Need advice with tank on stand

FreshSaltyGuy · Oct 7, 2023

Hello all,

Hope someone can give me sounds advice. My 220 gallon tank in now on the stand and is empty. I noticed on the bottom left frame it is somewhat bowed and sits on the plywood more on the front and back corners and raises up very slightly through the middle less than 1/8" of an inch. The opposite side is flat. See pic.
Also the top on the same side is off slightly about 1/8" lower in front than back is something to worry about?

YOYOYOReefer · Oct 7, 2023

If it’s empty would fix before refilling.

FreshSaltyGuy · Oct 7, 2023

YOYOYOReefer said:
If it’s empty would fix before refilling.

How? I have no idea what I need to do. Any advice would be appreciated.

ryanjohn1 · Oct 7, 2023

Is it the tank that’s a bit wonky or the wood that it’s on?

fishyjoes · Oct 7, 2023

If the tank is one of the ones with the plastic rim around the top and bottom, like the ones you get a petco for cheap - those only need to touch on the corners.
If it's a typical rimless aquarium they need to sit flat on the entire bottom
Either way, if the stand seems unstable I would repair or replace.

FreshSaltyGuy · Oct 7, 2023

fishyjoes said:
If the tank is one of the ones with the plastic rim around the top and bottom, like the ones you get a petco for cheap - those only need to touch on the corners.
If it's a typical rimless aquarium they need to sit flat on the entire bottom
Either way, if the stand seems unstable I would repair or replace.

Ok that is good to know. The stand is solid I built it (not sure if that says much lol) with 2x8 and 2x4 it can hold a tank. The corners are touch. Will the tank somewhat level out on it's own once filled?

FreshSaltyGuy · Oct 7, 2023

ryanjohn1 said:
Is it the tank that’s a bit wonky or the wood that it’s on?

No definitely the stand.

edd59 · Oct 7, 2023

fishyjoes said:
If the tank is one of the ones with the plastic rim around the top and bottom, like the ones you get a petco for cheap - those only need to touch on the corners.
If it's a typical rimless aquarium they need to sit flat on the entire bottom
Either way, if the stand seems unstable I would repair or replace.

this is not true, a piece of plastic can not support 220 gallons of water. the stand is defective. you might get away with a piece of foam between tank and stand. personally i would fix it or get a new stand.
maybe put another 3/4" plywood over the top.

FreshSaltyGuy · Oct 7, 2023

edd59 said:
this is not true, a piece of plastic can not support 220 gallons of water. the stand is defective. you might get away with a piece of foam between tank and stand. personally i would fix it or get a new stand.
maybe put another 3/4" plywood over the top.

I'm in the middle of shimming the tank stand. It has helped tremendously. Almost done slow process as I go around shimming and checking level.

Gp! · Oct 7, 2023

Shim the stand so it is level

edd59 · Oct 7, 2023

where are you shimming?

FreshSaltyGuy · Oct 7, 2023

Gp! said:
Shim the stand so it is level

I am all done and everything now super level! Thanks!

FreshSaltyGuy · Oct 7, 2023

edd59 said:
where are you shimming?

Between the floor and bottom of stand

edd59 · Oct 7, 2023

FreshSaltyGuy said:
Between the floor and bottom of stand

that will level the stand, but wont close the gap between stand and tank. looks like the stand frame is not flat.

FreshSaltyGuy · Oct 8, 2023

edd59 said:
that will level the stand, but wont close the gap between stand and tank. looks like the stand frame is not flat.

Oh I took care of that already too lol I put 4 shims between the bottom of plywood and 2x8's closed gap right up. I should be good right?

edd59 · Oct 8, 2023

FreshSaltyGuy said:
Oh I took care of that already too lol I put 4 shims between the bottom of plywood and 2x8's closed gap right up. I should be good right?

yea, sounds good. good luck

Paul B · Oct 8, 2023

If that is regular plywood from like Home Depot I would not use it under any tank. Unless it is "Marine Plywood".
Regular "outdoor" plywood is only outdoor so a home can be built out of it and can take some moisture until the sheeting is installed but if really wet, it will expand as the glue gets wet.

But besides that, I would also put that, or any tank on something like Styrofoam to even out slight imperfections in your stand and the wood you built the stand out of will shrink in time as the wood naturally ages.

Just my opinion and I have built many stands out of metal and wood. The stand I am using now I built out of red wood because it doesn't warp.

Good luck.

FreshSaltyGuy · Oct 8, 2023

edd59 said:
yea, sounds good. good luck

I should be good now right?? Lol

FreshSaltyGuy · Oct 8, 2023

Paul B said:
If that is regular plywood from like Home Depot I would not use it under any tank. Unless it is "Marine Plywood".
Regular "outdoor" plywood is only outdoor so a home can be built out of it and can take some moisture until the sheeting is installed but if really wet, it will expand as the glue gets wet.

But besides that, I would also put that, or any tank on something like Styrofoam to even out slight imperfections in your stand and the wood you built the stand out of will shrink in time as the wood naturally ages.

Just my opinion and I have built many stands out of metal and wood. The stand I am using now I built out of red wood because it doesn't warp.

Good luck.

My stand now is built completely with 2x8 redwood and 2x4 redwood that I painted with Maine grade paint on all sides. I used 3/4" Sande Plywood. I built it to hold 5 elephants lol so I should be good. Unfortunately I am dealing with a floor inside the home that very slightly dips but correcting with shims I'm hoping should be good.

FreshSaltyGuy · Oct 8, 2023

Ok filling the tank up for indoor plumbing test. Everything is PERFECTLY level, no gaps anywhere. I'm happy how this is turning out. Also, going to take the time to clean all the yucky stuff in tank.
Still need to finish the cabinet with nice wood stain and painted. I refuse to do any of that until everything is fully tested. Wish me luck!