# My tank/stand are not completely flush, recipe for disaster?



## amagad

I purchased a marineland 37gal aquarium with stand. I noticed that the tanks plastic edge is not completely flush with the wood of the stand. Can this cause stress on the glass and eventually catastrophic tank explosion? Look at the picture, you will notice a fine line which is paint color from the wall. This is recognizable from front of glass, sides seem flush to tank.


Update: Actually, right edge corner is slightly lifted too so only 3 corners are fully contacting the wood surface.


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## Vicdad999999

i build all my stands , they are rough looking, my rule of thumb is "if a piece of paper can fit between the tank and the stand it isnt level" and is a recipe for disaster. with one corner not resting on the stand thats alot of stress and will fracture the glass.


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## weedkiller

it must sit flat n flush to reduce twist in the tank, any play can cause the tank (usually the bottom) to crack


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## amagad

Thanks. What solution can one provide? Or should I just return the whole tank/stand back to the store?


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## Vicdad999999

if you have access to a level see if the floor is level where your putting it, then you might have to shimmy the stand to be level.


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## weedkiller

a good base is needed where the floor wont give either as once the weight of the tank grows it can also twist,


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## Vicdad999999

i like this guys tuts on things so went to check if he had one on stands and he did hope it helps. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts_Jb8WJJfw


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## Fishnut2

Here's where the old school methods excel. Just use some change...pennies/nickels/dimes...to shim the tank. From the pic, I'm guessing a nickel is gonna work well. Just slide different coins in there until it's snug. And do so all the way around the tank.

Another method that's great for a fish room, is to set the tank on 1/2" styrofoam Use pink or blue...not the white. With white you'll have styro balls all over. With the styro method, the tanks will self-level and it might actually insulate the tank slightly. You probably don't want styro if it's a show tank in a prominent area. But in a fishroom, you can cut 8' sections in a matter of seconds. You can use the styro for hoods too(fishroom). It insulates and keeps the humidity in.


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## lohachata

don't none of you guys ever come to my house....i wouldn't want to use all my minutes calling ambulances..lo
some of my tanks are so far off that the fish gotta swim sideways...


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## amagad

I did have some shimming to do, some i had to pack in there and others just slide in with force of the fingers. While doing this, I wonder how many aquariums out there are not 100% flush and never had had issue. I've seen quite a few fish aquariums im peoples homes and I highly doubt they ever checked flushness. Anyway, I bought a GFCI receptacle and plugged the electrical components to the outlet in an event that meltdown happens.

Does the plastic lining of the bottom of the tank really hold all the weight?


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## lohachata

i have 75 aquariums set up in my basement....not a single one of them is perfectly level....


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## emc7

I level all my tanks, but they don't stay. Had one stand that sagged in the middle, there was a gap in below the center of the tank. The bigger the tank, the badder it is to be to crooked. I did have a 29 let loose a seam and dump all the water over the floor and it was one of the crookedest.


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## Fishnut2

I've only had 1 pressure crack. It was a 29 gallon, and it sounded like a gun went off. Water all over the carpeted floor. I lived on the 2nd floor. Fish gasping for breath. You don't wanna go through that.

Amagad,
That looks like a good job shimming the tank. You'll be fine. Yes, that plastic molding holds all the weight.


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## amagad

Fishnut2 said:


> I've only had 1 pressure crack. It was a 29 gallon, and it sounded like a gun went off. Water all over the carpeted floor. I lived on the 2nd floor. Fish gasping for breath. You don't wanna go through that.
> 
> Amagad,
> That looks like a good job shimming the tank. You'll be fine. Yes, that plastic molding holds all the weight.




Fishnut,

Was it at 2am?


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## Betta man

In my experience, the tank doesn't have to be level. My 15 gal wasn't level and I had no problems.


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## Vayurules

My 20 isn't *perfectly* mounted on its stand , and I've had no problems. The corner hang off by about an 1/8 of an inch , but it's a Bowfront stand .



Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App


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## Vicdad999999

lol, glass does not bend. and while alot here have no problems with uneven tanks I do. This doesnt take into effect where you have the tank if its an a load bearing wall, or if theres bounce in your floor as people walk past. Any tank not level is a recipe for disaster in my eyes. If your gonna waste the time and investment in a tank why not waste the few minutes to level it.


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## amagad

I've been reading more online and it seems like shimming the tank to the table is also a no no. There seems to be a lot of debate on using foam underneath as it doesn't really help the issue, only hide it which makes sense. I'm at the point now of scrapping the whole idea of having a fish tank, I have a 2 year old and her safety if my primary concern. There seems to be no real solution to this other than to be a carpenter and completely sand the table top down to perfection.


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## Vicdad999999

you dont need to be a carpenter to do this, im 42, with no schooling. all it takes is a level. edited, i graduated 6th grade , so some schooling









this is one of my shimmying its on a 125 , and kids go past it all the time. hoping the link works


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## weedkiller

amagad said:


> I've been reading more online and it seems like shimming the tank to the table is also a no no. There seems to be a lot of debate on using foam underneath as it doesn't really help the issue, only hide it which makes sense. I'm at the point now of scrapping the whole idea of having a fish tank, I have a 2 year old and her safety if my primary concern. There seems to be no real solution to this other than to be a carpenter and completely sand the table top down to perfection.


you don't need to scrap the idea, you need patience..
spend half a day filling and empting till you get it right if you need too as once its done it is done, I would shim the corners of the cabinet to compensate for twist... only 4 corners and only one would need a shim probably


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## amagad

Thanks for the quick responses. It's not the stand itself that needs shimming from stand to floor, its from tank bottom to stand. I've already shimmed the stand => floor. Seems like when the stand was built, they didn't perfectly level the stands table top.


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## Vicdad999999

can you exchange it or return for a new one?


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## amagad

I'm waiting for the receipt from petsmart corporate office. Is this a good excuse to go with an acrylic tank? Or will I experience the same paranoia?


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## lohachata

vic....education has nothing to do with ones abilities as a human being...you are doing just fine..i only finished the 9th grade....education is great ; but it should never detract from who one is...

and how about this for a fella with only a 2nd grade education.....Moony Warther..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYYFNff5e20

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8Hqx8Tq5uI


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## Fishnut2

Amagad,
The pressure crack happened in the evening. But it sounded like a gunshot. I was 2 rooms away and it was still quite loud. The crack didn't shatter, so the tank was still in one piece. I'm not sure what you read online, or where. But the coin shim and the styro both work. I've kept over 50 tanks most of my life (43 years in fish) and I've worked wholesale, retail, and commercial breeders. Pressure cracks are rare to begin with, and I've never seen it happen on a shimmed tank.
Acrylic tanks can pressure crack too. They need to be shimmed too.


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## amagad

Fishnut2 said:


> Amagad,
> The pressure crack happened in the evening. But it sounded like a gunshot. I was 2 rooms away and it was still quite loud. The crack didn't shatter, so the tank was still in one piece. I'm not sure what you read online, or where. But the coin shim and the styro both work. I've kept over 50 tanks most of my life (43 years in fish) and I've worked wholesale, retail, and commercial breeders. Pressure cracks are rare to begin with, and I've never seen it happen on a shimmed tank.
> Acrylic tanks can pressure crack too. They need to be shimmed too.



Thanks fishnut,


I went to pets art to pick up a smaller tank with stand and it seems more flush but of course, about 1mm gap of edges. I spoke to Marineland tech support and they said if I got their stand, gaps are not an issue.

By the way, My new tank is the Marineland 20g frameless. Do frameless tanks require foam on the bottoms?


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## Fishnut2

I prefer the styrofoam for bigger setups. There are times I've had over 100 tanks, and styrofoam makes it quicker for 2 and 3 tier racks. For one 20 gallon tank...I'd use the coins to shim it. One thing I'm not sure if I mentioned. I use the pink or blue styrofoam sheets (for shipping fish as well). The white styrofoam is made of the compressed balls of styrofoam, and will be all over when you cut it.


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