Supporting tank bottoms

[Molch]

I recently got a used 29 ga tank that is in fine shape except that the black frame around the bottom tank is gone.

(For those not in the US, most standard aquariums sold here have strong plastic frames around the edges at the bottom and top; the bottom glass is designed to rest in the frame so that the glass is actually only supported along the edge but the glass bottom is not in contact with the surface the tank rests on.)

anyways....with the frame missing, do you think if I put the tank on a strong piece of foam board it would be stable that way when full of water? Or should it absolutely have a frame to rest in?

I put all my other framed tanks on foam board, but the foam is too firm to be compressed by the tank so that the glass bottom does not actually touch the foam.

 

[Greatwtehunter]

The frame is just for looks and to protect your fingers from sharp edges of glass. I have numerous 55 gallon tanks that are frameless. I just wrap the edges in duct tape to prevent cuts.

 

[Molch]

I see...were they frameless to begin with or did the frame fall off? I always wondered if those two types differed in the way the panels were set between the sides and the bottom

 

[Greatwtehunter]

The plastic frames either got broke or fell off.

 

[Molch]

thanks Justin, you da man

 

[Mark]

None of my tanks have frames. I use either polystyrene sheeting or those foam camping sleeping mats to support the base. As a general rule of thumb I make sure the whole base is supported and level.

 

[caleb]

I use either polystyrene sheeting or those foam camping sleeping mats to support the base.

I use polystyrene tiles, my local aquarium shop has always given me then for free when I asked. I've also used thick cardboard and correx/coroplast (as used in estate agent's signs) in the past.

I think that it's not so much to support it, more to make sure that the surface is flat, so there's no point on the glass that's taking an unfair share of the load. It's easy to imagine how a piece of grit underneath the centre of the base could crack it.

A friend of mine used to stack tanks, one at right angles on top of the other (obviously the lower one had no lid). He claimed never to have had any problems with this, but it looked very precarious indeed.