pad under tank

[Bodasifa]

I am in the process of setting up my fusion 30L rimless AIO and had a custom steel stand built, however i have noticed a very slight gap at one corner, between the tank and stand. The tank did come with a thin foam pad installed. my question is . will this slight gap pose a problem down the road and will the weight of the full tank compress this enough to fill the gap. I was thinking of putting a neoprene yoga mat under as well, as i don't like the unsightly look of the pink styrofoam so i figured a nice yoga mat would do the trick. Let me know your thoughts please

 

[Tom@HaslettMI]

That gap will likely result in the tank cracking if you don't addess it. Neoprene is a great option. Just don't buy a pink mat!

 

Tom

[jojoe972]

Dr. Foster's has some cool mats but they only come in blue or black. I bought the black one and liked it. A little thinner than a yoga mat but prevents water from getting to the underside

[Bodasifa]

ill check them out, thanks

[Murphs_Reef]

Yep my first 25 gallon ended up splitting on the opposite seam to where there was a gap between tank and stand. Took ah good year but it went, while I was at work, so came in to a dead tank, floor was a wreck.... Not a great evening.... Took ages to convince the wife to "approve" a new one

[seabass]

You say it was custom built. Any way to get the builder to straighten it out for you, or is the stand uneven because the floor isn't level? If you just need to level it, maybe use some plastic shims. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss/190-3945154-2746936?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Plastic+shims

[Bodasifa]

everything is level, tanks sits perfectly level and my floors are level. just a slight gap at one corner where maybe the welds were ground down a little more on the one side. the gap is just big enough to let light shine through. i would think a yoga mat would make up the very small gap that is there.

[ajmckay]

How big of a gap you talking? A few sheets of paper I don't think will be an issue - 1/8" is likely impending doom.

 

I'm not sure a rubber mat or similar will do anything really to support the tank in this case. As I understand it the stand is level on the floor but the tank is not level on the stand, correct? In other words 3 corners of the tank touch the stand while 1 doesn't - maybe there's a slight rocking?

 

I would use the shim suggestion. If the gap is really small then you can use some wood shavings or plastic blister packaging as shims. Stick a few in to support the area where the stand is low (don't go overboard and raise the spot!) then put the tank down. You can still keep the foam on the tank.

 

As for the metal stand, this is pretty common I believe - as I've tried to weld things before it's tough to get a perfectly level surface when there's so much heating/cooling of the metal and things just have a tendency to warp a little. If you're not liking the idea of shims then you could possibly use a hammer to bring it back up a little - assuming that it's not that big of a stand since it's only built for a 30L. Maybe pose the question to the stand maker on how to fix the issue?

[Bodasifa]

its not much of a gap. if i push down on the tank slightly with very little force, the gap is gone. like you said maybe a few sheets of paper. I really don't think it is going to be a concern when the tank is full as there is a pad already on the tank. I checked the tank again this morning and the gap is now gone. looks like the tank has settled and the pad has filled up the gap