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melev

The Marineland 400g is level

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11 Comments
by
melev
, 11-21-2010 at 10:53 PM (3824 Views)
And like that, the tank is now level. I ran up to Home Depot and bought some 2" flat aluminum stock. An 8' stick was $17.50, and I cut it up into 6" sections with a jigsaw using a metal-cutting blade.







The aluminum is 1/8" thick. Using the can jack, I raised up the offending corner, slid the shims in place and lowered the stand back down on top of them.












I think I want to keep this Tank Boy around. He's really useful, and does wiring on demand. Oh, and by the way, to the right (his left) you can see the new framing where the wall was extended. The last circuit was wired in tonight: plugs for the lighting (MH & VHO).








I had an offer today to get some composite material to replace the aluminum, now that I know the thickness needed for each corner. So I may be replacing those before the water is added. I'd really like to fill that gap with more concrete, but don't know if it would do any good other than make me happy.

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‎ Tank Entry , ‎ Electrical

Comments

  1. Bobbywade's Avatar
    What's up with that guys foot in the last pic!! Lol
  2. Bobbywade's Avatar
    Haha you said last of wiring haha I know u better as your tank boy
  3. baker.shawn's Avatar
    Please correct me if my logic is wrong but I ran in to this concern when I levelled my tank, mine is much smaller so I didn’t worry much....
    By building up one side of your stand, you are effectively taking the entire load of your tank that would be spread to the ground though 4 sides of the stand and transferring it to 2 sides (the left and right). Those 2 long front and back base bars are no longer carrying any load. I see this as a little bit of a unforeseen stress on the structure. Perhaps I’m underestimating the strength of the steal stand and there is nothing to worry about heck I’m not an engineer
  4. Russell's Avatar
    after shiming, you could always grout the stand in with precision grout. We do that a lot at the work on machines and bridge crane systems, after the structure or machine is shimmed and level, we mix up the grout and pack it in, you mix it really dry. Most masonry/concrete places should have it. 1 bag would be more than enough. You can leave a gap at a few key locations to aid in drainage.
  5. Reefski's Avatar
    i too wonder about the load transfer now being carried by only a few points instead of through the whole frame. torque stress can lead to failure. and maybe it is fine. i too am not an engineer but you might want to talk to a real one.
  6. Spyder's Avatar
    I don't know what material would hold up best but I agree that you need to fill the gap, as baker.shawn said you have transferred a lot of weight (but not all) to a small area. Undoubtedly when you add water your shims will compress just a little bit and if you have filled the gap then some of that weight will be again spread back over more of the structure. IMO a fiberglass epoxy would hold up the best although it wouldn't be the easiest route.
  7. Jnarowe's Avatar
    I wish you hadn't done that Marc. Aluminum is a horrible material to use in a saltwater environment, especially if it is in contact with any ferrous metal. And if there is any stray current and/or SW on the floor, the aluminum will go away. Do some reading on that before you call it good.
  8. Heathd's Avatar
    Aluminum against aluminum will degrade itself, other then that, you are fine. The post at each corner are what carry the loads, everything else provides stability.

    Do with it what you will.
    Updated 11-22-2010 at 09:43 AM by Heathd
  9. Hans's Avatar
    Seeing an aluminum shim under a tank like that was enough to get me to finally register here......

    An aluminum shim under there, in the salt environment, is going to cause some nasty galvanic corrosion. Not just the aluminum either, but it will also start rotting into the stand as well. Throw any kind of stray current into the mix, and you'll be shocked how fast it will go.

    -Hans
  10. Heathd's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Hans
    Seeing an aluminum shim under a tank like that was enough to get me to finally register here......

    An aluminum shim under there, in the salt environment, is going to cause some nasty galvanic corrosion. Not just the aluminum either, but it will also start rotting into the stand as well. Throw any kind of stray current into the mix, and you'll be shocked how fast it will go.

    -Hans
    Whoops, I completely forgot about that. I should have remembered that from my material science class.
  11. melev's Avatar
    I'll get that composite material ordered. Thanks for the feedback.