Innovative marine APS stand leveling/ gap between tank question

johnmac28 · Jul 24, 2023

exnisstech said:
Just throwing this out there. Is the stand flat on top? If you lay a flat edge across the top does it rock? It almost looks like it may have a high spot in the center. Just wondering if it has leveling feet in the center that are turned out too far causing the center to be raised a little more than the corners.

EDIT: I would not shim between the tank and stand. The only place I would ever use shims is between the stand and floor.

This stand does not have leveling feet. Fortunately my floor is level.
Thanks for the idea and info about not shimming.

moreef · Jul 24, 2023

Wasn’t gonna be able to sleep so took pics of mine and looks ok I think.

johnmac28 · Jul 24, 2023

moreef said:
Wasn’t gonna be able to sleep so took pics of mine and looks ok I think.

Yours looks perfect. I measured glass pane and side with gap appears to be a little shorter than side with no gap.
I appreciate you checking.

moreef · Jul 24, 2023

johnmac28 said:
Yours looks perfect. I measured glass pane and side with gap appears to be a little shorter than side with no gap.
I appreciate you checking.

Wow that is crazy. Really curious what IM says about that.

johnmac28 · Jul 24, 2023

moreef said:
Wow that is crazy. Really curious what IM says about that.

Me too. I predict they will say it’s within spec or will settle and be fine

reefiniteasy · Jul 24, 2023

Here is a link to a video I created a couple years back and the stand issue I had that led to a gap in the corners like yours.

blaxsun · Jul 24, 2023

reefiniteasy said:
Here is a link to a video I created a couple years back and the stand issue I had that led to a gap in the corners like yours.

This is the best explanation yet. I f***king hate the IM APS stands (almost bought ones for my IM tanks until I actually saw them in-person).

What really sucks is that you can no longer buy most of the tanks without an APS stand. Big mistake on IM's part.

johnmac28 · Jul 24, 2023

reefiniteasy said:
Here is a link to a video I created a couple years back and the stand issue I had that led to a gap in the corners like yours.

I actually saw your video last night. Please tell me you got some resolution to your problem!
Thanks for video.

johnmac28 · Jul 24, 2023

blaxsun said:
This is the best explanation yet. I f***king hate the IM APS stands (almost bought ones for my IM tanks until I actually saw them in-person).

What really sucks is that you can no longer buy most of the tanks without an APS stand. Big mistake on IM's part.

johnmac28 · Jul 24, 2023

This is definitely concerning. It seems like overall quality control has declined in this industry, or I am just unlucky lately. I am going to give IM a chance to make it right. If they will not, this makes 2 defective tanks in a row. I will have to ask myself if 3rd tank is a charm or if I need to exit this hobby. BRS really took care of me with my last problem tank. I bought this tank from IM due to inability to not get tank without sump from them. I will post what IM tells me after I speak to them.

johnmac28 · Jul 25, 2023

Well, I got of the phone with IM warranty dept. They said since only that one side was floating above the mat, I was "ok". They also said that if there was unsupported area in the middle, then it would be a cause for concern. I do not know what to think about that. I get that lack of middle support was the cause of a lot of Red Sea ruptures, but I would think that I am at some kind of risk-
What do you guys think?

paragrouper · Jul 25, 2023

I would not accept the tank and I would ask for a refund—not a replacement.

There are other vendors that would certainly want the chance to provide you a proper tank

moreef · Jul 25, 2023

johnmac28 said:
Well, I got of the phone with IM warranty dept. They said since only that one side was floating above the mat, I was "ok". They also said that if there was unsupported area in the middle, then it would be a cause for concern. I do not know what to think about that. I get that lack of middle support was the cause of a lot of Red Sea ruptures, but I would think that I am at some kind of risk-
What do you guys think?

Wow I’m kind of surprised by their response. I thought they would at very least ship out a new stand right away and see if that was issue. What did they say about the length difference in that side of tank? Did they say to put additional foam leveling on that corner at least? Man so sorry

moreef · Jul 25, 2023

Also I would call and talk to the technical people and see what they say if it was just warranty people you spoke with.

exnisstech · Jul 25, 2023

Hopefully you paid with a CC. It doesn't sound like IM thinks there is a concern. Heck just from an aesthetic POV it's unacceptable IMO. I'd be looking at that corner more than the tank itself. Hopefully you get things resolved to your satisfaction.

johnmac28 · Jul 25, 2023

paragrouper said:
I would not accept the tank and I would ask for a refund—not a replacement.

There are other vendors that would certainly want the chance to provide you a proper tank

I was just reading return conditions.

exnisstech said:
Hopefully you paid with a CC. It doesn't sound like IM thinks there is a concern. Heck just from an aesthetic POV it's unacceptable IMO. I'd be looking at that corner more than the tank itself. Hopefully you get things resolved to your satisfaction.

Yeah I wasn’t happy about the “no big deal” attitude. I’ve been reading over the return policy and it is pretty convoluted. Like you, I’m afraid I’m gonna look at the gap more than the life in the tank. I did pay with credit card. I’m going to call them back tomorrow and say that I’m not satisfied and want better resolution than “no big deal, don’t worry”. I appreciate your feedback.

johnmac28 · Jul 25, 2023

moreef said:
Also I would call and talk to the technical people and see what they say if it was just warranty people you spoke with.

Great point. I will be calling them in the morning. Again.
Thank you for the input. I’m definitely not satisfied.

johnmac28 · Jul 25, 2023

moreef said:
Wow I’m kind of surprised by their response. I thought they would at very least ship out a new stand right away and see if that was issue. What did they say about the length difference in that side of tank? Did they say to put additional foam leveling on that corner at least? Man so sorry

Their suggested fix was to stuff some foam in the gap to cover gap and I had nothing to worry about. I was shocked at the reply. I’m going to be more assertive tomorrow.

johnmac28 · Jul 25, 2023

paragrouper said:
I would not accept the tank and I would ask for a refund—not a replacement.

There are other vendors that would certainly want the chance to provide you a proper tank

I could not agree with you more. That will be my position when I call them tomorrow. Thank you for your input.
I did make the mistake of trashing crate. Hopefully that won’t be a problem.

thedon986 · Jul 25, 2023

I almost bought an IM system as well but the stand stopped me. No leveling feet and it just looks underbuilt/barely adequate for an aluminum stand. I DIY'd my aluminum and they can be finnicky for sure. I don't think I saw where you put the level down on all planes of the stand while the tank was off? I would put the level over the stand and start to spin it like clock hands and rocking it to find where the high spot is. Seems to me there has to be one somewhere.