Slight gap on the edges of the tank bottom and stand

[Jasongtr]

I’m just about to leak test / fill for the first time and have noticed a slight gap on both ends between the bottom of my glass tank and the 5mm neoprene mat that sits on top of a 1” marine plywood top,

removing the plywood is not possible as it’s glued and screwed on, the stand is level, the gap is 1mm if that, do you think when filled it will compress the foam enough to properly support across the entire base or should I add another 5mm mat making it 10mm thick in total?

as the tank is empty it’s the best time to sort it

thanks

 

[Seymo44]

I personally wouldn’t fill the tank until there is no gap. I would use a different stand. The bottom of your tank should be evenly supported.

 

[Jasongtr]

I personally wouldn’t fill the tank until there is no gap. I would use a different stand. The bottom of your tank should be evenly supported.

Thanks but this is the stand I’m using or I’m just not having this tank so that’s not going to be an option

 

[Syntax1235]

The foam will compress and eliminate the gap; however, I’m not sure if there will be uneven pressure on the seams that could lead to issues down the road. I hope an engineer responds with better information. Good luck.

 

[Jasongtr]

The foam will compress and eliminate the gap; however, I’m not sure if there will be uneven pressure on the seams that could lead to issues down the road. I hope an engineer responds with better information. Good luck.

Ok thanks, I’ll await further replies

 

[PotatoPig]

Is the tank framed or rimless?

 

[Jasongtr]

Is the tank framed or rimless?

Rimless

 

[fishguy242]

size of tank ?
glass or acrylic ?
pics of gap ?

 

[Jasongtr]

size of tank ?
glass or acrylic ?
pics of gap ?

10mm glass (low iron glass fronts and sides)
Size is 100cm x 50cm x 50cm (40 inch x 20 inch x 20 inch

I’ll get a pic later

 

[fishguy242]

70 gal, 3/8" glass ,yes pics please
think 10mm pad just because ??

 

[Jasongtr]

70 gal, 3/8" glass ,yes pics please
think 10mm pad just because ??

It’s currently a 5mm neoprene pad I just thought another layer for just because reasons of more compression may help the slight gapping

 

[WallyB]

I’m just about to leak test / fill for the first time and have noticed a slight gap on both ends between the bottom of my glass tank and the 5mm neoprene mat that sits on top of a 1” marine plywood top,

removing the plywood is not possible as it’s glued and screwed on, the stand is level, the gap is 1mm if that, do you think when filled it will compress the foam enough to properly support across the entire base or should I add another 5mm mat making it 10mm thick in total?

as the tank is empty it’s the best time to sort it

thanks

I too went thru the same dilemma when building my DIY stand for my 110G tank.....wanting perfection to prevent future issues.

Two layers of 5mm isn't a bad thing (if needed). Depends on how warped your stand is.

Most important is your start with a level stand (check diagonally both ways). Tanks will fail if there is a twisting effect on tank planes/seams diagonally. Single Glass planes can handle a tiny bit of stress, however foam will even things out.

Tank Stand Basee should be as flat at possible. If there are any screws top make sure screws are counter-sunk deep enough so they never protrude out.

The stand I built was overkill with the amount of wood, glue and screws I used, but I can confidently put my head under stand without worries.

I too had some gaps once tank was placed on top... I knew the stand wasn't perfectly flat and looked for solutions with padding. I tried thicker, medium and ended up with just a thin foam like you.

I went over kill first.....This heavy-duty-foam double layers of pad was too much.

I tried one sheet of thicker very compressible styrofoam that the tank came on during delivery. Placing tank barely caused any indentation after filling tank and waiting two days. That made me think too much foam.

I tested medium how much foam compresses. Not much, and much less than I expected (even with tank full).

What I learned it across the whole bottom of tank the weight is fairly distributed so I went with the thinnest FOAM I could find (being a bit thicker than biggest gap). This thin foam was perfect.

Like this.

Everything compressed nicely and no gaps. I did have to add a strip of extra foam at one corner to make things perfect.


Tank passed the fill test, and I leveled the stand again after 2 days for things to settle.

