tank dilemma

[esoxlucius]

So, i've built my stand for my 6x2x2 tank, i've also finished my hood. I'm going to get xmas out of the way before i start filling / stocking it etc. So for now the empty tank is sat on the new stand and the hood is in place to. It all looks hunky dory, can't wait to fill it now after xmas. But.....and this is quite a worrying but after listening to what joey just said on a video about styrofoam. I've noticed at the front left corner of the tank there is a bit of give in the 1" styrofoam, i.e. i can ever so slighty wiggle it about with my finger whereas the styrofoam elsewhere is solid, no wiggle at all. I'm pretty sure the tank is true so i'm guessing the left front of my stand top is not quite right by a tiny margin. The big question is...once my tank starts filling will everything sort itself out? Joey says styrofoam should only be relied upon to protect the tank bottom from nail or screw heads. It's christmas guys, i need some good news here! What do you think?

 

[CANAMONSTER]

So, i've built my stand for my 6x2x2 tank, i've also finished my hood. I'm going to get xmas out of the way before i start filling / stocking it etc. So for now the empty tank is sat on the new stand and the hood is in place to. It all looks hunky dory, can't wait to fill it now after xmas. But.....and this is quite a worrying but after listening to what joey just said on a video about styrofoam. I've noticed at the front left corner of the tank there is a bit of give in the 1" styrofoam, i.e. i can ever so slighty wiggle it about with my finger whereas the styrofoam elsewhere is solid, no wiggle at all. I'm pretty sure the tank is true so i'm guessing the left front of my stand top is not quite right by a tiny margin. The big question is...once my tank starts filling will everything sort itself out? Joey says styrofoam should only be relied upon to protect the tank bottom from nail or screw heads. It's christmas guys, i need some good news here! What do you think?

Pictures? What kind of foam did you use? What thickness is the glass of the bottom? Was your stand top completely flat?

 

[esoxlucius]

Pictures? What kind of foam did you use? What thickness is the glass of the bottom? Was your stand top completely flat?

In the picture you can see when i push the styrofoam up there is a slight gap between the foam and ply (its not like this anywhere else). The styrofoam i used is just a standard 1". It came in a 8x4 sheet so i cut it down to size, hence rough edges. I'm going to put trim around eventually to hide the styrofoam and ply. The thickness of glass used throughout is 3/8". As i mentioned my tank is 6x2x2. When i finished the stand it did seem to be very flat. I've only got a 2ft long spirit level though, in hindsight maybe i should have got a longer level and that descrepancy in the corner may have showed up then.

 

[CANAMONSTER]

In the picture you can see when i push the styrofoam up there is a slight gap between the foam and ply (its not like this anywhere else). The styrofoam i used is just a standard 1". It came in a 8x4 sheet so i cut it down to size, hence rough edges. I'm going to put trim around eventually to hide the styrofoam and ply. The thickness of glass used throughout is 3/8". As i mentioned my tank is 6x2x2. When i finished the stand it did seem to be very flat. I've only got a 2ft long spirit level though, in hindsight maybe i should have got a longer level and that descrepancy in the corner may have showed up then.

View attachment 1220703

Always use rigid foam a it is structural. That will be fine though if you can't swap it out.

So you have to find out what's not level. Pull a level out and check the top of the tank front to back in the middle of tank and the sides front to back and also from left to right. Sometimes trim can be off so check the bottom of the tank right on the bottom piece. Check your stand also. Wood has crowns ( curves) if tank is completely sitting level then a wedge under the leg where the corner is low will be good. Don't worry that much as it's a small tank. And the glass is half inch as it looks maybe 5/8 you need to put a tape to see the difference.

 

[coolkeith]

During my last aquarium stand build I had some issues with the dimensional lumber being straight and true. The widths on the 2x4's were anywhere from 3.35" to 3.65" and weren't even from end to end. So I ended up routing the 2x4's to get them as flat as I could. It was a lot of extra work.

 

[esoxlucius]

During my last aquarium stand build I had some issues with the dimensional lumber being straight and true. The widths on the 2x4's were anywhere from 3.35" to 3.65" and weren't even from end to end. So I ended up routing the 2x4's to get them as flat as I could. It was a lot of extra work.

Yeah it's a bummer alright. Thing is i thought i'd done a fantastic job on getting the top of the stand true. Then when you put something on top like an aquarium, which is exceptionally straight and true, it makes your stand look positively awful! The tank's coming off in the new year, i'm going to get myself a nice long spirit level instead of the short one i used and sort it out. Thankfully when i countersank the screws in the ply i didn't fill them with wood filler or it would have been a ***** of a job. As it is i can take the ply off easily and take it from there.

 

[CANAMONSTER]

Take a plainer to it to get it true

 

[Icthisapian]

i think you should remember a few things before ripping your tank off the stand. Foam no matter how dense and structural it is, will compress. especially when 1000+ lbs sits on it. second, there is a chance that corner of foam was already slightly crushed when you installed it (a foot print can do that.) While the foam does help protect against nails and imperfections in the wood, foam really acts as a thermal barrier (heat lose is greatest through contact with a solid surface).

If this were me, and i say this from my experience, i would fill the tank as water is cheap. let the foam sink into itself as it will. See how the level is. If the tank is level, leave it. If it has a significant dip, more than 1/8" which is when the bubble on a bubble level breaks the line, then i would tear down and reset.

Another thing you need to consider is glass, wood, and everything will have slight irregularities. If you prepped the surface of the plywood for the stand, you could place the tank directly on the wood. I use floor self leveling compound, which ensures a near glass like surface for the tank to sit on. I've even considered a layer of fine sand to help settle the tank onto the stand (like laying a patio) but have never done this as self leveler works so well.

Where are you? i'm in Mass and don't mind stopping in to give a hand patching this up and donating supplies if you're local.

 

[esoxlucius]

i think you should remember a few things before ripping your tank off the stand. Foam no matter how dense and structural it is, will compress. especially when 1000+ lbs sits on it. second, there is a chance that corner of foam was already slightly crushed when you installed it (a foot print can do that.) While the foam does help protect against nails and imperfections in the wood, foam really acts as a thermal barrier (heat lose is greatest through contact with a solid surface).

If this were me, and i say this from my experience, i would fill the tank as water is cheap. let the foam sink into itself as it will. See how the level is. If the tank is level, leave it. If it has a significant dip, more than 1/8" which is when the bubble on a bubble level breaks the line, then i would tear down and reset.

Another thing you need to consider is glass, wood, and everything will have slight irregularities. If you prepped the surface of the plywood for the stand, you could place the tank directly on the wood. I use floor self leveling compound, which ensures a near glass like surface for the tank to sit on. I've even considered a layer of fine sand to help settle the tank onto the stand (like laying a patio) but have never done this as self leveler works so well.

Where are you? i'm in Mass and don't mind stopping in to give a hand patching this up and donating supplies if you're local.

Thanks for the kind offer but i'm in the uk!!! You're probably dead right, if i slowly fill my tank i reckon the foam will compress under the weight and things will even themselves out nicely. But as it is my first stand build that corner where my styrofoam is wobbly will forever haunt me. I got a 6 foot level today. The tanks coming off in the next couple of days and i'm going to sort it so it won't worry me in the future.

 

[freak78]

On my stand builds I don't ever use styrofoam. I just try and level the stand as true as possible. I never shim under the Tank I just make the stand level. I use a 4 don't level to check in every direction I can.