Innovative Marine Stand not going together square.

[RocketEngineer]

After two years out of the hobby, I bought my first new tank in several years: a Nuvo 100 Ext with the APS stand as part of the Black Friday sales. Everything arrived just fine, which was a major concern as my wife had to sign for it and the crate was slightly damaged but the tank itself was just fine. However, the issue I'm having is that the stand does not seem to go together square. When I put one of the front cross rails in place initially, it was at a noticeable angle relative to the end assembly. I went ahead with putting the rest of the stand together but when I turned it upright and looked at it, the top is not square. Measuring cross corners shows about a 3/4" difference between the two measurements. Has anyone else come across this issue? Is there some step I'm missing that isn't in the directions to ensure the stand is assembled properly? I haven't given up yet on making this work but could sure use some input from folks who have the same stand.

Thanks.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Hello

I’ve never done an IM stand, but a bump may find someone who has

Also, not sure but is this similar to yours?

 

[RocketEngineer]

That is pretty much what I have but it was NOT that simple to assemble. Instead I fought to get things together from the get go.

 

[kyleinpdx]

I’ve had an IM lagoon 25 with the aps stand for a year or so now. (Actually have the lagoon 50 ext on a pallet in the garage, much like you I upgraded on Black Friday) Honestly I’m not the biggest fan of the aps stands as I had trouble getting mine square as well. What I ended up doing was getting it assembled but leaving the locking mechanisms loose then I beat it with a rubber mallet until I was happy with it then cranked down the locking mechanisms. I also worked it in three sections, got the base square against itself, the top square against the base and then the uprights. I’m anticipating a fight with the new stand as well, however I’d rather deal with the pain of setting it up then have a particleboard stand. Seriously, try being rough with it. It’s alu after all, you won’t hurt it unless you try.

 

[RocketEngineer]

After reading that, I decided to give it another go. I took out all the secondary bars and got everything else square with a framing square before cranking the cams right. This time it’s much much better. I’ll install the small bars later so I can measure and position them properly. The engineer in me despises eyeball placement. Thanks.

 

[Sharkbait13]

Hello, I just got an APS open stand for the fusion 14, got it on sale! However, when I assembled it, it was rough but I finished it and it was level, I brought it upstairs to my room, and checked for level everything was off, I look and I see these small gaps and now im concerned because I already started cycling. Any tips?

 

[Sharkbait13]

Hello, I just got an APS open stand for the fusion 14, got it on sale! However, when I assembled it, it was rough but I finished it and it was level, I brought it upstairs to my room, and checked for level everything was off, I look and I see these small gaps and now im concerned because I already started cycling. Any tips?

 

[Azedenkae]

After two years out of the hobby, I bought my first new tank in several years: a Nuvo 100 Ext with the APS stand as part of the Black Friday sales. Everything arrived just fine, which was a major concern as my wife had to sign for it and the crate was slightly damaged but the tank itself was just fine. However, the issue I'm having is that the stand does not seem to go together square. When I put one of the front cross rails in place initially, it was at a noticeable angle relative to the end assembly. I went ahead with putting the rest of the stand together but when I turned it upright and looked at it, the top is not square. Measuring cross corners shows about a 3/4" difference between the two measurements. Has anyone else come across this issue? Is there some step I'm missing that isn't in the directions to ensure the stand is assembled properly? I haven't given up yet on making this work but could sure use some input from folks who have the same stand.

Thanks.

I have seen similar issues, and experienced it myself too. Luckily mine was only *just* not square enough that with the added padding it was still fine. But yeah, the APS stands are terrible for their price (or even not for their price in this case).

3/4" is A LOT though. That's pretty crazy. Mine was more like 1/4-1/2". Can you contact IM and see if they can send a replacement? Or a refund? I still have not figured what alternative is best, so not sure what else to get to replace it. But it can be pretty frustrating.

 

[ilikebeef]

I just talked to Brian from Innovative Marine a couple days ago, he is a pleasant person.
Give them a call and talk to them. Get my tank and stand delivered in a week, hope it
comes together alright.
I watched this video a couple times, maybe it helps