Aquarium Stand level !

[luisagos]

I just finish building the great wall of china, i mean my wall tank stand.

I will give you a little history on how its built.

I am using 8-4x4 for the legs, that are anchor to the cement floor.
There is 2-2x12X72 boards on each side of the leg, four on top and four on the bottom. I got 4 1/2 inch lag screws connecting the boards to the legs.

On top i got 3/4 oak plywood as my tank base. Everything is level well as good as a Carpenter level can get. I wish i had an machinist level.

When I place my tank on top of the plywood, i can see light underneath the tank bottom. I check the level on the top of the tank and its leveled.

Its about 5000th of a inch off in some places, about the thickness of paper.
My question is, is this good enough?
This is driving me nuts.

Can I use 1/2"foam board and be done with it?

 

[devgru]

just for giggle you could use foam and get a bundle of shims from lowes/home depot and use a level and throw some shims under it here and there

 

[danorth]

Man, you sound like me! I built a rugged DIY stand for my 240 and it wasn't just perfect so I tossed it and built another, 2x8s and all. I even got a special order 3/4" 9x4 piece of wood for under it because the tank is a bit over 8 feet with the trim!!! I am extremely level but can still see some light under the tank in the back, not in the front. There is about a 3' section where it is 'floating' by a piece of paper or 2. That was in August. Tank is still strong today. I didn't use foam because everyone on this board says not to if the tank has trim. So I didn't. I really don't think it would hurt, but who knows. I am thinking about puting some thin shims under the tank in the open section just to keep it from dropping, but not in hard enough to cause a lift or upward force....just fill in the gap.

I went to the store and saw 6' tanks that are only supported with 1 inch on each end and 1 3" spot in the back and front.

 

[adammreef]

The only thing that i would have done different is use 2x4 or 2x6 for the legs instead of 4x4 posts. After time the 4x4's will twist and buckle from the pressure.

 

[vikubz]

You see this gap with the tank empty? If so, I wouldn't give it a second thought. A gap that small will not hurt your tank.

 

[davocean]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14498709#post14498709 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by adammreef
The only thing that i would have done different is use 2x4 or 2x6 for the legs instead of 4x4 posts. After time the 4x4's will twist and buckle from the pressure.

Totally disagree, I've used 4x's for many years, no prob.
As for foam, I would use it for glass tanks, 1/2".
On trimmed tanks I wouldn't use thicker foam as it can push up on bottom, and I believe THAT is what they warn about.

 

[luv4paws2]

How would a 4x4 buckle and a 2x4 not???

 

[luisagos]

Thank you guys.

I spent like 4 hours shimming the thing and the tank is still level from the top, go figure.

Yes, I was seeing the small gap with an empty tank.

Thank you again.

 

[adammreef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14502936#post14502936 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by davocean
Totally disagree, I've used 4x's for many years, no prob.
As for foam, I would use it for glass tanks, 1/2".
On trimmed tanks I wouldn't use thicker foam as it can push up on bottom, and I believe THAT is what they warn about.

How would a 4x4 buckle and a 2x4 not??? [/B]

I should have been more specific with my post. I assumed that he was using a pressure treated 4x4. If he did use pressure treated lumber then when it does dry out it will buckle and twist.