Another urgent 125 gallon stand issue….

[cmsbthebest]

Hey all,

was just sitting next to my 125 with the newly built stand when I heard a crack. I inspected the entire stand and found an 8 inch crack in the top horizontal support:



I have some extra 2x4’s and it looks like if need be on Wednesday I can replace the whole 2x4.

Do you think replacing the whole 2x4 is necessary? Are there any other solutions? The stand has 7 legs mostly built of 2x6 and is definitely over engineered, but clearly there is a fault here with this board

 

[tlindsey]

Hey all,

was just sitting next to my 125 with the newly built stand when I heard a crack. I inspected the entire stand and found an 8 inch crack in the top horizontal support:

View attachment 1465436

I have some extra 2x4’s and it looks like if need be on Wednesday I can replace the whole 2x4. If the 2x6 runs all the way up to the corner then you may be ok.

Do you think replacing the whole 2x4 is necessary? Are there any other solutions? The stand has 7 legs mostly built of 2x6 and is definitely over engineered, but clearly there is a fault here with this board

Sorry to see that I personally would replace the 2x4.

 

[tlindsey]

Sorry to see that I personally would replace the 2x4.
[/QUOTEOK.

If the 2x6 is flush in that corner with the plywood top you may be ok.

 

[cmsbthebest]

Thanks for the advice.

The 2x6 leg does make contact with the plywood on the inside of the frame. However, I honestly don't feel comfortable with that big of a crack. I have the wood and the time to replace it so I will.

Just gonna be another long day......

 

[Tj203]

I would get a level out and figure out Why it cracked The standing must have not been level. A glass take needs to be supported all the way around on the outside rim. When that stand shifted it could have came back in to level or now there is even more pressure one one side than the other and the tank is about to crack next. If that stand was built right it would have never cracked right there. That is right under a support there should have been no room for that to move.

 

[esoxlucius]

Even if that particular length of wood had a flaw in it i wouldn't expect it to crack like that in the place it has. It is right above your supports and it's your supports which are load bearing. That piece of wood, at that point, shouldn't be under any stress to make it crack.

However, if your stand isn't quite true all round, maybe marginally twisted for example, then once the weight of the tank is pushing down, any "twist" is corrected and this could be the reason why it's cracked.

If I am correct, and it is just a hunch by the way, then replacing the piece of 2x4, without addressing any twisting issues, will mean it is likely to happen again. The tank needs to come off and I'd get a set square on it and give it a thorough check.

 

[cmsbthebest]

I would get a level out and figure out Why it cracked The standing must have not been level. A glass take needs to be supported all the way around on the outside rim. When that stand shifted it could have came back in to level or now there is even more pressure one one side than the other and the tank is about to crack next. If that stand was built right it would have never cracked right there. That is right under a support there should have been no room for that to move.

Even if that particular length of wood had a flaw in it i wouldn't expect it to crack like that in the place it has. It is right above your supports and it's your supports which are load bearing. That piece of wood, at that point, shouldn't be under any stress to make it crack.

However, if your stand isn't quite true all round, maybe marginally twisted for example, then once the weight of the tank is pushing down, any "twist" is corrected and this could be the reason why it's cracked.

If I am correct, and it is just a hunch by the way, then replacing the piece of 2x4, without addressing any twisting issues, will mean it is likely to happen again. The tank needs to come off and I'd get a set square on it and give it a thorough check.

Thanks for these comments, Yesterday evening while doing some investigating with a level, I found that the back 6 inches of my garage floor are unlevel. This corner is about 4-5 inches off the wall so that corner sits in the unlevel spot. I was super focused on the leveling of two different corners when I set up the stand and missed this one. The top of the stand is pretty level at that corner, but the bottom of the leg is not, which may be the source of the problem.

On Wednesday when I replace the 2x4, the tank is going to be pulled farther out from the wall onto more level ground and I am going to make sure each corner is thoroughly inspected to make sure they are level before the tank goes back on.

 

[Tj203]

Thanks for these comments, Yesterday evening while doing some investigating with a level, I found that the back 6 inches of my garage floor are unlevel. This corner is about 4-5 inches off the wall so that corner sits in the unlevel spot. I was super focused on the leveling of two different corners when I set up the stand and missed this one. The top of the stand is pretty level at that corner, but the bottom of the leg is not, which may be the source of the problem.

On Wednesday when I replace the 2x4, the tank is going to be pulled farther out from the wall onto more level ground and I am going to make sure each corner is thoroughly inspected to make sure they are level before the tank goes back on.

