Leveling an acrylic tank- 75gal
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Sleeping Giant
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I wouldn't fill that tank with water. That stand is insufficient for the weight of the water that will be in the tank.
The stand will buckle in less than 5 minutes.
your better off with a DIY or cabinet with better support. sorry to be the bear of bad news. Also, you never shim the tank, just the bottom of the stand, but in this case it won't matter because the stand won't hold that weight anyway.
The stand will buckle in less than 5 minutes.
your better off with a DIY or cabinet with better support. sorry to be the bear of bad news. Also, you never shim the tank, just the bottom of the stand, but in this case it won't matter because the stand won't hold that weight anyway.
Stevesw718
Community Member
Just searched, particle board… it actually flexes… and they’re not cheap $, the reviews are hit or miss though, i Bght it used… guess I will try to fish for another stand before setting up
600lbs of water, + rocks and substrate
fishguy242
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looks like a factory stand , is it damaged in any way ? swelling ,peeling , wobbly ?
if firm and solid , just shim floor, 1/8-1/4" mat under tank ,should be good to go ,JMO...
if firm and solid , just shim floor, 1/8-1/4" mat under tank ,should be good to go ,JMO...
Troylee
all about the diy!!!!!
I don’t care for those cam locks but it does look like a factory stand. If it feels solid and not able to sway or move I think you’re fine personally! People get crazy on here and over build everything.. I have a 275 gallon tank sitting a stand that’s made of plywood and it’s solid as a rock. If you wanted a piece of mind you could get some angle and screw it to the base and uprights to help with shear force and take some pressure off the dowels and cam locks… again this is appears to be a factory stand so it was engineered at some point and most likely used by the person you just bought it from.. I know I wouldn’t go out and buy a random stand to just my sell tank haha..
I have the same stand under a 75 gallon tank only issue is the cabinet hardware will start to rust. My tank has had a minor bulkhead leak that took me awhile to notice and the stand held up fine to the salt exposure. Been using for 16 months. If you have any concerns set it up outside and fill the tank with water.
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Troylee
all about the diy!!!!!
The stand will and has held the weight.. it’s not an issue at all… the cam locks are cheesy but what evs they work… it’s a factory stand see the post above.
malacoda
Valuable Member
DO NOT use a leveling mat with an acrylic tank.
The chemicals in the mat will slowly attack the acrylic as they out-gas, causing the acrylic to craze.
Unless the top of the stand is extremely gritty or rough, you should need nothing between the tank and the top. It the top is rough, sand it smooth.
The slightly flexibility in the acrylic can easily take care of any slight unevenness in a stand top.
I say this from experience. I was advised not to use a mat for mine ... both here on R2R and by the tank maker. But it was my first acrylic tank and I felt uneasy not having some kind of mat or foam between the tank a stand ... out of habit from my glass tanks.
So I used a matt. Sure enough, 5 months later the bottom edges of the acylic began to craze.
Next tank I set up, NO mat. Just put the tank down right on the plywood top as recommended. No problems since.
The chemicals in the mat will slowly attack the acrylic as they out-gas, causing the acrylic to craze.
Unless the top of the stand is extremely gritty or rough, you should need nothing between the tank and the top. It the top is rough, sand it smooth.
The slightly flexibility in the acrylic can easily take care of any slight unevenness in a stand top.
I say this from experience. I was advised not to use a mat for mine ... both here on R2R and by the tank maker. But it was my first acrylic tank and I felt uneasy not having some kind of mat or foam between the tank a stand ... out of habit from my glass tanks.
So I used a matt. Sure enough, 5 months later the bottom edges of the acylic began to craze.
Next tank I set up, NO mat. Just put the tank down right on the plywood top as recommended. No problems since.
Troylee
all about the diy!!!!!
I find that hard to believe and never heard of this in my 30 years working with acrylic.. I’ve always preferred thin styrofoam myself.. if you use a self adhering mat with glue on it then maybe.. but a simple piece of foam or rubber shouldn’t make acrylic craze, there’s another issue if so. For example cleaning the tank with an abrasive cleaner like windex, alcohol etc.
Sleeping Giant
Proud Canadian Reefer
because it's got no supports from what I can see, the material is thin.
Stevesw718
Community Member
Thanks everyone for all the response, I’m torn and really do not want to spend more time and money to get another stand. Very happy to hear someone is using the same stand!
Is 3/8 of an inch too much off level? The mat in picture was me trying last second options. I will ultimately leave tank directly on stand and shim the stand if needed.
the stand surfaces are all smooth, nothing broken or cracked, no rust. The person I bought it from had it setup with freshwater, it’s a stock stand and he had it on thick carpet. Believe I paid $200 for the stand and tank few months ago.
Is 3/8 of an inch too much off level? The mat in picture was me trying last second options. I will ultimately leave tank directly on stand and shim the stand if needed.
the stand surfaces are all smooth, nothing broken or cracked, no rust. The person I bought it from had it setup with freshwater, it’s a stock stand and he had it on thick carpet. Believe I paid $200 for the stand and tank few months ago.
Troylee
all about the diy!!!!!
The stand is fine… I’m not sure how it’s so far out of square thou.. is it your floor or the actual stand?
malacoda
Valuable Member
The only cleaner that ever touched the tank was Novus.
The only place crazing took place was along the bottom edge of the tank, where it met two freshly cut edges of this mat (https://www.lowes.com/pd/Rubber-Cal...Blend-1-8-in-Thick-x-39-in-x-78-in/1003199750) ... which I had trimmed to size before setting the tank in place. The crazing began to show about 3-4 months after set up.
If baffled the tank maker too, as he'd never seen it happen before either. But it was the only conclusion we were able to come to.
Just my experience.
Stevesw718
Community Member
It is my floor, hardwood, a slight slant. I feel like if I shim and one area is not flush to floor, it’ll crate a bigger headache later. Visually I can deal with the 3/8, left side of tank will be where on over flow is
Troylee
all about the diy!!!!!
Yeah that’s very strange.. my next guess would be the tank was either flame polished or built with incorrect material thickness and stressed the joints to cause the crazing.. do you happen to have pictures of it?
Troylee
all about the diy!!!!!
So the floors flat but has a slight grade throwing your water line off 3/8”? If that’s the case it’s fine but will be unsightly of course.
To level the tank shim the stand. That's why many stands have adjustable legs on the stand. I've never shimmed between tank and stand and never would. Nothing between tank and stand but a leveling mat or nothing at all.
A water line 3/8" of level would drive me nuts and I'm not it even OCD. Can't tell if the tank is drilled but 3/8" could be enough to effect flow into the overflow.
A water line 3/8" of level would drive me nuts and I'm not it even OCD. Can't tell if the tank is drilled but 3/8" could be enough to effect flow into the overflow.
malacoda
Valuable Member
48" x 24" x 24" 120g made with 1/2" acrylic
Made by a very respected acrylic tank builder whose been in the business for years. I can't say for certain, but very much doubt he flame polished.
The only place it crazed was along edges where the mat was freshly cut. (It was on 3 edges, my memory is cr**.) The back edge of the mat was a factory cut edge, and no crazing took place along it. I assume it had plenty of time to finish out gassing while sitting in the factory/warehouse.
I don't want derail the OP's thread any more than I already have.
Like I said, just sharing my experience.
And on my current tank, the upgrade I'm doing this fall, and any future tanks (they'll all be acrylic, after trying it, I doubt I'll ever go back to glass) I won't be using a mat. Just my decision/plan.
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