Plywood thickness

[Robw]

Does anybody have any suggestions on the thickness of plywood for the top of my stand. Its a metal stand for a 4x2x2 tank made from 1.5" square tubing with no cross brace. Also foam thickness suggestions?

[BlueAbyss]

Will the tank sit directly over the metal bar that the stand is made from? Also, is the tank rimless or custom built?

[Myka]

^ What he asked...although I would be more interested to know if the tank is "trimless", rather than "rimless", as all tanks have a rim! :p

[byee]

Safe to assume you're using the plywood to cover the skeleton of the stand ??

If so, the plywood will offer absolutely no structural strength as the skeleton will bear the weight of the aquarium.

I hope it helps.

[Robw]

The tank is trimless. The sides of the tank are flush with the bottom pane of glass. I know the side covers for the stand will offer no structural support as they will be attached to the steel skeleton with magnets. What I need to know is how thick the plywood between the top of the stand and tank should be. And what thickness of foam between the tank and plywood I should use.

[banditpowdercoat]

Really, the plywood doesnt support any tank weight in the middle. The glass has enough strength to be supported on the edges only. Thats how tanks with trim are. The trim holds the tank off the stand. But, I would use no thinner than 1/2". The foam, 1" should be fine. I'm using 5/8" ply and 1" pink foam under my 150g.

[Robw]

Thanks for the info. I will use 1/2" plywood and 1" pink foam.

[Myka]

I used 1/2 ply and 1/2 foam under my 90. It is supported by the 2x4s directly under the plywood, so the plywood doesn't have to have structural strength.

[c me fish]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, what I understood is that a tank with a half inch trim on the bottom would not need a plywood board underneath it if it was going on a steel stand?

The bottom glass pane of my "new" tank is raised a 3/4 inch on black trim, I filled it up with water a while ago (while it was still on a skid) to make sure it would hold, and it was fine for a couple of months. Yesterday I emptied it, and drilled it, and am currently prepping a steel stand for it and was wondering about plywood as well, as in if it's even a necessary buffer. Also do I need foam under it? or just under the supporting trim, or just under the bottom pane of glass? And by pink foam do you mean the stuff you can get at Home Depot?

Thanks

[banditpowdercoat]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, what I understood is that a tank with a half inch trim on the bottom would not need a plywood board underneath it if it was going on a steel stand?

The bottom glass pane of my "new" tank is raised a 3/4 inch on black trim, I filled it up with water a while ago (while it was still on a skid) to make sure it would hold, and it was fine for a couple of months. Yesterday I emptied it, and drilled it, and am currently prepping a steel stand for it and was wondering about plywood as well, as in if it's even a necessary buffer. Also do I need foam under it? or just under the supporting trim, or just under the bottom pane of glass? And by pink foam do you mean the stuff you can get at Home Depot?

Thanks

yes, Most tank bottoms are of such a thickness that they will support the weight of the water just on the edges. Thats why most assembly line tanks have trim on the bottom that spaces them up. A tank can be supported JUST on the ends, without worry. Looks really earry having a tank up in the air, but the glass IS strong enough. The reason for the foam under trimless tanks is to eliminate the point loading if there was a speck of dirt, or a pebble between the glass and the stand. This pebble would create intence pressure in one little spot on the bottom, that it can crack the glass.

[KrazyKuch]

I use 1/2" plywood and those foam floor tiles for kids...they are about 3/8" thick and are usually 24" x 24" and interlock into each other!!

[StirCrazy]

i had a 3x2x2 tank on a metal frame. I ended up going with a double layer of 3/4" then 1/2" foam. probably a bit over kill but I wanted to lift the tank a little higher.

Steve