Planet Aquariums Stand gap in support. Is this an issue?

[LandoCommando]

Hi, new member here with a question about a stand I recently purchased from Planet Aquariums.

I have a 150 gallon tank that I purchased a new stand for. While inspecting it noticed a 1/16" gap between the top of the stand and the inner support on the rear right corner. As you can see by the pictures it is large enough to fit a shim in the gap with no effort. The outer piece of wood is flush with the top, but the inner piece of wood of course has this gap.

How big of an issue is this? Should I warranty this thing? I haven't set up my tank yet so this has not been used. I know getting Planet to fulfill warranties is a pain, so I'm considering just plugging the gap with shims and some wood glue but of course will not do that if it's going to affect the warranty.

The rest of the stand seems perfectly fine.

Thank you in advance!

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Is this all on the inside of the stand?

 

[LandoCommando]

Is this all on the inside of the stand?

Yes this is inside.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

So, the top frame (the 2x4's) is fully supported except for this one spot? If so, I wouldn't worry about it. If the entire vertical support was not touching the top frame, that would probably be an issue, but what you're showing doesn't seem to be.

However, you're the one who has to be able to sleep at night. If you feel you want to have them replace the stand, then that's what you should do.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Looking at this more closely, I'm not sure the stand is built the way I initially thought. Does that horizontal board have any support? Can you post a pic of the inside of the whole stand?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

And does the gap go across the entire joint? Or is part of the vertical board touching the horizontal one?

 

[LandoCommando]

Looking at this more closely, I'm not sure the stand is built the way I initially thought. Does that horizontal board have any support? Can you post a pic of the inside of the whole stand?

Yes there are 4 vertical pillars along the back of the horizontal piece. They appear to be 2 pieces of 3/4" ply bonded together and screwed/glued into the top and bottom pieces of the stand.

 

[LandoCommando]

And does the gap go across the entire joint? Or is part of the vertical board touching the horizontal one?

It goes across the entire joint for the interior facing piece of plywood, but not the exterior piece. Looks like the 2 pieces of ply used for this support were not the same length.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

It's hard to imagine that with 3 other supports, the one support with only 3/4" touching the frame will be a problem, but again, it's not my tank... I would feel comfortable if the entire gap was shimmed so that the corner is fully supported.

 

[LandoCommando]

It's hard to imagine that with 3 other supports, the one support with only 3/4" touching the frame will be a problem, but again, it's not my tank... I would feel comfortable if the entire gap was shimmed so that the corner is fully supported.

Honestly that's what I will probably end up doing. The headache involved with trying to get them to replace this (if they even consider it worth replacing) is not worth it if I can fill that space with some shims and glue.

 

[LandoCommando]

Shimmed and glued the gap. I had to sand down most of the shim tips to get them in there but I'm pleased with my results! I wiped down the glue residue and dust after I took this photo.