Stand top not level, Help!

mainn · May 7, 2018

I bought a used tank and stand setup off of craigslist. The tank is braced on the bottom (Black plastic trim) and rimless on top (Deep Blue RR 30 gallon). The stand is a homemade stand, very sturdy but the top of the stand appears a bit out of level. 2 diagonal corners gape just a hair. The previous guy said he had it set up for 8 months no problem, and the tank doesn't have any cracking and looks sound. The question to all you DIYers out there is what should I do about it? The top of the stand is sealed and painted plywood and the stand itself sits level on the floor. It is purely an issue with the top surface.

I have come up with a few solutions, but I am not sure what would be the best thing to do:

Do nothing, set the tank up and trust that it is fine
Put down a foam mat, might be enough to compensate for the slight wobble
Buy a power sander and try and sand the top level
Cut a new piece of plywood and put it over the old top surface

Are there any options I am missing here? What might be the best course of action here?

Thanks

Greybeard · May 7, 2018

If I'm understanding you right, it's not that it's out of level, it's that the surface of the new stand is not flat. Tank sitting on the stand empty does not sit flat, 'a hair' of space on opposite corners... is that what you're saying?

Assuming this is the case, and noting that 'A hair' is a rather variable unit of measure... I'd say you're fine. Water weight is going to flex the bottom of the tank (reinforced, right?) a bit, and/or flex the top of the stand a bit. Rimmed tanks only contact the surface of the stand around the edges... if it's really 'a hair'... something significantly less than 1/16", I'd fill the tank and not worry about it. Let the water weight even it out.

mainn · May 7, 2018

Yes, the stand top is not flat, and it makes the tank wobble on the opposite corners. A gap probably the size of 2 layers of cereal box cardboard. I can check exactly how much it gapes later today.

Greybeard · May 7, 2018

Eh.

Yes... this is going to cause a bit of additional stress, as the glass tank flexes to conform to the stand top. IMHO, as long as the tank is in good condition, it isn't enough to cause me any alarm.

Stand top looks flat, right? No obvious visible bumps or dips in the surface?

If it were a rimless (bottom) tank, I'd recommend a sheet of closed cell foam between the tank and stand, but I'd recommend that anyway... With a rimmed tank? Eh. No big deal.