Help With Double Stand

[Jon M]

Okay. So I constructed squares for the tank to sit on using gorilla glue and 3" deck screws. Then attached them all in the same measured place to legs on the side with gorilla glue and deck screws. Also, included a support piece on the sides that is screwed and glued to the legs and the side of the square the tank sits on.

Problem. Neither of the squares are level?! When I tested putting one of the 40g tanks on the top it was only touching in the front right corner and back left corner. When filled half with water it twisted the tank a bit from measuring the top so I certainly drained and now have it on the floor.

What the hell went wrong? I think possibly it's because some of the 2x4s were warped?

Well, I need this situation fixed. Suggestions? I was going to wake up early tomorrow and go get a power sander from a pawn shop and just sand the 2x4 down until it's all level and all four sides/corners are touching with the tank on there. Any suggestions on seeing if it's all even after sanding besides just sanding, putting the tank up and eye balling it, then taking it down, sanding again, etc?

Also I planned on getting a cheap hack saw tomorrow and chopping down the extra at the top of the legs to about 2-3" above where the top tank is going to sit.

 

[Jon M]

Wow, nothing? Alright well I've thought it threw a bit. I woke up early and went and bought a power sander, got some 40 grit sand paper and 4 pieces of plywood cut to 36.5 x 18.5 that are 7/16 thickness. I believe I'm going to sand it all flat real good, and then double up the plywood and screw it on there. Hope that solves the problem.

 

[greenbud]

the dobled over ply wood is over kill. a single sheat would be more then fine. as far as how to fix it I have a table saw and would simply cut and shim it. you seem to ha a limited amount of tools to use so this edea could still be done using pre cut shims. also in the future gorilaglue has a very bad habit of expanding and warping even will clamped projects. elmers wood glue or for over kill liquid nail would have been a better choice.

 

[greenbud]

side odservation note you look to be setting up on carpet I would put a piece of plywood down on the spot on the floor this is going and see if the carpet is glued or if they used tack striping and there is a raised edge you cant see

 

[Jon M]

Thanks for the advice man. I realize I was working on carpet so I moved this into my hall way where I have hard wood floor. Noticed one leg is at least 1/16th higher than other 3. I sanded the other three down significantly and now they are all flat and even. That seriously helped with the wobbling. I am very limited on supplies and the power sander today was the end of my budget as far as buying tools. I used a regular saw to hack off the tops that were really high down to 3" off where the tank sits. I realize the double ply is overkill but I know it'll guarantee the tank sits flat right? Knowing that I still want to double it up. Besides that I'm currently still sanding down the spot the ply is going to sit and making it all as flat as I can before I screw this ply down.

I was under the impression gorilla glue was some of the best which is why I got it. Was a bit more expensive and I know I've seen other people on here use it which is why I grabbed it. Expanding fact noted for next project. I might not even use glue on next project I just wanted to be super overkill on this since the wood legs aren't actually UNDER the tanks since it's a double stand. Better safe than sorry. My 125g stand that I built could practically hold a car, but that was a breeze cause I had my Dad, the tool man, and his knowledge, tools, and garage. He's moved so this is my first solo stand.

 

[Pharaoh]

Yeah, when you build stand like that you have to be careful about ensuring that everything is level to start with. I usually have to end up sanding them or shimming the stand when I'm finished.

 

[z400]

You could have made the stand 4-5 inches wider and that would have enabled you to place each section on wood instead of using screws to support each section.
I would have gone that route if i were you.


But it doesnt look to bad.
Your going to need to make sure your platform for each tank is 100% true and flat, or else you could expect
1 or 2 broken/leaky aquariums for sure.

 

[Jon M]

Yeah, when you build stand like that you have to be careful about ensuring that everything is level to start with. I usually have to end up sanding them or shimming the stand when I'm finished.

We sanded for hours today...

You could have made the stand 4-5 inches wider and that would have enabled you to place each section on wood instead of using screws to support each section.
I would have gone that route if i were you.

But it doesnt look to bad.
Your going to need to make sure your platform for each tank is 100% true and flat, or else you could expect
1 or 2 broken/leaky aquariums for sure.

Yeah, I was having some serious issues. So when I put the tanks on two corners were elevated and two weren't... So we took the tank off and sanded the hell out of the corners till they all seemed level. Tank up, same problem. So I went and grabbed some flat plywood at HD and had it cut to fit perfectly in there. Doubled it up, screwed it all down, same damn problem. Spent hours sanding down the corners/edges where the tank was elevated and still we would have an elevated corner. As it is we got all corners on the flat surface except one so I put a bit of wood wedge under the remaining corner and we set it all up. They seem alright but I can't fathom how the hell I couldn't get them flat. Specially since the plywood should have fixed the problem. You think if I screwed it down it bent to the elevation differences on the 2x4 underneath it? Huge pain... Should have just payed this damn guy on craigslist to make it for us for 60$ considering we thought that was expensive and ended up paying way more and having all these problems... (Of course we don't know that guy from nothing and he could have made us something worse since he's never even made a fish tank stand before)

 

[z400]

Well from what you have explained...It sounds like you have a pretty big issue on hand with the surface area where the tanks are sitting not being true.

I HIGHLY suggest going down to Home Depot or Lowes and buying a 4x8 sheet of Insulation board that is used on the exterior of houses.
You can buy a 1/2" thick sheet for about $8-$10.

This will soften the imperfections of the stand and will allow your tanks to sit flat on the wood.

 

[Jon M]

Well from what you have explained...It sounds like you have a pretty big issue on hand with the surface area where the tanks are sitting not being true.

I HIGHLY suggest going down to Home Depot or Lowes and buying a 4x8 sheet of Insulation board that is used on the exterior of houses.
You can buy a 1/2" thick sheet for about $8-$10.

This will soften the imperfections of the stand and will allow your tanks to sit flat on the wood.

I agree. I can't stop thinking about this and I can't see it being good on the tank long term. I was just discussing this with Hope and telling her I am almost ready to go spend some of my paycheck tomorrow on new wood and screws and redueing the whole thing. I would prefer not to do this since I really don't have the money and this took both of my days off and it was exhausting.

This suggestion you just made somes much simpler than reudueing the whole stand and throwing this one away. Is this insulation board soft enough to were I can take the wedge of wood out of the one corner and just set the tank down on it and the tank will sit flat? I'd say the gap in the one corner is about 1/16th". If this will fix the problem I'll go threw the hassle of removing all the fish, draining the tank, taking it down, and putting it back up if you believe this will resolve the issue.