Styrofoam bottom support

[limz_777]

Anyone knows why the Styrofoam get deteriorate until the leftover becomes powder form

[stormhawk]

This is common with the styrofoam we use as bottom supports. Contact with moisture and sunlight can degrade it slowly over time. I used to have this problem, then I just use a plastic sheet and wrap it before placing the tank on it. Works to keep the board in one piece.

By the way, ants do like to tunnel in the styrofoam....

[limz_777]

quite troublesome , i keep cleaning it , the powder keeps reappearing,i also suspect there is some kind of insect tunnelling inside , was thinking of spraying insecticide on it

[stormhawk]

Try to refrain from spraying insecticide anywhere near your tank. If you have the styrofoam in place and there is no way to replace it, leave it as it is. Perhaps use some clear tape and tape the sides if you can. Maybe this can help reduce the "dust" from forming.

[coolgear101]

try to postion the tank in a dry and open space to prevent moisture forming and that will do the trick.

[stormhawk]

The issue with the styrofoam degrading into bits is not rectified by moving it to a drier and more open spot. The styrofoam will degrade over time. This is more due to a quality issue with regards to the styrofoam being sold at the shops. As I mentioned, only by encasing it first with a plastic sheet will you not see this happening in an obvious manner. It happens VERY often even with a tank I used to keep in the corridor, where it would get direct sunlight most of the time. That being said, the tank temperature was pretty high to begin with and still this dust formed.

To position a tank that is completely filled, or even drained for that matter, is a back-breaking task, especially if it's anything above 1 feet. A tank with gravel/substrate, rocks and driftwood can be too heavy to re-position without some extra manpower, just to fix the problem with the styrofoam.