Tank not level AND gaps between tank and stand

[fred1163]

I'm re-entering the hobby after a 14 year absence, older and wiser (I hope).

This regards a 90 gal all-glass (plastic framed) tank purchased new in 1996, with a manufactured for aquarium use wood (pine) stand, also circa '96.

Set in it's place on my carpeted (thin commercial grade with no pad) basement floor, checked for level and was a little off (1/4 in per 4 ft). No surprise - no biggie, level it later.

So, I started filling it with water as a leak teast. Filled it up about 25% and let it rest for a day-no leaks. Up to 50% next day, and again waited 24 hrs and no leaks. 3rd day filled it to the top and waited again 24 hrs -no leaks!

Thanks for reading through my leak test procedure, but bear with me please!

So, now that I'm confident the old girl won't leak, I started to drain the water. While it was doing it's thing, I did a "walkaround"; kinda like a fighter pilot does with his aircraft before flying a sordie, and noticed a sliver of light coming from between the tank and stand.

When it finished draining, I accessed that the tank does not firmly rest on it's stand in two (diagonal) corners, and along the front at a span of 3-7 inches from a corner. The gaps are at most the thickness of two sheets of standard printer paper, though.

I've googled far and wide, and there's all kinds of conflicting info on this. Very confused.... I want to get my aquarium up and running. What do I need to do???

[Darkblade48]

High density styrofoam always work nicely; the pink kind.

[wkndracer]

Weather stripping works great to pad a tank and fill slight gaps.

[HD Blazingwolf]

WELL
my 75 gallon stand IS level.. and the tnak is not.. on the right hand side i can see underneath it for about 3 inches.. i can stick probabl 9 pieces of paper in there
and i know its not the stand because put on flat ground it does the same thing.. so does this mean its not supported or is it just cut that way and the plastic brace will hold it together??

[scapegoat]

interesting ideas. my 125 stand, or tank perhaps, isnt perfectly level either, with the center being the high point and maybe an 1/8" at either side.

we're taking a belt sander to the stand to level it out, but i never thought of using weather stripping or foam to fill in the space. I'm a bit leery of those options though, as I doubt they've been tested to support 1800lbs

[Darkblade48]

Originally Posted by HD Blazingwolf

WELL
my 75 gallon stand IS level.. and the tnak is not.. on the right hand side i can see underneath it for about 3 inches.. i can stick probabl 9 pieces of paper in there
and i know its not the stand because put on flat ground it does the same thing.. so does this mean its not supported or is it just cut that way and the plastic brace will hold it together??

9 pieces of paper = 3 inches? Perhaps you meant 3 mm?

If the tank has the same tolerance issues when it is placed on a (presumably flat) surface (check with a level), then it is likely the tank (unless both your stand and your floor are off).

If the spacing/gap is only 3 mm, foam will work fine. If it is 3 inches, then I would bring the aquarium back and complain.

Originally Posted by scapegoat

interesting ideas. my 125 stand, or tank perhaps, isnt perfectly level either, with the center being the high point and maybe an 1/8" at either side.

we're taking a belt sander to the stand to level it out, but i never thought of using weather stripping or foam to fill in the space. I'm a bit leery of those options though, as I doubt they've been tested to support 1800lbs

I had about that kind of difference on my 90 gallon, and I used foam to level it out.

[scapegoat]

Originally Posted by Darkblade48

I had about that kind of difference on my 90 gallon, and I used foam to level it out.

still a little scary for long term placement. we're leveling the stand out this weekend, so maybe i'll pick up some of that foam just in case

[driftwoodhunter]

I think he means the gap is equivalent to 9 sheets of paper, and it runs for 3 inches lengthwise where the stand and tank meet (or don't, as it were).

[HD Blazingwolf]

its a 3 inch run lengthwise
its about 9 sheets of paper thick.. maybe 3 mm is accurate..

and the test floor was a coured concrete slab... tank is in my house now with same results..

[scapegoat]

do you think a 1/2" thick piece of insulation board would do the trick? if you take a look at my thread I don't have much room... that might even be too thick. I've got a 3/4" piece of plywood down that I could remove and replace with the board.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sh...962&highlight=

[Darkblade48]

Originally Posted by HD Blazingwolf

its a 3 inch run lengthwise
its about 9 sheets of paper thick.. maybe 3 mm is accurate..

and the test floor was a coured concrete slab... tank is in my house now with same results..

Ahhhhh, that makes more sense now; I wonder why I didn't think of it that way at first.

But I stand by what I said earlier, a piece of foam will work wonders in this case.

Originally Posted by scapegoat

do you think a 1/2" thick piece of insulation board would do the trick?

I can take a measurement of the foam I use when I get home...hopefully I'll remember.

[HD Blazingwolf]

Originally Posted by Darkblade48

Ahhhhh, that makes more sense now; I wonder why I didn't think of it that way at first.

But I stand by what I said earlier, a piece of foam will work wonders in this case.


I can take a measurement of the foam I use when I get home...hopefully I'll remember.

I had actually put the 1/2 inch thick pink foam under both sections of the bottom brace but after filling, the film got pushed down and looked like glass stress fractures so i immediately pulled it out..
i may in the future put it back on a tank tear down but for now, the tank seems well secure and the rise did not measurable drop while filling the tank

[fred1163]

Since my setup is designed to support the tank by it's outer frame only, I don't think I will be able to use sheets of anything. The actual bottom of the tank rests a good 3/4" above where the top of the stand meets the bottom frame of the tank. I may try something similar to wkndracer's idea.

It's a high density closed-cell foam rubber self adhesive strip 1 1/4" W x 3/8" thick. It's the same width as the bottom frame of the tank. Should work?

[lochaber]

Originally Posted by fred1163

Since my setup is designed to support the tank by it's outer frame only, I don't think I will be able to use sheets of anything. The actual bottom of the tank rests a good 3/4" above where the top of the stand meets the bottom frame of the tank. I may try something similar to wkndracer's idea.

You can use sheets, just make sure they are at least as big as the outline/perimeter of the tank. - it will still be betwixt the frame of your tank and the stand it's sitting on.

[wkndracer]

While framed tanks transmit the weight throughout the frame to the supporting edge the majority of the stress (and weight) is on the four corner points. Looking at how the glass panels are joined will help with understanding were the shear load is./

High density foam or rubber works just fine to the nay sayers

4 corner square on framed tanks = no worries