Slight Hump in the Middle of New Stand

[Harry Muscle]

Hi, I just got my new Miracles Aquariums stand (60" by 18" top) delivered and its got a 1/32" (maybe a tiny bit more) hump in the middle of the stand top (enough that a level rocks back and forth).

I'm going to call Miracles on Monday, but I'm pretty sure they will just tell me to use some styrofoam under the tank (my experience with them hasn't been the best, so I'm pretty sure they will just try to get rid of me).

I'm wondering though what people here think I should do. Since I'm dealing with a hump and the stand is made of plywood, would the weight of the tank possibly flatten out the hump? It doesn't budge when I stand on the stand, but I weigh a lot less than the 112G tank will.

Would a very dense foam help, one dense enough to not fully compress under the weight of the tank. Not styrofoam which once compressed doesn't provide any push back against the tank, but maybe very dense polystyrene which will continue pushing back against the tank.

Or I was thinking of maybe getting a smooth piece of 1/4" plywood and sanding it to fit on top and compensate for the hump.

Thanks,
Harry

 

[brennae]

Geez! I'm never ever buying anything from them. Not like I can afford to but their service and timing has been horrible.

Brenna

 

[sinibotia]

Honestly if you're paying for a nice stand they ought to get it right. I would not let up on them.

Aside from that, I would do the plywood for that size

 

[coralbandit]

Can we get a picture of the stand...
IMO all weight should go to corners...
Any(IMO) or too much pressure in middle is not good...
My 120 is ONLY supported in corners...
How does the level sit if you put a penny in each corner???
Does it 'bridge' the hump???

ADD:
And I wouldn't let those clowns touch it again...

 

[Harry Muscle]

Can we get a picture of the stand...
IMO all weight should go to corners...
Any(IMO) or too much pressure in middle is not good...
My 120 is ONLY supported in corners...
How does the level sit if you put a penny in each corner???
Does it 'bridge' the hump???

ADD:
And I wouldn't let those clowns touch it again...

I'll check that later today and also upload a picture.

Thanks,
Harry

 

[Harry Muscle]

I'll check that later today and also upload a picture.

Thanks,
Harry

Here's a picture of the stand. Let me know if you want to see any other angles.

The hump is basically the sheet of plywood being warped in the center top of the stand and then being fixed in place like that during construction of the stand.

Placing a penny on either side of the stand does bridge the hump.

Thanks,
Harry

 

[Andy Sager]

Personally, I'd demand a flat replacement piece. Center pressure is about the worst and you shouldn't have to alter the stand to fix their mistake/ problem. What if you had a frameless tank? That would surely break under that kind of pressure. So I would either have the company replace the piece or ask the place you bought the stand from to give you a replacement piece.

Hope it all works out for you.

 

[54seaweed]

is there any way to get to the center cross brace I was thinking get a piece of 2x4 and hammer to smack it down in the center ,I think you could get 1/32 out of it with one good bang of the hammer

 

[Andy Sager]

But if you are off just a bit and don't see it, you risk the tank breaking. Why chance it? This is called "Customer Service." If you have a defective piece from a company, the company should do right and fix it or risk public bad reviews of their products and that can kill a company.

 

[Harry Muscle]

But if you are off just a bit and don't see it, you risk the tank breaking. Why chance it? This is called "Customer Service." If you have a defective piece from a company, the company should do right and fix it or risk public bad reviews of their products and that can kill a company.

I've already had a not so great experience with them and I've mentioned that this might result in bad "reviews" on forums and they basically told me that they don't care.

I'm almost positive they will tell me one of two things on Monday when I contact them. We'll refund your money and take everything back (which I'd rather not since I've been waiting six months for this tank and stand). Or they will tell me to use styrofoam under the tank, which I'm not convinced is the best solution. I'm virtually positive they will refuse to actually fix the issue based on my previous experiences with them (there's a thread on here about some of them).

Thanks,
Harry

 

[Andy Sager]

I've already had a not so great experience with them and I've mentioned that this might result in bad "reviews" on forums and they basically told me that they don't care.

I'm almost positive they will tell me one of two things on Monday when I contact them. We'll refund your money and take everything back (which I'd rather not since I've been waiting six months for this tank and stand). Or they will tell me to use styrofoam under the tank, which I'm not convinced is the best solution. I'm virtually positive they will refuse to actually fix the issue based on my previous experiences with them (there's a thread on here about some of them).

Thanks,
Harry

I guess that's where we differ. Having been in the retail pet business, I would never knowingly sell a product that had defects and if that did happen, I'd fix the issue. The fact that they don't care sounds fishy to me but I have no idea about that particular company. Me, I'd tell them to take the product back or shove it where the sun don't shine and buy a better or equal product from another company. You've already invested all this time that another couple weeks shouldn't matter. But that's just me.

 

[sinibotia]

I agree with Andy.

 

[Marty.h]

I had a system supplied from another company and got the system up and running and the sump cracked end to end 4ft sump resulted in a flood.

They came and replaced the sump and less the 24 hours later bang it went again.

I went absolutely mental it turned out the cabinet base had a high spot in the middle and the sump sat on Styrofoam it did not stop that breaking twice !!! They replaced the whole bottom of the unit and been absolutely fine since so going off my own personal experience mopping up 2 floods no way would I trust that.

 

[Harry Muscle]

Thanks for everyone's input and suggestions. The solution that I decided to go with was to get strips of wood to go underneath the tank trim and sand the strips down to compensate for the hump.

I keep forgetting to take better pictures while I'm working on this, but here's what I bought to fix the problem:

The strips are teak wood which does great around water and won't require any coat to provide protection. They are just a little over 1/4" tall and a little less than 2" wide.

I'm almost done sanding the pieces to compensate for the hump and a few other minor irregularities in the stand top. There where a few spots that needed filler, so I used water proof wood glue to provide the extra depth where needed.

I've also ordered neoprene rubber strips that will go in between the teak strips and stand top (overkill probably, but I like overkill).

Thanks,
Harry

 

[Harry Muscle]

I forgot to mention what Miracles Aquariums response was to all this. Just like I expected, they just wanted to get rid of me. The gist of the response was that I should have inspected the stand when it first arrived and informed the delivery driver and that there's a rim around the tank so this should be a non issue.

My personal impression of Miracles Aquariums has gone from great to very much the opposite now.

Thanks,
Harry

 

[Laeris]

Because that's so obvious when it's being delivered! >_> Honestly, do they even want to stay in business?


Sent from my iPad using Aquarium Advice

 

[brennae]

Poor customer service. I live with a master carpenter, I can't imagine how they sell anything or even how the person who built your stand even has a job anymore. And they messed up drilling the tank. How do you not measure twice and cut once? Even I know that. Man, Harry you really should go to the general retailers section and leave them a bad review so no one else falls prey.

Brenna

 

[Harry Muscle]

Quick update ... Miracles has decided to credit me $200 for the hassle. Not great, but not too bad either. I'll take it

Thanks,
Harry