How perfect does my stand need to be?

[Cpants]

I'm descending into madness....I don't really do any woodworking but I'd say I know enough. I'm also a perfectionist. I had a friend cut my lumber (he has a miter, I do not) for a pretty typical Rocketengineer 180 gallon stand. The cut ends on my 2x's are all a little...crooked. I'd say sloping about maybe 1/16 of an inch on a couple of them. I'm considering using a square and just running my circular saw down the ends to even everything off.

3/4 plywood under the tank and a glass cages mat will be under the tank as it's a eurobrace. Do I really need to lose sleep over this, should I leave them as they are, or should I potentially mess them up even more with my circular saw?

 

[Fish Fan]

Do you have pics of what you're dealing with? IF I'm following you, a slight angle to the cut end shouldn't be a big deal. You could even them off with a circ saw and straight edge, but you'd be losing a bit of length, and I assume they are cut to length.

I'm near Canandaigua and have made several of these stands, if I can help you let me know.

 

[Cpants]

Something like that. I intentionally have extra length on my stand for something like a peninsula with a left side overflow. So the stand will be 4 inches longer than the tank itself for overflow/return. The jack studs, who cares if i lose an inch total. It'll sit around 38" instead of 40.

 

[Fish Fan]

Your buddy's miter saw may not be perfectly setup, but I don't see that as being a problem. Even with a straight edge, a circular saw may not do much better. I'd be tempted to use them as-is.

 

[KrisReef]

I have seen large tanks survive on crudely leveled wooden stands that have lasted decades.

For people who obsessed with perfection I recommend getting a crew involved that can make the top of the stand optically flat. An aquarium can survive on either stand but the reefer needs comfort in order to rest properly at night.

HTH!

 

[UncommonSense]

Assuming the tank is rimmed and the stand is leveled out where it’s going to go, this ought to be quite alright!

that is to say, those little plastic rims do a remarkable amount of heavy lifting for the tank’s structural integrity!

Note this LFS’s entire freshwater section being rimmed tanks precariously set on the rims of plastic totes, possibly on some lumber if lucky!

 

[Cpants]

Assuming the tank is rimmed and the stand is leveled out where it’s going to go, this ought to be quite alright!

that is to say, those little plastic rims do a remarkable amount of heavy lifting for the tank’s structural integrity!

Note this LFS’s entire freshwater section being rimmed tanks precariously set on the rims of plastic totes, possibly on some lumber if lucky!

That's pretty crazy. I don't believe there is any rim with the GC eurobrace though. Definitely will be leveling with shims as needed

 

[kavinreed]

I’d definitely err on the side of overbuilding it, especially with a tank that size extra support is cheap compared to dealing with a failed stand. The plywood top and a solid, level frame should give you plenty of peace of mind, and the stand doesn’t have to be pretty as long as it’s square and well supported.

 

[Tangdora]

order a leveling mat for the base and you should be fine if only 1/16.

 

[56longroof]

One end a little lower wont cause any issues. Its when the stand is uneven on different planes and starts to twist.

 

[KrisReef]

One end a little lower wont cause any issues. Its when the stand is uneven on different planes and starts to twist.

Spoken like an engineer.

Twisting could provide thrust for sloshing.

 

[Rob A]

I just shim the gaps and make sure the stand is square. I put 1/4 in foam around the base and 1/4 in closed cell foam on the top. That usually takes care of leveling small issues.

 

[cilyjr]

I'm confused.
Are you not putting a 2xX rail along the top as a joist header?
I see a square on the top of the stud in the picture.

 

[Fish Fan]

I'm confused.
Are you not putting a 2xX rail along the top as a joist header?
I see a square on the top of the stud in the picture.

In the picture, the OP had not yet assembled the stand. He was just questioning if the recently cut 2x’4’s were square enough on each end to use.

 

[Cpants]

I'm confused.
Are you not putting a 2xX rail along the top as a joist header?
I see a square on the top of the stud in the picture.

2x8 top rails. 2x4 jack, king, and bottoms. The pic is of a jack stud before assembly. 3/4 plywood on top of 2x8 rails. . Glass Cages ships a mat for between the tank and plywood as its a eurobraced tank.

 

[cilyjr]

2x8 top rails. 2x4 jack, king, and bottoms. The pic is of a jack stud before assembly. 3/4 plywood on top of 2x8 rails. . Glass Cages ships a mat for between the tank and plywood as its a eurobraced tank.

What they ship with the tank is pretty flimsy. But it does work.
My tank is a 500 gallon 10-ft aquarium from glass gauges.
Did you say you were doing a 57 gallon? 2x8 is excessive.

I built my own stand for my 500 gallon.
It is all 2x4 with a 2x6 top rail.
Everything else is 1x no plywood except for the very top

 

[kroller]

My rimmed tank is setting on sheets of styrofoam on a wooden stand. It's cheap and very effective at leveling out the tank weight.

 

[Cpants]

What they ship with the tank is pretty flimsy. But it does work.
My tank is a 500 gallon 10-ft aquarium from glass gauges.
Did you say you were doing a 57 gallon? 2x8 is excessive.

I built my own stand for my 500 gallon.
It is all 2x4 with a 2x6 top rail.
Everything else is 1x no plywood except for the very top

Its a 180

 

[Rob A]

Here are some pics of the RE stand I'm building right now. I have to go back this weekend and take down one corner and lower it a 1/4 inch. I should have stopped when I notice I was shimming one corner twice as much as the others. but it is an easy 30 minute fix.

I'm going to stick a 160 gal on it

This is the corner I have to fix this weekend

 

[Cpants]

So now as I'm watching The King of DIY videos on YouTube, and see stuff like this corner. Is that top rail even touching on that corner?!