# A Tale of Woe and Hope



## Veridius (7 Sep 2021)

I was a fool. To anyone reading this please dont make the (beginner) mistake that I made. I bought a lovely new ADA 60p, tank stand, substrate and plants. In my eagerness to set up after the arrival of the plants I forgot to lay down a rubber mat between my tank and stand. Lo and behold, one of the screws in the stand had been drilled in too tight and caused an extremely minor but clearly non insignificant elevation to the surface of the stand. 24 hours after filling, I heard a pop, followed by increasingly fast dripping. Luckily, I was sitting close by had a bucket to hand and I was able to rescue my livestock. I am left with an ADA tank with a crack running the length of the bottom pane of glass, very disappointed, and ~£180 lighter.

I am not one to give up and decided that the best remedy for such a loss would be to replace the broken tank. I have since bought a 90litre 60x40 tank which is larger but cheaper than the ADA tank. The problem is, I am loathe to place this on the cheap stand that I bought for the ADA. Firstly due to the obvious: the existing stand is not level and will damage the new tank so I would have to get some sort of top surface to mitigate this and do some DIY to what looks to be a sketchy flatpack. Secondly, im not sure something specced to hold up to 60L will hold something potentially 90L + substrate. I am at a bit of a loss of how to proceed as I am quite deep into my reserve funds due to my error. One solution I have come up with, and I would love some input on, is whether these IKEA pieces in tandem would offer enough support. I'm not sure I'd trust one on its own, but two stand alone units side by side might be workable? What do you guys think?


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## Geoffrey Rea (7 Sep 2021)

Veridius said:


> What do you guys think?



First and foremost… Slow down. Second, sorry to hear of your misfortune.

The soil will be useable again so hopefully you haven’t binned it. You may not realise it yet but you are setting yourself up for an insurance job if the tank is positioned upstairs. If it’s on the ground floor then the white carpet will be a write off. Two cabinets divided centrally only need to sit at a 1-2mm difference in height and you will shatter the base glass causing more woe.

Take a step back to assess what you are doing this for. If it requires more time to source a cabinet fit for the tank you have, it will be worth it.


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## Veridius (7 Sep 2021)

Havent binned the soil! Sage advice which I shall heed RE. the tank placement


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## Zeus. (8 Sep 2021)

Veridius said:


> I am left with an ADA tank with a crack running the length of the bottom pane of glass, very disappointed, and ~£180 lighter.


Sorry to hear your misfortune 

You could use a scalpel cut the bottom glass out get another suitable piece cut and silicone it back up, its not too hard and at least if the silicone isn't as tidy as the original it will be hidden by the substrate to some extent. It would be a shame to waste the rest of should a high quality tank.


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## Wookii (8 Sep 2021)

You've had some good advice so far, I'll just add, if you really want to use those two Ikea units, you will need a decent solid continuous board to top them. You could use a section of kitchen worktop the width of both cabinets. Screw both of the cabinets firmly together through the adjoining side walls, whilst they are perfectly level with one another, then screw the worktop securely to the top pf them both, through the underside of each cabinet top..

All that being said, there is little substitute for a properly made dedicated aquarium cabinet. What is it they say; "Buy cheap, buy twice . . . "


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## philljoynes (8 Sep 2021)

Sorry to hear your misfortune and I am heartened to hear of your tenacity.
I would say get a spirit level on your cabinet before the matt and tank just to make sure.  I am also very weary of Ikea cabinets with tanks under, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. 
I hope the next one works out 😀


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## Veridius (9 Sep 2021)

Zeus. said:


> Sorry to hear your misfortune
> 
> You could use a scalpel cut the bottom glass out get another suitable piece cut and silicone it back up, its not too hard and at least if the silicone isn't as tidy as the original it will be hidden by the substrate to some extent. It would be a shame to waste the rest of should a high quality tank.


It had crossed my mind initially although im not sure my partner would trust my handiwork enough to actually allow me to do such a thing! I have the new tank now to assuage her concerns in the near term so I will consider what to do with the broken one and this could be a good option.

I think for sanity and safety its going to be best if I just eat the cost of a new stand dedicated for this tank size. This way I wont be paranoid and listening for any bumps in the night


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## bazz (9 Sep 2021)

Veridius said:


> I think for sanity and safety its going to be best if I just eat the cost of a new stand dedicated for this tank size. This way I wont be paranoid and listening for any bumps in the night


👍


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## Dogtemple (9 Sep 2021)

Instead of cutting the bottom off, you could drop a new panel inside on top of the cracked panel and silicone it up.  That would be a solid repair


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## Veridius (23 Sep 2021)

Hi all - just an update. Stand arrived today (this one: Aqua One Inspire Cabinet 60 ). its listed as 600x400mm but its actually 598x398mm. The tank is bang on 600x400. Do you envisage a 1mm delta on each of the edges making a difference given its a rimless or should I send it back for a larger stand? Being ultra conservative this time as you can imagine! 😅


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## Geoffrey Rea (23 Sep 2021)

Veridius said:


> Do you envisage a 1mm delta on each of the edges making a difference given its a rimless or should I send it back for a larger stand?



You’ll be alright…


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