Aquarium Mats for Rimless Tanks

[Gigi]

My aquarium broke yesterday. I had him on a very heavy stereo furniture with just a yoga mat underneath.(they don't have aquarium mats that had my size in my area) when I went to my local fish store I could not find an appropriate tank size for my fish. So I had to order online and decided on a 60p Ada tank. When I talked to the shopkeeper of the store he said it probably broke due to pressure points. Since the crack is where my heavy stones used to be he could be right. He said as long the area it sits on is clean of dirt and is very stable you don't need to put an aquarium mat under it or even use a towel. Now since I made a big investment in Ada I wondered if he is right and if not if there are other possibilities? Like the yoga mat or I've read that mouse pads are fine too. I want to hear you guys opinions on what to do? 

[KBOzzie59]

If it's frameless you will want a mat, seems like a yoga mat may be to thick though.

[Ricklax96]

I felt it was better to be safe than sorry. My floors aren't perfectly level in my apartment. Used this on the new 29 gallon and was happy with how easy it was.

https://www.marinedepot.com/innovative-marine-diy-auqa-gadget-self-leveling-aquarium-mat

Edited April 21, 2021 by Ricklax96

[Ryan W]

Contrary to popular belief, yoga mats ARE NOT an appropriate mat for rimless aquariums. I don’t care what anyone says. For a 60p, 5mm closed cell craft foam from a craft store like Joanne’s will work just fine. Buy a couple. Cut to size if you have to and use masking tape to join them if you want “one may”. Joanne’s also sells EVA foam sheets in several thicknesses. I’d get 1/4 inch. EVA foam is a little more dense than regular craft foam and may be a little over kill for a 60p but it would work. Honestly, wherever you ordered your 60p from should have had mats available too (unless they were sold out).

An appropriate mat is essential in my opinion. Rather safe than sorry. It doesn’t have to be an expensive ADA Garden Mat but it does have to have some density along with being supple enough to actually do it’s job: to even out subtle differences in the flatness of the plane that your aquarium is sitting on. Meaning: it fills in the little gaps of unevenness making the surface of your stand flat. 5mm closed cell craft foam/EVA foam is exactly what all of these manufacturers sell as “rimless aquarium mats”. They just put their own marketing on it. Starting with the flattest possible surface as possible is also crucial. A tradition rimmed tank takes pressure on the corners of the tank. That’s what the time is designed to do. When you have a rimless tank, all of the pressure is put across the entire bottom pane of glass. Say one corner of your stands surface is 1/8 of an inch higher than the rest. There is going to be much more significant amounts of pressure going between that high corner and the adjacent corner across the entire length of the bottom pane of glass. A thick enough proper mat will compensate for the difference in the surface topography of your stand.

Plywood makes a great stand surface because it’s flat and doesn’t warp and twist with environmental changes. Solid wood can also make a good surface but solid tends to move a lot with environmental changes due to its grain structure remaining intact and traveling in one direction. As humidity levels change, that grain can make the board twist and warp. Plywood doesn’t do this because it’s comprised of several wood veneer sheets that have the direction of the grain alternating with each sheet. So, one veneer grain goes | the next veneer goes - and there’s usually at least 5 sheets of veneer in a sheet of plywood (there are many different kinds of “plywood”).  Lumber prices are astronomically overpriced at the moment so a new build may not be feasible at the moment. Another thing that makes a great stand would be a kitchen cabinet and a counter top. Relatively cheap, especially when considering a manufactured pre-built aquarium stand, and sturdy as all heck. 
 

TL:DR     Yeah, you should use a mat for a rimless tank and a on flat surface is crucial. It doesn’t have to be an expensive mat. 5mm craft foam does great for 60p sized tanks. 

[Gigi]

41 minutes ago, Ryan W said:

Contrary to popular belief, yoga mats ARE NOT an appropriate mat for rimless aquariums. I don’t care what anyone says. For a 60p, 5mm closed cell craft foam from a craft store like Joanne’s will work just fine. Buy a couple. Cut to size if you have to and use masking tape to join them if you want “one may”. Joanne’s also sells EVA foam sheets in several thicknesses. I’d get 1/4 inch. EVA foam is a little more dense than regular craft foam and may be a little over kill for a 60p but it would work. Honestly, wherever you ordered your 60p from should have had mats available too (unless they were sold out).

An appropriate mat is essential in my opinion. Rather safe than sorry. It doesn’t have to be an expensive ADA Garden Mat but it does have to have some density along with being supple enough to actually do it’s job: to even out subtle differences in the flatness of the plane that your aquarium is sitting on. Meaning: it fills in the little gaps of unevenness making the surface of your stand flat. 5mm closed cell craft foam/EVA foam is exactly what all of these manufacturers sell as “rimless aquarium mats”. They just put their own marketing on it. Starting with the flattest possible surface as possible is also crucial. A tradition rimmed tank takes pressure on the corners of the tank. That’s what the time is designed to do. When you have a rimless tank, all of the pressure is put across the entire bottom pane of glass. Say one corner of your stands surface is 1/8 of an inch higher than the rest. There is going to be much more significant amounts of pressure going between that high corner and the adjacent corner across the entire length of the bottom pane of glass. A thick enough proper mat will compensate for the difference in the surface topography of your stand.

Plywood makes a great stand surface because it’s flat and doesn’t warp and twist with environmental changes. Solid wood can also make a good surface but solid tends to move a lot with environmental changes due to its grain structure remaining intact and traveling in one direction. As humidity levels change, that grain can make the board twist and warp. Plywood doesn’t do this because it’s comprised of several wood veneer sheets that have the direction of the grain alternating with each sheet. So, one veneer grain goes | the next veneer goes - and there’s usually at least 5 sheets of veneer in a sheet of plywood (there are many different kinds of “plywood”).  Lumber prices are astronomically overpriced at the moment so a new build may not be feasible at the moment. Another thing that makes a great stand would be a kitchen cabinet and a counter top. Relatively cheap, especially when considering a manufactured pre-built aquarium stand, and sturdy as all heck. 
 

TL:DR     Yeah, you should use a mat for a rimless tank and a on flat surface is crucial. It doesn’t have to be an expensive mat. 5mm craft foam does great for 60p sized tanks. 

Awesome, thank you so much for the info. I should have known better but then again I learn from my mistakes. I ordered one from the same website where I got my aquarium from and it is ready to assemble tomorrow. Company was sweet to send them together with my aquarium today so I did not had to wait an extra day. I really appreciate the much info you gave and will learn from it. I'm still kinda new to aquariums but to learn along the way is great to far. Even though I had some major set backs like 3 days ago... 

[CT_]

2 hours ago, Ryan W said:

Contrary to popular belief, yoga mats ARE NOT an appropriate mat for rimless aquariums. I don’t care what anyone says.

Out of curiosity why is that?  are they too soft?

[Ryan W]

I believe them to be too soft, yes. All of the ones I’ve bought my wife over the years, I wouldn’t trust a tank on them. Way too much “squish” for my liking. It would probably work for a smaller tank under 10 gallons but I always try to error on the side of caution, especially when it comes to glass boxes full of water in my home lol. YMMV