They taught me in project management never to assume things.

So I buy a new unfinished tank stand for my 55G, congratulate myself on being handy and saving money, and instead of thinking "It's cheap, I should double check the level on this thing," I proceed directly to staining it.

Three coats of lovingly applied stain later I have it sitting in my den ready to position and I look at it from one end and notice: there's a distinct humpback -- maybe 1/16" to 1/8" -- in the middle of the top where the tank sits.

[Insert lots of words I don't use in front of ladies, children et al here!] Grrrr Grrrr Grrrr Grrrr Grrrr

I put down the hard foam aqua-pad (which does a nice job of absorbing some differences) and then put the tank on top of them empty, and did the business card test. Several places on each end there was clearance between the card and the pad.

Options I'm considering on which I'd like feedback:

1. Put down two layers of aquapad, fill the tank and see if the combination of weight and pad depth give me an even base.

2. Put small sections of aquapad at either end so the ends have 2 layers and the center has one, fill tank and see if the compression evens out the little gap on each side between the three high points.

3. Buy a sheet of styrofoam (how thick?) that will compress more than the aquapads and put the tank on that instead to even things out when it's filled. I recall reading somewhere that this works.

4. Only if I can't help it, take down the tank and plane the stupid stand level.

5. Set it on fire in the parking lot of the pet store that ordered it (ignoring the fact that I didn't check it before bringing it home, let alone staining it so I can't just blame them.)

Thanks for any advice!

That sux

Quick question is it just the top that is warped or is it the bottom shelf also?

I would think that about 500 lbs of weight of the tank and water should take the hump out of your top. Another way to go about it is get a piece of 1/2-3/4" plywood cut to the size of the aqua pad and screw that to the top about every 4 inches to act as a "strongback" A layer of pad on top of that if there is a gap will suffice.


If you opt for #5 don't forget the hotdogs!

Good Luck!

I agree with Dave for making the stand the safest it can be.

Depending on the amount of "humpbackness" to the stand,
I would probably plane the middle down until the entire stand
was even. That will definately require a little work, but at least
it will be level when you fill the tank.

Interesting topic Don, and sorry about your purchase!

I put in the egg crate base and about 50 pounds of rocks last night to simulate a little of the actuial weight, and got a pretty even seal on all but one end this morning, and that end wasn't far from stopping a business card going underneath -- way better than last night.

I think I'm going to add a second layer of pads (and maybe a 3rd to be paranoid), fill the tank, wait 8 hours and do the business card test. If it doesn't get in I'm all set. If the card can get under that one end of the tank then I have to say a lot of words that I'll never write here, drain it and plane the %#$$# thing.

I'll report back...

I hope it all works out for you without too much hassle and I bet it will never happen again!

I haven't had anything quite that bad happen, but I did set up and fill a tank with water once and forgot to leave enough room for a HOB filter that was going on it later. Blush

I put down the double pads and filled it about 60% of the way tonight. The last 40% of the water will come from the top layers of the tank from which the fish will be transferred.

After just a couple of hours the only place it fails the business card test is the two front corners, and I suspect by tomorrow morning they will be on top of the hard foam as well.

I also noticed that all the material leg supports on the tank are at the corners -- the wood piece in the middle is thin plywood and more for sheer strength than anything else, I suspect. So what now is a small humpback may level out just from having a lot of the 550 pounds of weight on it.

What I'm pleased with is that the stand feels very stable and strong. I read online about stands where people filled their tanks half way and stopped because the stand didn;t look like it could handle the weight.

Fingers crossed....

PSO, I have used the blue construction grade styrofoam under any tank over 55 gallons for years. Even on stands that I have built myself. I swear by using some sort of "pad" under larger tanks. I havnt ever used the aquapads, but as long as they absord some of imperfections in the stand you shoul be okay. Good luck, and if #5 becomes neccessary...I suggest smores. The chocolate at least will assuage the angst.