4 years later this in-wall installed tank is stil level and solid.

Take your time to level things perfectly, and use (just enough) foam if you have any unevenness that may keep you up at nights.

 

[Jasongtr]

Pics of the gaps, single sheet of paper and it’s as far as I can easily insert it

 

[Jasongtr]

I too went thru the same dilemma when building my DIY stand for my 110G tank.....wanting perfection to prevent future issues.

Two layers of 5mm isn't a bad thing (if needed). Depends on how warped your stand is.

Most important is your start with a level stand (check diagonally both ways). Tanks will fail if there is a twisting effect on tank planes/seams diagonally. Single Glass planes can handle a tiny bit of stress, however foam will even things out.

Tank Stand Basee should be as flat at possible. If there are any screws top make sure screws are counter-sunk deep enough so they never protrude out.

The stand I built was overkill with the amount of wood, glue and screws I used, but I can confidently put my head under stand without worries.

I too had some gaps once tank was placed on top... I knew the stand wasn't perfectly flat and looked for solutions with padding. I tried thicker, medium and ended up with just a thin foam like you.

I went over kill first.....This heavy-duty-foam double layers of pad was too much.

I tried one sheet of thicker very compressible styrofoam that the tank came on during delivery. Placing tank barely caused any indentation after filling tank and waiting two days. That made me think too much foam.

I tested medium how much foam compresses. Not much.

What I learned it across the whole bottom of tank the weight is fairly distributed so I went with the thinnest FOAM I could find (being a bit thicker than biggest gap). This thin foam was perfect.

Like this.

Everything compressed nicely and no gaps. I did have to add a strip of extra foam at one corner to make things perfect.


Tank passed the fill test, and I leveled the stand again after 2 days for things to settle.

4 years later this in-wall installed tank is stil level and solid.

Take your time to level things, and use (just enough) foam is if you have any unevenness that may keep you up at nights.

Thanks that’s encouraging, the stand and tank are level all ways, just the gapping on the corners, the stand is an oak cupboard (already solid) and I’ve strengthened with 4x2 internally on the corners and a frame top and bottom, I’ve also added 1” plywood inside under the cabinet top and to try and achieve this flatness a piece of 1” marine ply on top, overkill I guess as my top is now 3” thick!!

 

[fishguy242]

is that 1 corner or two ?
front and or back ?
opposite corners ?

 

[Jasongtr]

is that 1 corner or two ?
front and or back ?
opposite corners ?

Sorry, 2 front corners and a bit on the rear right - front right I’d say being the worst one but not by much

 

[WallyB]

Thanks that’s encouraging, the stand and tank are level all ways, just the gapping on the corners, the stand is an oak cupboard (already solid) and I’ve strengthened with 4x2 internally on the corners and a frame top and bottom, I’ve also added 1” plywood inside under the cabinet top and to try and achieve this flatness a piece of 1” marine ply on top, overkill I guess as my top is now 3” thick!!

You are fine. The compressible foam will compress to perfection over time. Doesn't compress overnight. Take days, if not weeks once tank is full. Depends on how dense the foam is. If you leave that paper sheet under the tank you won't be able to pull it out once tank settles with full weight.

 

[fishguy242]

i want to say 10mm pad to prevent twist,tweaking , better safe than sorry, jmo...
@Joe Glass Cages opinion please n thanks...

 

[Jasongtr]

So it seems the structural seams on my tank have lots of air bubbles, something I’m not happy about as it’s a brand new custom tank. So that’s going back for a refund, but I have an idea to make the top perfectly flat and wanted opinions (might make a new thread for it)

the plywood top has been treated around the edges with yacht varnish, it will eventually be covered in an oak veneer, if I temporarily siliconed some wood that’s about 10mm higher than the plywood and used a self levelling latex or suchlike material then assuming the stand is perfectly level then it would also then be perfectly flat, once that’s set I can remove the wood that contains the latex then put a thin foam mat on top.

removing the plywood isn’t an option as it’s fully glued onto the cabinet

sound feasible?

 

[fishguy242]

bummer on tank,belt sander / orbital sander on ply to flat ?