Should I be worried about the cabinet strength?

[fishy408]

I started filling up the Red Sea aquarium with water and was keeping an eye out for leaks, but I noticed something else wrong. The left side panel board isn't flushed anymore, looks like it about a half inch apart. I checked the right side was completely flushed. I have two pics attached, (left side and right side). On the left side you can see the the separation.

I am wondering is it purely cosmetic, or is it structural?

 

[Squist]

I'd be concerned about any separation like that. 1/2" is a pretty significant gap. All of the pieces fit snugly together on mine. I suspect you can disassemble that section, identify and tighten the joiner that needs to get cinched-down. Sure would be a lot less worry down the road when you've got it all humming along.

 

[fishy408]

Makes perfect sense. I should slow things down a bit and not let the excitement of restarting kill common sense. thanks!

 

[fishy408]

Had to take the left panel apart from the cabinet and tighten the screws, that seemed to do the trick.

 

[ashburn2k]

You can take the panel apart while tank is on the stand? [emoji33]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[fishy408]

Had to remove the tank, since some of the "tighteners screws" are on the bottom of the stand.

 

[jccaclimber]

Was the joint weak when you reassembled, or just not put together all the way?

 

[fishy408]

The tank was built about 2 years ago. I don't remember if I screwed it on tight or not, but I am assuming that it was. Not sure what the screw piece is called, but it's the piece that looks like a nut that tightens with a Phillips screwdriver. 3 screws on the bottom were bent. My guess is over time the left panel started to slant which created more pressure on the nut which bent them. Looking at it now, if I would of left it and built my setup without taking a look, it would of been a matter of time before the cabinet crashed.