Plywood under the tank?

[Notsolostfish]

Okay so I went to buy a piece of plywood to put it under my marine x60.3 because I have carpet in my basement. The guy at the hardware store telling me that plywood does not hold weight. Here I got terrified for a second because on my clear 4820 who is filled with rocks, water and thick layer of substrate 72 gallons. I have the same piece of plywood across it with wood shims under it. Now the guy telling me one day I'm going to be back home and I'll find my tank cracked. And I can't stop thinking about it now.

 

[HuduVudu]

Okay so I went to buy a piece of plywood to put it under my marine x60.3 because I have carpet in my basement. The guy at the hardware store telling me that plywood does not hold weight. Here I got terrified for a second because on my clear 4820 who is filled with rocks, water and thick layer of substrate 72 gallons. I have the same piece of plywood across it with wood shims under it. Now the guy telling me one day I'm going to be back home and I'll find my tank cracked. And I can't stop thinking about it now.

Plywood most certianly does hold weight. The thickness matters in this regard. Also it needs to be sealed against water intrusion.

You definitely want to brace the plywood correctly, but other than that plywood is very common in the hobby for tops for stands.

 

[Notsolostfish]

Plywood most certianly does hold weight. The thickness matters in this regard. Also it needs to be sealed against water intrusion.

You definitely want to brace the plywood correctly, but other than that plywood is very common in the hobby for tops for stands.

What do you mean seal the plywood? I didnt seal it?. But at the same it doesn't get wet as bad. In the whole 2 months it was one incident of splash of water or some tiny spots I dried. Why how bad is it?

 

[mdb_talon]

I would mostly agree with the guy at the hardware store. Laid flat unsupported plywood really does not hold weight well at all and if you have any significant weight on unsupported plywood it will begin sagging or break in no time. However if your stand is built correctly the plywood is not really designed to hold the weight that is what the supports are for. Plywood vertically can be very strong and many stands are built just using plywood, but again it is very different scenario than using plywood horizontally.

 

[Notsolostfish]

I would mostly agree with the guy at the hardware store. Laid flat unsupported plywood really does not hold weight well at all and if you have any significant weight on unsupported plywood it will begin sagging or break in no time. However if your stand is built correctly the plywood is not really designed to hold the weight that is what the supports are for. Plywood vertically can be very strong and many stands are built just using plywood, but again it is very different scenario than using plywood horizontally.

I have my clear 4820 tank, running for 2 months now. The piece of 3/4 plywood under it is supported with wood shims and leveled correctly. I don't know if anything bad going to happen?

 

[WestonNanos]

How many shims do you have underneath the plywood and how are they spaced? A pic of your set up would be helpful.

 

[Notsolostfish]

How many shims do you have underneath the plywood and how are they spaced? A pic of your set up would be helpful.

This is for the freshwater setup that has been running on that piece of plywood for 2 month now.

U can see the piece of plywood under it. With 3 shimos on each side of the tank. I got a company to level it for me.

I know this is freshwater setup and it's unrelated to reef. But this whole thing happened when I went this morning to the hardware store to purchase another 3/4 plywood for my marinee x60.3 since I have carpet in my basement.

 

[HuduVudu]

What do you mean seal the plywood? I didnt seal it?. But at the same it doesn't get wet as bad. In the whole 2 months it was one incident of splash of water or some tiny spots I dried. Why how bad is it?

Over time if the wood is unsealed it will dry rot. Plywood is going to do better with this than say MDM but it is an issue.

Varathane is my go to for ensure that the wood is sealed.

A picture of your set up would be good. You are talking about shims but those are normally used to level on some sort of support structure. How are you using the shims?

 

[HuduVudu]

This is for the freshwater setup that has been running on that piece of plywood for 2 month now.

U can see the piece of plywood under it. With 3 shimos on each side of the tank. I got a company to level it for me.

I know this is freshwater setup and it's unrelated to reef. But this whole thing happened when I went this morning to the hardware store to purchase another 3/4 plywood for my marinee x60.3 since I have carpet in my basement.