I'm not sure about your setup but if you can get to the bottom of the stand I would shim it all around. I like the plastic shims also I would not replace that piece old wool unless you want to or don't have the room to reinforec the stand. The way i would look at it is the stand settled and now the wood is all compressed and nice and tight. I would sister a board on the back if you could if you don't have the room I would just throw some more supports in. I don't know how long your level is but if you can put it across the top and just make sure it is flat. No deviation in height is more important than level side to side and front the back. I would also play the lotto that the stand went and not the tank. I would assume the tank is still up and running if possible I would lower the water level as much as possibly and try and take some of the stress off that tank. You can also just put a piece of plywood on the top and shim that. Depending on the length of your tank even a 1/16 of an inch off in hight can cause damage

 

[cmsbthebest]

I'm not sure about your setup but if you can get to the bottom of the stand I would shim it all around. I like the plastic shims also I would not replace that piece old wool unless you want to or don't have the room to reinforec the stand. The way i would look at it is the stand settled and now the wood is all compressed and nice and tight. I would sister a board on the back if you could if you don't have the room I would just throw some more supports in. I don't know how long your level is but if you can put it across the top and just make sure it is flat. No deviation in height is more important than level side to side and front the back. I would also play the lotto that the stand went and not the tank. I would assume the tank is still up and running if possible I would lower the water level as much as possibly and try and take some of the stress off that tank. You can also just put a piece of plywood on the top and shim that. Depending on the length of your tank even a 1/16 of an inch off in hight can cause damage

So I actually have used plywood and shims to level out the top of the stand after noticing there was a big difference in leg height (1/8 inches) when I placed the stand. Some more detail here:

EMERGENCY 125 GALLON STAND HELP

Currently setting up the newly built 125 gallon stand and I've got a big problem: Each corner is not the exact height.... I've measured 3 of the corners and they are 28", 27 15/16" and 27 14/16". Not sure about the fourth leg just yet. My fish are all sitting in buckets with aerators so...

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

With shims and plywood I was able to get the entire stand within 1/32 of an inch except for one single point in the front that was closer to 1/16. This made it to where the tank is perfectly level left to right, and more level front to back (but I would like to improve this level).

I was so concerned with this issue that I completely missed checking the level of the floor. If I had seen how bad it was, I would have never placed the tank in that spot. I'm pretty sure I caught this issue when I last set up the tank, because it was previously a lot farther off the wall.

I think the problem here is just how unlevel/higher the floor is in the back of the stand vs the level of the tank. That difference must have put a lot of compressing pressure on the back half of the stand. I think that part of the 2x4 had a slight crack form the screw and became the weak point for the pressure, thus cracking even more. It may be more settled now, but I don't feel comfortable with how unlevel the floor is, its pretty bad.

For long term peace of mind I want to move the tank just 2-3 inches out from the wall, where the floor is significantly more level. Since I have to move the tank anyways, I might as well replace the 2x4. I already have the lumber and it won't be too difficult, just time consuming.

 

[Tj203]

So I actually have used plywood and shims to level out the top of the stand after noticing there was a big difference in leg height (1/8 inches) when I placed the stand. Some more detail here:

EMERGENCY 125 GALLON STAND HELP

Currently setting up the newly built 125 gallon stand and I've got a big problem: Each corner is not the exact height.... I've measured 3 of the corners and they are 28", 27 15/16" and 27 14/16". Not sure about the fourth leg just yet. My fish are all sitting in buckets with aerators so...

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

With shims and plywood I was able to get the entire stand within 1/32 of an inch except for one single point in the front that was closer to 1/16. This made it to where the tank is perfectly level left to right, and more level front to back (but I would like to improve this level).

I was so concerned with this issue that I completely missed checking the level of the floor. If I had seen how bad it was, I would have never placed the tank in that spot. I'm pretty sure I caught this issue when I last set up the tank, because it was previously a lot farther off the wall.

I think the problem here is just how unlevel/higher the floor is in the back of the stand vs the level of the tank. That difference must have put a lot of compressing pressure on the back half of the stand. I think that part of the 2x4 had a slight crack form the screw and became the weak point for the pressure, thus cracking even more. It may be more settled now, but I don't feel comfortable with how unlevel the floor is, its pretty bad.

For long term peace of mind I want to move the tank just 2-3 inches out from the wall, where the floor is significantly more level. Since I have to move the tank anyways, I might as well replace the 2x4. I already have the lumber and it won't be too difficult, just time consuming.

Just a thought u can put a piece of plywood on the bottom of your stand and then use half inch foam like they use under the acrylic tanks and it will soak up all the imperfections or also Maybe you can Sandwich 2 pieces of plywood with some foam in the middle on the top to soak up the imperfection you would probably only need quarter inch fome for that 1. Your tank is not that big but when I do bigger tanks like mine I put plywood underneath just to dispersed the weight better and not have all the weight on a few legs. Sounds like you know what you are doing( most people don't know what a 1/32 is lol)? good luck