# Aquarium does not meet stand fully



## johnpithers (Jun 10, 2014)

On one corner of my stand theere is a small gap between the tank and stand. I gather I cannot fill the tank with water? It's a juwel rio 300 so has a botttom frame already. The stand sits on raw floorboards and I do not know what the problem is for certain. It's very troubling, please help


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## Narwhal72 (Sep 26, 2006)

If your aquarium has a plastic frame it is nothing to worry about and perfectly normal.


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## joescaper1 (Feb 14, 2013)

Put 3/4" (19mm or so) styrofoam under the entire frame. To hide it, paint the styrofoam the same color as your trim using water based paint (solvent bases will melt the styrofoam. See Exxilon City in Death to the Daleks  ). This will give you full contact and support around the entire perimeter.

Joe


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

Narwhal72 said:


> If your aquarium has a plastic frame it is nothing to worry about and perfectly normal.


There is nothing normal about this. The entire bottom should be in contact with the stand. Sounds like the low corner needs to be tweaked to raise it into contact. Styrofoam is great for ironing out discrepencies in flatness, but will do nothing to level a stand or a tank on a stand that isn't level, and doesn't have all four corners in the same plane.


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## johnpithers (Jun 10, 2014)

Is styrofoam a good idea under the plastic frame as juwel advises against this, I also have noticed the same problem (to a lesser scale) on my tank upstiars which has been set up a little over a year, any thoughts?


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## chopsteeks (Jul 23, 2013)

Can you post a photo of the tank and stand ?


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## johnpithers (Jun 10, 2014)

Okay I will do later on, not sure what the time is in US but I'll post one of both tanks when I get the chance. Just to stress the tank upstairs has been set up for a year with no probs


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## Narwhal72 (Sep 26, 2006)

> There is nothing normal about this. The entire bottom should be in contact with the stand. Sounds like the low corner needs to be tweaked to raise it into contact. Styrofoam is great for ironing out discrepencies in flatness, but will do nothing to level a stand or a tank on a stand that isn't level, and doesn't have all four corners in the same plane.


While that may be desireable in an ideal world, in reality that is rarely the case.

The vast majority of framed aquariums are not in contact with the stand across the entire bottom. I know this for a fact and if you were to go into most fish rooms with a piece of paper you could slide it between the stand and frame at some point on every aquarium. The bottom edge of the frame itself is rarely parallel to the bottom glass. This is because the silicone used to adhere the bottom frame to the glass is often thicker in one section than another.
And yet the vast majority of aquariums do not fall apart as a result of these variations. This is because it is a industry/hobbyist created myth and that the reality is that there is a certain degree of tolerance that will not affect the integrity of the aquarium.

Also in the example provided by the OP the aquarium frame could all be in the same plane with only three points touching. That plane just doesn't happen to be parallel to the plane formed by the top of the stand.


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

Narwhal72 said:


> > There is nothing normal about this. The entire bottom should be in contact with the stand. Sounds like the low corner needs to be tweaked to raise it into contact. Styrofoam is great for ironing out discrepencies in flatness, but will do nothing to level a stand or a tank on a stand that isn't level, and doesn't have all four corners in the same plane.
> 
> 
> While that may be desireable in an ideal world, in reality that is rarely the case.
> ...


 Exactly, that is why the corner needs to be tweaked. As far as space between the bottom and frame, I have seen it lots of times, usually in the middle.However, the 4 corners are in contact. For that gap in the middle, styro will fix that. 
You don't need an ideal world to set up a tank correctly; you just need to put in the effort. I will agree that tanks can withstand quite a bit, in terms of uneven stands. However, some tanks will break rather easily, so, why take the chance on doing half a job?


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## cantrell (May 13, 2014)

I've always shimmed at the corners only. Only the four corners of the plastic frame in contact with the stand..


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## johnpithers (Jun 10, 2014)

SO any final suggestios? Put something between tank and stand @corner?


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## smitty814 (Sep 27, 2012)

You never said how much of a gap. Just small. I would level and shim the cabinet (stand) at the corners. Place and fill the aquarium. Check for any additional leveling and then shim in between the corner shims. Since the manufacturer does not recommend foam on the bottom I would not place any.


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## johnpithers (Jun 10, 2014)

I have replaced some broken stand feet and this has helped the problem. The gap is far smaller now. I can slide a piece of paper under there but not some cardboard from a cereal box. I think I should wedge the card under there to level everything in that corner?


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## smitty814 (Sep 27, 2012)

Always shim the stand. Not the tank.


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

smitty814 said:


> Always shim the stand. Not the tank.


Good advice.


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## johnpithers (Jun 10, 2014)

Have placed a small cardboard section under the tank and the gap is now very small. Will fill the tank today


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

johnpithers said:


> Have placed a small cardboard section under the tank and the gap is now very small. Will fill the tank today


The cardboard will get wet and won't dry quickly under the tank. Best case scenario is that it just disintegrates, worse would be the moldy stench from rotting. You might want to reconsider the styro suggestion if you're going to leave something underneath. The glass will flex when it's full...and as long as the gap is small (<1cm), it should settle in.


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## johnpithers (Jun 10, 2014)

Oh I meant under the stand! My mistake ! The gap is around 1/2 mm is say


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## Magic Mike (Jun 13, 2014)

Just shim the corner with some metal flat stock, or some wood shims. Cardboard will just compress and if gets wet will fall apart.


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## johnpithers (Jun 10, 2014)

Just some closure on everything, I was advised directly by the manufacturer today not to worry and to fill the tank up, which i've done successfully, thank you for everybodies contributions


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