.
Anything that rests flat on the surface needs polystyrene.

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Sorry for giving the wrong information, I've never had a juwel tank so I was just advising for some of the tanks that do sit flat on the surface. Go with Sophie's and Snazy's advice.

 

[jax13]

Thanks folks, I assumed this was the case but didn't want any catastrophes when I chuck a load of water in there.

On another related question, I will be moving a 30l aquarium into this one (54l) as the current tank is a horrible hexagonal thing. Do I still need to cycle it or could I put the juwel filter foam in the old tank for a few days then transfer everything (including the eheim ball filter) to the new tank and run it at 30l with both filters, gradually topping it up at each water change until it is full then look to remove the smaller filter. Space is a bit of an issue so I want to lower the transfer time if possible.

 

[Blondielovesfish]

You should still cycle you tank, just using the media from the other tank this time. The cycle will much faster since you already have some bacteria on the media.

 

[jax13]

Even if the existing cycled setup (plants, gravel, filter and water) are simply transferred across and the new filter is run at the same time as the old one for a couple of weeks?

 

[Blondielovesfish]

It's just better to be safe than sorry.
Just add about 2ppm of ammonia and see how long it takes to be processed and go from there.