DIY Stand

[smnw10]

I built a stand for my 65 gallon out of 2x4s, roughly 36 inches x 18 inches. The stand is plenty sturdy but my question is I have the tank sitting on top of the 2x4s on top, and there is a very slight gap from the bottom of the tank to the 2x4 on 1 of the 3 corners. It's maybe 1mm gap on that corner for 5-6 inches in each direction before the wood tapers back to touching the base of the tank.

I'm assuming this isn't good? How do you go about ensuring the entire edges of the tank are touching or is it necessary?

John

 

[cabezon]

it will not be good for the tank in the long run. look for some shims that you can slid in and then cut to size.

 

[meegosh]

If the tank is glass and has the black or oak plastic trim on it then, yes, you will need to fix that ASAP. The weight of the tank is transferred through the corners of the tank. I would be VERY concerned with the tank cracking due to stress on the bottom glass panel. Some shims would be the best bet. Is the tank level otherwise? If not, shim the stand, not the tank.

 

[smnw10]

It's an oceanic tank, glass. Nothing in it, getting everything setup now (rocks and sand will be here this week). I'm not the best carpenter by any means, not sure if the 2x4 is slightly warped at that one corner or what the deal is.

the stand is level otherwise, I'm going to borrow a belt sander and see if that will easily bring everything even, if not I'll shim it.

 

[cabezon]

If you are not the best carpenter, a belt sander might not be a good idea. lol. ever get a haircut from a relative?

wood is never perfect, there are twists and warps. you could end up sanding for a long time and have something flat, but not level. or worse. If most of the top is flat except in the corner, save yourself the headache and add to the wood rather than try to take away. slip a shim in, tap it with a hammer, and then slap it to break it. done.

 

[jsoong]

You want to shim all the way around so the tank touches the wood completely around the perimeter, and not just at the corners. This is a much more demanding shim job than you might think.

Depending on your carpentry skill as to how to proceed. The elegant solution is to take a smoothing plane & take it down to dead flat. You might also try this with a belt sander, but you will not have nearly as much control compared to a good sharp plane <You can control depth to a few thousandth of an inch with proper planing.> . Shimming with wood is time consuming as you will have to go around the entire perimeter & shim all the gaps just right, and in the end, the result will not be pretty.

There is another way to shim. You use a sheet of 1" rigid foam & place it on top of the stand & place your tank on top of it. The weight of the tank will deform the foam & give you complete contact around the perimeter. This fix, however, is meant for slight unevenness in the middle of the span. I am not sure if it is that safe when you have a low corner. Since you are still in the building phase, I would think it is worthwhile to spend the time & get the top totally flat.

 

[smnw10]

thanks for the info
Maybe I'm trying to split hairs here but the gap was maybe 1mm and tapered off to nothing. I sanded down the stand and ended up with the slightest of gaps across the front section, in places it was only enough that a piece of paper could just slide through but 2 pieces couldn't. I tried shimming some of it but when the gap was that slight I couldn't get anything to go in without raising up the whole tank...and it was ugly!

I said nuts on it and took some 1 inch particle board (really strong stuff) and cutout and put it on top of the stand and the aquarium on top of it. Now there is not gap at all from the board to the aquarium. I was thinking about some sort of thin layer of foam board to fill any gaps but I think all is well now.

Maybe I'm just being overly cautious but I wasn't sure how exactly the tanks distribute weight and what were necessities when building the stand. All the DIY threads made it seem soo easy

 

[thincat]

IMO i lthink you are good to go. Fill her up and enjoy. You have taken more precautions then most people would.

 

[jsoong]

You are good to go! Once you get it down to 1 piece of paper's worth of gap, that is consider dead flat by the highest furniture standard!

Go ahead & enjoy the tank, & pat yourself on the back for a job well done.