This is fine. Just seal the plywood with Varathane and you are fine.

 

[Notsolostfish]

Over time if the wood is unsealed it will dry rot. Plywood is going to do better with this than say MDM but it is an issue.

Varathane is my go to for ensure that the wood is sealed.

A picture of your set up would be good. You are talking about shims but those are normally used to level on some sort of support structure. How are you using the shims?

U can see a pic of my setup above.

 

[mdb_talon]

This is for the freshwater setup that has been running on that piece of plywood for 2 month now.

U can see the piece of plywood under it. With 3 shimos on each side of the tank. I got a company to level it for me.

I know this is freshwater setup and it's unrelated to reef. But this whole thing happened when I went this morning to the hardware store to purchase another 3/4 plywood for my marinee x60.3 since I have carpet in my basement.

I dont think that is any issue at all if I understand what I am seeing lol. plywood is on the floor and then shims between plywood and the legs of the stand? If so that should be just fine.

 

[Notsolostfish]

This is fine. Just seal the plywood with Varathane and you are fine.

How do I seal my plywood with varathane now? Since the tank is running. My shims are between the plywood, and the floor. Is that an issue?

 

[theMeat]

How do I seal my plywood with varathane now? Since the tank is running. My shims are between the plywood, and the floor. Is that an issue?

Shims are fine. Hopefully you used marine of exterior grade plywood. Which uses waterproof glues. In that case you’re fine

 

[WestonNanos]

This is for the freshwater setup that has been running on that piece of plywood for 2 month now.

U can see the piece of plywood under it. With 3 shimos on each side of the tank. I got a company to level it for me.

I know this is freshwater setup and it's unrelated to reef. But this whole thing happened when I went this morning to the hardware store to purchase another 3/4 plywood for my marinee x60.3 since I have carpet in my basement.

Yeah so basically you have the sheet of plywood on the ground so that the stand is not sitting on carpet, that looks good. The shims however dont look to be supporting the weight evenly between the stand and the ply wood. You could add more shims, especially to the outer edges of the tank . But i dont see we you dont just set the stand right down on the ply wood? If its a little un-level, you can just put some wedge shims under the stand...

 

[HuduVudu]

How do I seal my plywood with varathane now? Since the tank is running. My shims are between the plywood, and the floor. Is that an issue?

If the shims are unsealed that is an issue, but them used to level isn't an issue.

If the plywood is in place I would use linseed oil instead. Use it where you can put it on the wood. This will stop any dry rot. You will need to re-apply it yearly but it should work for what you have now.

For the future remember to seal the wood before you put it in place.

 

[Notsolostfish]

Yeah so basically you have the sheet of plywood on the ground so that the stand is not sitting on carpet, that looks good. The shims however dont look to be supporting the weight evenly between the stand and the ply wood. You could add more shims, especially to the outer edges of the tank . But i dont see we you dont just set the stand right down on the ply wood? If its a little un-level, you can just put some wedge shims under the stand...

I had a company coming in and leveled everything for me precisely before I did fill it. They said they couldn't place the wood shims under the feet because waterbox feet are too small and theres a LOT of them they are those tiny white feed screwed in. But it's good to know what I did was right at least because my anxiety level was over the roof.

 

[WestonNanos]

I had a company coming in and leveled everything for me precisely before I did fill it. They said they couldn't place the wood shims under the feet because waterbox feet are too small and theres a LOT of them they are those tiny white feed screwed in. But it's good to know what I did was right at least because my anxiety level was over the roof.

So the feet are extended down to the plywood to support the corners as well?

 

[Notsolostfish]

So the feet are extended down to the plywood to support the corners as well?

Yes all the feet are down to support every corner of the tank. Is that good or bad haha?

 

[WestonNanos]

Yes all the feet are down to support every corner of the tank. Is that good or bad haha?

Got it, I would be super confident with how you have this set up.

 

[Notsolostfish]

Got it, I would be super confident with how you have this set up.

Okay, so I'm good to go? Thank you so much!