PVC Board on top of Stand? (1 Viewer)

[rlpardue]

Hi all,


I was thinking about whether I can skip adding a sheet of plywood on top of my stand and instead use PVC board (called "Sintra" brand PVC). The tank will be 60x36x24" and weigh quite a bit. It is flat-bottomed, glass and has no rim/trim on the bottom, so I need to spread the weight of the tank fairly evenly across the bottom glass panel. The stand is extruded aluminum - two 60-inch beams with four 34.5" cross-beams between the two 60-inch beams. Just not sure what to put on top of the whole thing.


This guy (Synergy Reef) on another website used 1.15" of Sintra (PVC board) directly on top of his aluminum stand, and his tank was acrylic.
The Synergy Reef v2 Official build - 48" x 36" x 30" | Page 2 | REEF2REEF Saltwater and Reef Aquarium Forum


There are two main reasons why I'd prefer not to use plywood unless necessary to keep the bottom panel from being compromised:
1-It's not as attractive-looking
2-I only have until Saturday to get the stand ready for the tank, so it would be rough to have to go buy a 3/4" ply sheet, paint it with Killz, let it dry, maybe paint another coat...




So, is PVC board a reasonable substitute for plywood when it comes to adequately spreading the weight of the tank across the stand?

 

[steveb]

FWIW -

From when I had my acrylic tank.. - because it is soft and flexes you want a really hard smooth surface so as not to introduce a stress point and hard PVC sheet (assuming it is well supported and doesn't sag) would be perfect..I used 2x3/4" sheets of plywood and a thin hard rubber mat (manufacturer was ok with this).

For glass you kind of want just the opposite, with a trimless tank you need a foam board to cushion the entire bottom of the glass. Even for my tank - AGE glass w/stainless the frame and PVC bottom, the manufacturer said to put down a 1/2" sheet of foam board to absorb irregularities.

After looking at the included link that might work.. I was thinking type I PVC sheet originally which is really hard... that is expanded PVC foam board so I am guessing should have some give to it..

Have you discussed with Mike or contacted planet to see if that will work for them? I would do whatever they recommend so as not to void the tank warranty.