Will This Tank go BOOM?

[Coltrain]

Howdy all some quick advice. I built a stand for my 50G (36x18x19) and eveything worked out well except that it is slightly bowed up in the middle. Tha tank sits fine on like 80% of the middle.. but both left and right edges are about 2/16 - 3/16 above the top. I plan on putting styrofoam underneath the tank to help with this. Should I also try to shim it along the edges or will the styrofoam do the job.

I really want to use this stand but I also don't want a flood in my second storey apartment. Any and all advice would be apprechiated. Once I get this cleared I can start getting some water and plants in the tank.

[JProx]

most of the weight of a filled tank, is distributed along the edges and corners of the tank, and very little pressure is actually applied directly on the middle of the tank. so i am thinking you will be fine if the bow isn't extreme. extreme in my mind would mean the bow arcs so much it actually makes the tank wobble from side to side.

i also built a stand back in febuary and used styrofoam to help with the leveling process, and i can honestly say the foam did almost nothing. on one side of the tank the water sits maybe 1/8 higher than the over. the styrofoam should have made everything level, but in my case it didn't do a thing, so don't bother putting much faith in the foam.

[Oqsy]

is there any way you can remove the top of the stand and shim the frame on the outside edges where it's not touching? that would be better than shimming directly under the tank. my guess is that your vertical beams in the middle (quite attractive i must say) were slightly taller than your outside vertical beams, resulting in your "bow". if you can soundly bring the height of the outside of the frame up to the same height and then reapply the top so that everything is level you should be home free.

Oqsy

[neide]

Its most important that the whole thing is level. Its its level, and the edges are all touching, you should be okay. (And no wobbling of course!)

[Sparky]

I would use a belt sander to take down the high spot on the frame. I would think that you would want the tank to set evenly on all sides including the middle. If this is a glass tank, I would most certainly make sure you have the top of the base level with the tank. I would not chance it. Take the time to make it level and you won't have to shim it and it won't be in the back of your mind if it's gonna hold or not. Just remember, water weighs roughly 8 pounds a gall + the weight of the tank and it's accessories. Styrofoam is not that strong. It will compress under such weight.

Mike

[Bearfan]

The problem with glass is it has very little bending stress before it cracks. Level the stand before you fill it.

[QTOFFER]

Nice stand and welcome to AA!

I agree with everything that's been said. Unfortunately, you're probably going to have a problem if you fill a tank whose side edges are not touching the top by 1/4 - 3/16 inch.

I would suggest buying two 1/2 in thick plywood sheets (24 x 48 in) and clamping/gluing them together to make a super-strong 1 inch thick sheet. Rip this down to a size slightly bigger than your existing top. Attach it to your stand by driving wood screws into it from beneath - this will eliminate the need to fill screw holes. You may have to shim the new top on both sides to make things level. Then slap on some decorative moulding to hide the ugly plywood ends.