uneven surface

[BeanAnimal]

No sir, I deal with facts, not opinion and do so in context of the conversation.

I see that instead of speaking to those facts you would rather excuse yourself from the conversation with a cheap one liner, begging the qestion as to why you entered it in the first place.

No hard feelings though...

Have a nice day (honestly)

 

[Doahh]

1) Trimmed glass tanks are designed to be supported along the entire perimeter.

2) Supporting a trimmed glass tank by the (4) corners only is NOT a good idea.

3) Supporting ONLY the four corners by FOAM is an even worse idea.

4) Many NEW tanks are made with the "walls-on-bottom" configuration, contrary to what was posted above.

5) FOAM is NOT recomended by MANY of the glass tank manufacturers, several go as far as to insist on a SOLID surface.


AMEN!

BTW Bean I'm gonna quote you on that Beam thing...

 

[BeanAnimal]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12796785#post12796785 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by calkulon
An easy way to get a dead flat surface is to use Bondo auto body filler. Mix enough to fill the low area slightly high, then lay saran wrap over the Bondo, then set the tank into place. The Bondo will set quickly, fifteen to thirty minutes. Remove the tank and you will see a dead perfect fill in. Shave and sand off the excess Bondo. The epoxy putty used for rocks and frags will work but is harder to sand and smooth.
The foam and plywood will work fine, but is a lot of wasted material as most all glass tanks are only supported on the edge of the frame.

I started to use the bondo method but in the end decided to self level my stand with water thin "table top" epoxy.

I have read about (and seen photos) of the bondo method and it does appear to work well, albiet with some mess. The self leveling epoxy method was somewhat easy, but has its own hassles as well.

I have a DIY OAK 75G stand that has a fair amount of uneven surface on the rails. I am not sure I will ever use it, but I may just try the bondo method out and post some photos on my website. Have you used the method with success or just read about it?

 

[8BALL_99]

1) Trimmed glass tanks are designed to be supported along the entire perimeter.

2) Supporting a trimmed glass tank by the (4) corners only is NOT a good idea.

3) Supporting ONLY the four corners by FOAM is an even worse idea.

4) Many NEW tanks are made with the "walls-on-bottom" configuration, contrary to what was posted above.

5) FOAM is NOT recommended by MANY of the glass tank manufacturers, several go as far as to insist on a SOLID surface.

x3
I have a custom tank with no trim. Foam is for custom tanks with no trim.. The ONLY reason they do this is to keep from a small hump or peice of trash causing a pressure point on the bottom panel and cracking it..They still tell you to have a level surface under the foam.

 

[ukspice69]

i would like to see the stand with the epoxy, that sounds like a good idea to fix the problem

 

[trojan9137]

how about some updated pics for this fix? Sounds like it would be interesting to see the end result.

 

[BeanAnimal]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12804962#post12804962 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 8BALL_99
I have a custom tank with no trim. Foam is for custom tanks with no trim.. The ONLY reason they do this is to keep from a small hump or peice of trash causing a pressure point on the bottom panel and cracking it..They still tell you to have a level surface under the foam.

Exactly...

 

[BeanAnimal]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12805129#post12805129 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by trojan9137
how about some updated pics for this fix? Sounds like it would be interesting to see the end result.

 

[JRaquatics]

I just wanted to state that Beans suggestion and recommendation of not using the foam is correct. I contacted AGA a year ago and they stated if you use foam between the tank and stand the warranty will be voided. They also stated that they do have a list of tanks that have leaked due to felt, foam or other soft surfaces being between the stand and tank and they highly recommend not doing so. They recommend not doing so just as Bean has stated previously.

 

[RichConley]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12805411#post12805411 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JRaquatics
I just wanted to state that Beans suggestion and recommendation of not using the foam is correct. I contacted AGA a year ago and they stated if you use foam between the tank and stand the warranty will be voided. They also stated that they do have a list of tanks that have leaked due to felt, foam or other soft surfaces being between the stand and tank and they highly recommend not doing so. They recommend not doing so just as Bean has stated previously.

AGA will also void warranties if its not their stand, or a non reef ready tank gets drilled, or the tank is left dry for a period (despite them being shipped dry). There's a lot of CYA type maneuvering.

I wouldn't call foam a "soft surface". My 58g tank (with trim) sat on closed cell insulation foam (pink stuff) for 2 years. I built the stand's trim to cover the whole trim of the tank, assuming 1/4" deflection. I had to spend the next 2 years looking at 1/4" of tank trim sticking up over the stand's trim when the tank didnt 'settle' at all. When the tank got broken down, there was nothing more than a slight indentation (maybe 1/64") that the tank had ever been there

 

[ukspice69]

looks good , i think i am going to try that

 

[JRaquatics]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12805491#post12805491 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RichConley
AGA will also void warranties if its not their stand, or a non reef ready tank gets drilled, or the tank is left dry for a period (despite them being shipped dry). There's a lot of CYA type maneuvering.

I wouldn't call foam a "soft surface". My 58g tank (with trim) sat on closed cell insulation foam (pink stuff) for 2 years. I built the stand's trim to cover the whole trim of the tank, assuming 1/4" deflection. I had to spend the next 2 years looking at 1/4" of tank trim sticking up over the stand's trim when the tank didnt 'settle' at all. When the tank got broken down, there was nothing more than a slight indentation (maybe 1/64") that the tank had ever been there

That's 58 gallons not 180 gallons. Personally I listened to the manufacture of the tank, they should know the most about their product. AGA stands aren't perfect either and do you see them palcing foam on them or advising people to do so. I am not here to argue just to state what the manufacture suggested when I spoke to them about my AGA 180gal on a custom stand.

