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HELP! Stand problem


jlfalin

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so I am finally setting up my180 and discovered a small problem. The stand I built has a top that is not true and I made the mistakeof gluing the plywood down so I cannot shim under the wood. I currently do not have water in the aquarium but have sand and rock. My possible solutions are shim directly between the tank and stand which is what I have currently done. This is an all-glass aquarium with a plastic rim for a bottom. I was just wondering if this will create pressure points and cause the tank to fail. I have shims about every 1.5 inches on the areas that were not in contact with the sand. my backup option is to put some tape on the underside of the aquarium and then put some kind of adhesive to caulk under the spots to fill the whole defect with the tape preventing the tank from sticking to the wood. Please give input on possible solutions or which one you would pick. Rebuilding the stand and trying to get the ply off is not an option for me at this point. Thanks in advance.

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I am with Dustin on this one. I would shim under the stand and not under the tank. I got mine off by not taking into account that my garage has a grade to the door. So I found a 1/4" piece of Luan (under layment for linoleum) and put a piece under that whole side of the stand but just regular door shims should work, nicely...

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I should have been more clear on that one. the tank itself and the stand are level there is just some irregularity in the stand top. because of this the right side of the tank does not touch the stand and a little one the back side. i put shims under the plastic to get help distribute the weight,

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so i was thinkings something like liquid nails or some other adhesive. tape the plastic rim to avoid adhesion to the tank and then put that under the tank. that will fill the defects and max contact of the tank to the stand. what do you think of that idea?

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i was just worried that something like thin set would not withstand the pressure and crumble and potentially fall out form under the aquarium. Im going to stop by lowes on the way home and see what I can find to help support the edge of the aquarium.

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If you're doing it for that purpose, I'd use a self leveling epoxy. It'll serve two purposes by leveling and waterproofing the top.

 

I used it recently on the wooden platform I built to go under my tank and it worked out well and was easy to work with. One kit laid down about 1/8-1/4" on a 96"X48" footprint.

 

http://www.lowes.com/pd_298930-1149-5050110_0__?productId=3366918&Ntt=clear+epoxy&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dclear%2Bepoxy&facetInfo=

 

IMG_2399_zps2313cc50.jpg

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That's nifty, I may have to put down some 1/4" ply on my stand and use the 32oz kit Dustin. That would make me feel better about random drips from the tank potentially making it to my stand that is currently open on the top (visible frame) Previous owner used it without issue so it's probably fine as is but the last thing I'd want is a drop of water coming off the side of my tank right into an electrical component.

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I like the epoxy idea. I looked at that product earlier and cant remember why I never got it for the project. The bad thing is this project has been really drawn out and I have been busy with school so I forgot about the stand being off a little. I have had a friend help me move the tank 4 times during this project for various reasons and he is 30 minutes away so he doesn't come over ofter. So now I am between the epoxy idea if I can get someone to help me move it again or the shim idea. Has anyone ever used shims directly between the tank and top with good results. I guess if there are people that have done this sucessfully then I am ok with it but if not I will do the epoxy.

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Ok. I talked to my friend and he is comming over to help me either tomorrow or Saturday. I like the epoxy idea but it is somewhat expensive and I have some thin plywood and liquid nails here for glue around the house that I can use. The plan is to remove the tank, cut 2" strips of wood and glue them down with excess liquid nails then set the tank on top to "level" the stand top. Of course the stand will be perfectly level before I start and this should true up the top. I will scrape the excess glue off and I should be good to go. I have learned my lesson on this one, when building a stand do NOT glue the top down even if you think it is true because its probably not haha. Anyway small bump but should be fixed soon then I wont have to worry. Im just paranoid that the shims under the tank will creat a stress point and cause the tank to fail.

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Self leveling thinset is what used under my tank, with a half inch layer on styrofoam sheet in top of that. That was the recommendation from my tank manufacturer, somas not to void the warranty. Was really easy to use, and works great.

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Self leveling thinset is what used under my tank, with a half inch layer on styrofoam sheet in top of that. That was the recommendation from my tank manufacturer, somas not to void the warranty. Was really easy to use, and works great.

 

Ken, styrofoam sheets are safe under acrylic tanks and highly recommended.

 

But...For a glass tank with a plastic band they discourage the use of foam. Something about the way in which the structure is designed for a standard glass tank.

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I took some pictures of the shims that where there and then just a general picture of the tank to start showing it off but I am having difficulty tagging the picture. Can someone help me out on that. I am trying to do it from my ipad. The ipad is also why I have had a ton of typo's :-)

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There's no way I would put a shim under the tank directly. I think you're asking for a pressure point and I would be nervous as long as the tank was in my house. Glass is weird, my wife's car must have had a stress point and all of a sudden last summer while driving on a normal road and BAM the glass broke all the way across the windshield without warning. Nothing hit it and no previous chips were present.

 

Why'd you use liquid nails for the top of the stand out of curiosity? A ton of water and glass on top will make sure it doesn't go anywhere.

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You can sometimes get a stress break in glass but it is usually caused from going from one extreme to another (hot to cold or vice versa) I would be willing to bet that there was a chip somewhere from a stone or something along the edge from a previous hit,. Then with the heat of summer and the vibration from the road, it decided to give. I have only seen a couple pieces of glass break without being hit or chipped and it could have been but would think it would have happened prior to you having the car for any length of time. Sometimes in the making of glass there will be an impurity usually a grain of sand, that will compromise the strength or integrity of it.

 

 

That's like shimming the tank, the weight of the water in a 1/2" thick tank will not break it, just not heavy enough. but rather the weight plus not sitting flat on a surface and something dropped, piece of LR or something from the inside that will cause it to break. from not sitting flush. Unless there is a chip or the edges are not seamed correctly from the mfg. Glass is very strong especially when the bottom is heat strengthened or tempered, I have seen a 4 x 8 sheet fall 4' and hit flush and never even chip it but, if you tap the edge it is gone. We stored all of our glass vertical on edge and would roll a table up next to the crate and just drop the glass over onto the table and in 15yrs, I have only seen 2 pieces break from doing so.

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Here is a picture of the shims. Like I said I am fixing this tomorrow but figured I would show off my bad work :D . The other picture is to show the start of the tank. I have 100+ more pounds of rock to add but I will do that once the stand issue is solved.

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For what little that is off, I would still go with the thin set. You can get a cheap 1 x or something and line it up with the bottom of the tank around the outside and tack it to the stand. Kinda like a form so, you know where the top of the thin set should be. That would avoid the airspace under the tank and still allow the tank to sit the way it is supposed to (on the plastic trim) And thin set is cheap and should have a bursting strength of about 300psi or better so, it should not crumble. Like you was concerned it would.

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  • 1 year later...

I am with Dustin on this one. I would shim under the stand and not under the tank. I got mine off by not taking into account that my garage has a grade to the door. So I found a 1/4" piece of Luan (under layment for linoleum) and put a piece under that whole side of the stand but just regular door shims should work, nicely...

I just made this exact mistake on a stand I'm building now, corrected the problem in time though.

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