Leveling issues

[oneradtek202]

so the last thing i need to do before my new rimless tank is up and going is to level the tank and stand. Unfortunately i have leveled the tank FINALLY, and felt under neath the tank, where the tank sits on the stand and its not seated on the stand all the way around the tank! what should i do? im thinking about putting shims up between the tank and stand to fill the gap, at some points probably an 8th of an inch. what should i do?

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

What type of tank is it? IIRC it's glass. Is the bottom "between" the sides such that there's a rim extending below the tank, or are the sides on top of the bottom such that the bottom is totally flat from edge to edge? Most tanks are the former.

If it's the former, you really only need the corners to be level and coplanar, plus maybe a few inches down each side. If the stand is structurally sound and the "bow" is a dip along one or more of the sides, it really won't impact anything. However, if there's a hump along the sides, such that one or more corners doesn't touch, you definitely need to get it leveled.

Shimming will be a challenge without point loading the glass. Might be better off using a sander or plane to skim the high areas and get things level.

 

[mr.maroonsalty]

self leveling compound or cement; put up a temporary form to hold it, with perhaps a piece of 1/4 over the top of it, then use a piece of molding to hide the edge. I would also consider simply gluing down a piece of cabinet grade (flat) plywood on a nice set of small blobs of construction adhesive. Another option might be using closed cell foam under the tank. I wouldn't shim the tank!

 

[mr.maroonsalty]

using a hand held power planer or a belt sander to flatten a surface can be challenging even for the trained hand, but is always worth the shot.

 

[oneradtek202]

blurry and i have a plan we will be putting into action tomorrow morning. we are going to pop the existing molding off of the stand that runs along the top of the stand exposing the problem area. take the tank off, and place oak trim ontop of the 2x4's using liquid nails to fill in the dips. once that is done, we can sand any imperfections left over and all should be good. heres hoping!

 

[Jacwil]

IMO....put a load on the tank, (fill it some), and see if things find their own. Make decisions then. Things may seat into place.

 

[oneradtek202]

im tempted, and would if it wasnt a rimless tank. They must be perfectly level from the stand up. having things find their spot, would just mean the un even pressure points are at work on the tank

 

[jaybfresh]

If it makes any difference, the tank has a "eurobraced" bottom.

I guess I'm obligated to help you since I sold ya a bum stand

 

[pascal32]

The problem with this stand is that the builder took down the corners to correct miss-alignment to the side rails leaving a raised area in the center of the front and back.

personally I'm very uncomfortable with this as it puts high pressure in the middle of the long length.

Brandons interest is to get this up and running as the living room is unusable with both systems running.

The quickest effective solution I can think of is to to remove the outer trim so we have access, use a belt sander to get the 2x4 as flat as possible, then coat the upper 2x4 with liquid nails to provide load capacity through any imperfections (tops 1/16th) and place a piece of oak trim (1/2-3/4") over top and allow the liquid nails to harden.

this should provide even load capacity throughout without rebuilding the stand

thoughts?

 

[jaybfresh]

Pascal... the dips are actually in the middle. The short ends and corners are all fine from what Brandon told me

 

[oneradtek202]

actually the pressure points are on the corners and the ends man. the back and front length peices have no support

 

[pascal32]

it looked the other way to me when I saw it without a tank. either way I believe your best path forward is to flatten the base

 

[magdelan]

I didn't read through this very well b ut, Level the stand, NOT the tank. If you level the tank you are going to create uneven pressure points on the frame of the tank. This could greatly compromise the integrity of the tank itself. Use small shims around the tank base and then add shoe molding around the stand's base to cover any gaps.