Cause for concern? Seams appear slightly separated

A_Taylor58 · May 2, 2018

I've had my tank up and running for a few weeks now and noticed that the front panel isn't fitting as tightly as it was when I built the cabinet, prior to putting the tank on and filling it up (about 2,000 lbs!). Same goes for the other three corners. This isn't brand new, seems to have been this way for a while, but it's starting to unnerve me.

This is on the Red Sea Peninsula 650, so with a 355 lbs tank, another 1600+ lbs of rock, sand and water, I'm really hoping the stand holds up!

Anyone else noticed this on their tanks? Just mine? Cause for concern?

WWIII · May 2, 2018

It looks a little worrisome, but hard to tell without a little more info or pictures? How was the stand built? What type of lumber, how much, how are the corners built?

You say you built the cabinet/stand correct? Or is this the stand that came with the RSR?

A_Taylor58 · May 2, 2018

WWIII said:
It looks a little worrisome, but hard to tell without a little more info or pictures? How was the stand built? What type of lumber, how much, how are the corners built?

It's a Red Sea Peninsula 650. I built the stand according to the directions.

WWIII · May 2, 2018

A_Taylor58 said:
It's a Red Sea Peninsula 650. I built the stand according to the directions.

Oh I see... Hopefully some others will chime in with some insight for ya! I've actually never even seen one in person. I know there's plenty of guys here that have them though.

Dom · May 2, 2018

Yeah... I understand your concern. I've never seen any Red Sea setup, so I really can't remark without more pictures.

I know it is a big job to empty that tank, but cleaning up a collapse will be an even bigger job.

If the tank is sound, I'd build a temporary stand out of cement block, and get it off the stand.

Where are you located?

Flippers4pups · May 2, 2018

I've never had one, but from the pictures it looks like it's pulling away. Can you tighten the hardware from the inside. Doesn't look right.

SuncrestReef · May 3, 2018

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm assuming the photos you posted show the side of the cabinet where it meets the front doors of the cabinet, and that gap with pink light shining through is between the cabinet and the doors. If that is the case, it's just a matter of how the door hinges are connected and adjusted. The two adjustment screws on each Red Sea door hinge adjust how far the door sits forward or back from the cabinet, and how far the door leans right or left towards the adjacent door. I doubt the gap you see is related to the frame of the cabinet flexing under the weight of the tank, but simply how the door is adjusted with the hinge screws. I had to adjust mine several times to get the doors evenly lined up with the cabinet and with the adjacent door. Unfortunately on my Reefer 425 XL you can't adjust the bottom hinge once the sump is in place, but the top hinge is still accessible.

Dom · May 3, 2018

Good point! Looking at the pics again, that DOES look like what is going on.

JoshH · May 3, 2018

SuncrestReef said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm assuming the photos you posted show the side of the cabinet where it meets the front doors of the cabinet, and that gap with pink light shining through is between the cabinet and the doors. If that is the case, it's just a matter of how the door hinges are connected and adjusted. The two adjustment screws on each Red Sea door hinge adjust how far the door sits forward or back from the cabinet, and how far the door leans right or left towards the adjacent door. I doubt the gap you see is related to the frame of the cabinet flexing under the weight of the tank, but simply how the door is adjusted with the hinge screws. I had to adjust mine several times to get the doors evenly lined up with the cabinet and with the adjacent door. Unfortunately on my Reefer 425 XL you can't adjust the bottom hinge once the sump is in place, but the top hinge is still accessible.

This ^

A_Taylor58 · May 3, 2018

SuncrestReef said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm assuming the photos you posted show the side of the cabinet where it meets the front doors of the cabinet, and that gap with pink light shining through is between the cabinet and the doors. If that is the case, it's just a matter of how the door hinges are connected and adjusted. The two adjustment screws on each Red Sea door hinge adjust how far the door sits forward or back from the cabinet, and how far the door leans right or left towards the adjacent door. I doubt the gap you see is related to the frame of the cabinet flexing under the weight of the tank, but simply how the door is adjusted with the hinge screws. I had to adjust mine several times to get the doors evenly lined up with the cabinet and with the adjacent door. Unfortunately on my Reefer 425 XL you can't adjust the bottom hinge once the sump is in place, but the top hinge is still accessible.

It’s actually the side opposite the doors.

A_Taylor58 · May 3, 2018

Flippers4pups said:
I've never had one, but from the pictures it looks like it's pulling away. Can you tighten the hardware from the inside. Doesn't look right.

Was able to tighten from the inside ever so slightly. There’s almost one ton of weight on top of it. It also doesn’t seem to be widening; the gap seems to have been this wide since I fired up the refugium light over a week ago.

lapin · May 3, 2018

To help tighten it a little more you might try to put a load tie down strap around the stand and tighten that a bit, then tighten the screws a bit more. It will help take the pressure off the screws.

A_Taylor58 · May 3, 2018

lapin said:
To help tighten it a little more you might try to put a load tie down strap around the stand and tighten that a bit, then tighten the screws a bit more. It will help take the pressure off the screws.

That's actually my plan! Thank you for taking the time to contemplate and make that suggestion.

A_Taylor58 · May 3, 2018

A few photos of "Operation Fix Corner Separation."

First, I used a wratchet strap to tighten the corners. I was able to tighten them enough without having to drain the tank, thank heavens. So freakin stoked about that.