Polystyrene Under A Tank- Update Please Advise

[fry_lover]

It will probably be fine until it gets wet/damp then it will start to smell and possibly rot.

the carpet is cut the exact size of the base of the tank, so in theory yes, it could come into contact with water, although based on the size of the carpet and it fitting exactly under the base i feel (and hope) this will be insignificant.

If i ever sense there is any issue with the carpet and water/damp, thankfully we are only dealing with 300 litres of water, it wont be difficult to move the tank and change the plan. It's a Malawi set-up, and i re-arrange the decor completely anyway from time to time (making it feasable and not too much of a hassle to take the tank completely off the stand and re-home the fish for half-a-day in a spare tank)

 

[Rooster]

I would think long and hard before using anything APART from polystyrene .... glass has a very low tolerance for pain, put two sheets together and you can stand on them - now try it with a single grain of sand in between....

Stands are NEVER level so you must use a buffer of some sort.... and poly fits the bill - it distorts easily, and is an insulator to boot.
Its also possible that the base pane is "inside" the other 4 panes, so you could end up with the load being mainly on the upright panes of glass - here the base will drop and break the seals.
The ONE and ONLY time I tried to do without - the corners cracked off all four corners at the base !

You can disguise the edges with plastic trim, or lengths of wood or even insulation tape... but I would consider it a "neccessary evil"

 

[T1KARMANN]

it only takes one small grain of something to be stuck in the carpet than bang goes you tank

i would use carpet underlay the thick type called marathon