How flat does a stand top need to be?

saltcats

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I finally got my stand moved into its permanent location and went through the process of ensuring it's level, only to find after all that the top has a slight bow to it. It's a petsmart stand rated for 30 gallons, while my tank is only 14, but I'm a little worried because this is my first rimless tank and I know they can be more delicate.

It's not a very big slump - probably less than 1/16" by eye, but I can slide a sheet of paper under the level pretty easily. The stand has a central support which will be under the tank, as well as one side, so over the length of the tank it'll be held to level with just a dip in the middle. Will this be handled by the mat on the bottom of the tank?

Thanks!
 

piranhaman00

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Rimless tanks should have padding beneath them to eliminate problems caused by imperfections that you are describing.
 

Eric1493

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I finally got my stand moved into its permanent location and went through the process of ensuring it's level, only to find after all that the top has a slight bow to it. It's a petsmart stand rated for 30 gallons, while my tank is only 14, but I'm a little worried because this is my first rimless tank and I know they can be more delicate.

It's not a very big slump - probably less than 1/16" by eye, but I can slide a sheet of paper under the level pretty easily. The stand has a central support which will be under the tank, as well as one side, so over the length of the tank it'll be held to level with just a dip in the middle. Will this be handled by the mat on the bottom of the tank?

Thanks!
I would say to put the mat & tank on it and check again. If you can see a dip with the weight, maybe try another layer of mat.
 
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saltcats

saltcats

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I would say to put the mat & tank on it and check again. If you can see a dip with the weight, maybe try another layer of mat.
Rimless tanks should have padding beneath them to eliminate problems caused by imperfections that you are describing.

Thanks! My tank has a mat under it and I didn't notice any gaps when I had the tank on (did my leak check already before I discovered this!). It's only with the spirit level I can see the gap - just checked and a credit card just slips under so I'd say it's about 1mm. I used this stand for years with a 29g no issues, but as I said I'm new to rimless!
1604954955039.png


So if it looks all okay with the mat under, that should be good to go? Thanks for the advice!
 

Eric1493

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Thanks! My tank has a mat under it and I didn't notice any gaps when I had the tank on (did my leak check already before I discovered this!). It's only with the spirit level I can see the gap - just checked and a credit card just slips under so I'd say it's about 1mm. I used this stand for years with a 29g no issues, but as I said I'm new to rimless!
1604954955039.png


So if it looks all okay with the mat under, that should be good to go? Thanks for the advice!
Is that mat foam, or squishy? If it is, I would feel comfortable using it, but I'm by no means an expert. If it isn't, I would use something like a yoga mat instead.
 

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