 

[southbound2008]

Foam under the tank is fine, although a 1/16" is not that bad , it will eliminate your your worries.
The foam will settle all of your gaps out.
I don't care how many 13,000's of posts you have ...it say's nothing about your years of tank leveling experience,..... or anything else for that matter.
This is the kind of BS " post attacking", that brings this board down.
AGA is in a CYA mode by not recomending any foam .

 

[Doahh]

Personally I'd rather have a tank with a warranty and a stand built right than a crap stank with foam over it and a void warranty. Get your head out of the ground and learn what the hobby is doing NOW and not 5+ years ago

 

[Rhodophyta]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12805411#post12805411 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JRaquatics
I just wanted to state that Beans suggestion and recommendation of not using the foam is correct. I contacted AGA a year ago and they stated if you use foam between the tank and stand the warranty will be voided. They also stated that they do have a list of tanks that have leaked due to felt, foam or other soft surfaces being between the stand and tank and they highly recommend not doing so. They recommend not doing so just as Bean has stated previously.

Beyond the CYA issue, the thing about foam is that it is useful for old tanks that have to be moved to a new stand after years "adjusting" to the old stand. However you have to go back to before attorneys ran the candy store and then the foam was suggested for new tanks. The thing is they were talking about a thin shim-like strip of foam, the thickness of a foam egg crate carton. The nature of the human beast is if a little is good, more is better, and so big thick chunks and stand-covering beds of foam started being used, and those are the likely source of the change of heart about foam.

I believe Reef Central is too durable and resilient to be "brought down" by a tangent careening away from the main topic once in a while like this one has. Chances are we would as hobbyists find our thoughts and hands-ons are a lot closer in actual practice than a typed out point by point refutation would seem to make them. OTOH you would not believe some of the crazy things I've seen people doing that worked for them. So in the interest of not going more offtopic, I will not mention any examples of things that I would have said were impossible, sometimes even after seeing them.

 

[southbound2008]

Tanks are still glass...foam is still foam........and gravity has not changed in 5 yrs kid.....

 

[Rhodophyta]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12806462#post12806462 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Doahh
Personally I'd rather have a tank with a warranty and a stand built right than a crap stank with foam over it and a void warranty. Get your head out of the ground and learn what the hobby is doing NOW and not 5+ years ago

Experienced hobbyists ARE the ones who are creating the NOW in the hobby. There is all the room in the world in this hobby for newbies, but knowing what the hobby has been, and what has been tried before, is where new ideas and change often come from. Some new ideas do come from the "new guy" who does not know it has been tried before and never worked but something has changed and now it works! Most progress still comes from work and experience and learning what has gone on before. Read online, read books if you dare, attend aquarium clubs and marine conventions. Go a little outside the marine hobby for some new speakers on new freshwater topics whose ideas may have a marine use to them with a little tweaking.

Still all of us owe a debt to those hobbyists who must buy the most expensive and newest gadgets for this hobby in order to be NOW and to receive the awe of others for having the coolest stuff. They help finance the variety of choice in the whole hobby for the rest of us by keeping more companies in business! So if that fits, Doahh, Thanks!! I mean it!

 

[BeanAnimal]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12805919#post12805919 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by southbound2008
Foam under the tank is fine, although a 1/16" is not that bad , it will eliminate your your worries.
The foam will settle all of your gaps out.
I don't care how many 13,000's of posts you have ...it say's nothing about your years of tank leveling experience,..... or anything else for that matter.
This is the kind of BS " post attacking", that brings this board down.
AGA is in a CYA mode by not recomending any foam .

Who is doing the "post attacking" here? It certainly appears to be you.

You have attacked me and added YOUR opinion with no proof or discussion of any kind other than to say "it is fine".

 

[calkulon]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12804846#post12804846 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BeanAnimal
I started to use the bondo method but in the end decided to self level my stand with water thin "table top" epoxy.

I have read about (and seen photos) of the bondo method and it does appear to work well, albiet with some mess. The self leveling epoxy method was somewhat easy, but has its own hassles as well.

I have a DIY OAK 75G stand that has a fair amount of uneven surface on the rails. I am not sure I will ever use it, but I may just try the bondo method out and post some photos on my website. Have you used the method with success or just read about it?

I have been using bondo in woodworking for about thirty years. It is a fine choice for a small repair such as this. It is much faster than wood filler for filling holes and cracks. It dries in minutes. Wood filler can take hours if not days to fully dry. It is easily worked and sanded. Some epoxies can be difficult to work after they dry, too hard or are gummy. Bondo is my first choice as a wood filler if it is going to be painted or covered by trim.
I have a fully equipped woodworking shop with all of the toys. I build furniture, entertainment system cabinets and aquarium stands for the pleasure of it and as a good excuse to buy more tools. Anyway on the stand in question the dip he's concerned with would probably be fine if left alone.
I would add that for a project such as this, all wood edges should be jointed on a jointer or with a router on one edge and then ran through a table saw on the other. As the wood comes from the lumber yard the edges are usually scalloped on the edges and vary in width and they are rarely truely straight.

 

[GIJOE007]

calkulon...

...great first hand advice

cheers