Stand not level

[jflick345]

So I built a stand based off Rocket Engineer's design and it turns out that it's off level by about 3/8in. Also turns out that I don't think I'm meant to be a carpenter. All of the legs are the exact same length so my guess is that my 2x4 on the base is not as straight as I though it was. Would shims be suitable or with that much of an adjustment needed would I be better off just planing it?

[okkiedokki]

Does your tank sit on the stand completely flat or is that off? When I built my stand my tank wouldn't sit flat, it was off by less then 3/8" and I ended up sanding the stand down but I didn't want to use shims. If you do use shims shim the stand not the tank.

[7designs]

If the top is warped or not flat the tank will bust for sure.

[uncleof6]

It may not be a case that you are not meant to be a carpenter, it may mean you are not meant to be a finish carpenter or cabinet maker. This is pretty much the skill set and tool set needed to build aquarium stands from lumber. So don't knock yourself too hard.

You need a long straight edge to figure out what the top rim is doing, and go from there.

Jim

[azsaltman]

^^ Agreed if the top isn't flat that's a problem.

If the top's flat.. But the legs to the stand itself are out of level, I would consider shims.

[snuff]

I had the same problem when I built my stand. So I went to the lumberyard and bought a counter top, set it on the stand and installed shims where needed.

[jflick345]

I checked the top and it's only about 1/16th from being level so I'm in the process of sanding it down but the base is apparently where the problem really lies. I think I'm going to try and sand down the base a little more towards level and see how it goes. I might end up still using some shims but I'm gonna try and make it so I don't have to shim it as much. I haven't had much time to work on it of late but I think I'm post some pics and a build thread soon.

[stugray]

One thing to be very careful about when discussing this subject is:FLAT versus LEVEL.

You CAN put a tank on a stand that is not LEVEL and it will probably be fine as long as it is FLAT ( unless it is a very long tank)

You CANNOT put a tank on a stand that is not FLAT or the distortion may crack the tank.

I see lots of discussions/arguments about this topic and half of them are due to using these two terms interchangeably.

LEVEL means "surfaces are horizontal with respect to gravity" - thats why we can use a bubble level to tell if something is "Level".
This does not tell us if it has high/low spots.

FLAT means "variation from a perfect plane varies less than X"

YOU CAN BE FLAT BUT NOT LEVEL.

YOU CAN BE LEVEL BUT NOT FLAT.

In fish tank parlance, FLAT means you better be UNDER 1/8" flatness over the entire surface with no "bumps" ( preferably even better).
This is measured with a LONG straight-edge.

AN example: My glass 125 sits on a factory stand that was shimmed to as close to LEVEL as I could get before filling.
After filling I find one end is a little lower than the other ( this is a pain since I have dual overflows ).

However I am not worried about being slightly out of level as long as I believe I am FLAT.

HTH

Stu

[jflick345]

It makes sense and I understand. If you have 2 high spots the the bubble level might say it's level but the tank won't be sitting flat on the whole side, just held up by the 2 points. I just kind of assumed that no one here would consider the it level unless the tank was also sitting flat against the top of the stand. I had some wobble that was caused by two raised corners but was able to plane and sand it down most of the way. Right now I'm trying to decide if I want to keep shaving away or just try a 11/32" sheet of plywood on the top of the stand just the ensure it's flat.