# Uneven Floor :-(



## Aquapolis (Aug 5, 2014)

Hi all,


So I just purchased my first aquarium after nearly 20 years away from the hobby. YaaY

Funny story... my floor is apparently not even. 

I want to place the 38 g tank, on its metal stand that came with the tank, in a specific corner of my apartment. 
Only one leg is not very even. It's as if... the 3 stand legs by the walls are more or less leveled the other one is off so the stand just wobbles. Before I put the aquarium on it, with 130kg of water, another 50 kgs of sand/hardscape, and about 25 grams of fish in it... I have to level it surely! I expect that if I don't, the stress on the aquarium / stand will certain cause it to break or collapse, eventually...

Anyone experienced something like this?

What are my options? 
Must / should I really pick another corner of the house where the floor will be (more) even?
Obviously a piece of cardboard underneath the stand foot would be totally useless when all the weight crushes it. Something else instead under the stand foot to level it? Suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

Alex aka Aquapolis


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## Y2KGT (Jul 20, 2009)

Aquapolis said:


> Obviously a piece of cardboard underneath the stand foot would be totally useless when all the weight crushes it. Something else instead under the stand foot to level it? Suggestions?


Rather than something soft like cardboard or wood I would suggest something made of metal. Any building center such as Home Depot will have something you can use to shim your stand.
--
Paul


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

when I set up my 90 at this new place, I checked the level and I got very lucky that the spot I wanted my tank was actually level.

Then after filling the tank and over time, the level is off and the tank is leaning forward a bit. The joys of being in an old sheety house


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## brycon (Aug 5, 2014)

If you have the proper power tools, you can cut a 1/2" sheet (or thicker, up to you) of plywood the same dimensions as your stand. Place the plywood where you want the tank to be located and shim underneath the plywood until it's even and then place the stand on top. This way the stand/tank will be even and you will have an even base if you decide to place a canister filter underneath.


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Try going to Home Depot and asking them for shims. Don't buy the wood shims but try getting the shims that are made of composite plastics. It's unreal how much weight they can take and it's really easy to level out your tank, then you can use a knife and cut off the excess amount. 

I did this with my frag tank downstairs and it worked fine.


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## Crayon (Apr 13, 2014)

What Alt said. