Aquarium Specs Off

[BillFish Coral Lover]

I have a conundrum. I bought a custom tank from Crystal Dynamics Aquariums that was completed in September 2021, and it’s been sitting in the garage on the original pallet ever since. I just got it outside for a water test and it’s not to my specifications. Front to back it’s a few millimeters off, and so, as this picture shows, it is hanging off about half the thickness of the glass. If I were to center it on final setup that would still leave about one-quarter of the glass hanging off both front and back. They went out of business, so I can’t make them redo it. I’m shakin’. And I can’t really afford a new one.

Do I scrap it?

 

[W31Olds]

Scrap it? Why? Looks fine to me. Some glass overhang yes but 1/2 the thickness should be fine. Do you have skins for the stand and if so, do they fit and look ok?

 

[Tripod1404]

You can get a ~1inch thick glass panel and put it between the tank and the stand, and add a leveling matt between tank and the glass, so that the tank is not overhanging. Any non-flexing material would work, glass is probably the cheapest option that is not super thick.

 

[Jamie814]

I would not worry about it. The bottom pane is fully supported underneath and that's what the water weight is going to be sitting on. The side panel does not support the downforce weight.
If it bothers you, you could screw/bolt a panel across the back, underneath, up against the overhang to add support, but IMO it's not necessary.

 

[bobbravo2]

I have a conundrum. I bought a custom tank from Crystal Dynamics Aquariums that was completed in September 2021, and it’s been sitting in the garage on the original pallet ever since. I just got it outside for a water test and it’s not to my specifications. Front to back it’s a few millimeters off, and so, as this picture shows, it is hanging off about half the thickness of the glass. If I were to center it on final setup that would still leave about one-quarter of the glass hanging off both front and back. They went out of business, so I can’t make them redo it. I’m shakin’. And I can’t really afford a new one.

Do I scrap it?

Why not cover the top of the 80/20 in a new 3/4” plywood top sheet, and a leveling foam mat, the full width of the glass?

Seems like a simple solution.

Epoxy seal the plywood, and enjoy a beautiful tank.

 

[BillFish Coral Lover]

I have not skinned it yet. I had my brother-in-law cut some hdpe

Scrap it? Why? Looks fine to me. Some glass overhang yes but 1/2 the thickness should be fine. Do you have skins for the stand and if so, do they fit and look ok?

My brother-in-law cut HDPE for me to skin it later, but I’m not totally happy with the cuts and the panels aren’t the best. I may have a cabinet place make them for me. I have the hardware.

 

[winzig]

cut and paint some plywood to match the tank dimensions, done

 

[BillFish Coral Lover]

Why not cover the top of the 80/20 in a new 3/4” plywood top sheet, and a leveling foam mat, the full width of the glass?

Seems like a simple solution.

Epoxy seal the plywood, and enjoy a beautiful tank.

Thank you; that’s exactly what I’ll do.

 

[bobbravo2]

A about 50% cheaper than a full PVC or HDPE sheet, too. Those might be worth the upgrade for aesthetics, although I’ve always been fine with plywood.

Any chance the skin will cover the plywood?

Edit: from your pictures it looks like the plywood would need a piece of trim, or a laminate adhesive. Can’t wait to see the build. Do you have a build thread? Will sub

 

[Idech]

Just make sure to waterproof the plywood.

 

[BillFish Coral Lover]

No build thread. It’s been six years in the making. It wouldn’t have been the most riveting thread, but maybe going forward. I had planned to have the skin cover the base, but because of the defect in shape and size, I that may not be possible. I have long 80/20 bars to go up behind the stand to support lights…. Hmmm. I guess I can build out from inside the back with more hardware and still use the tall bars behind. That way the tank can hang slightly over the back and not interfere. And then I could still skin the stand covering the base, plywood and all. Thoughts?

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Going to tag @Troylee on this one

 

[Troylee]

Why not cover the top of the 80/20 in a new 3/4” plywood top sheet, and a leveling foam mat, the full width of the glass?

Seems like a simple solution.

Epoxy seal the plywood, and enjoy a beautiful tank.

This right here!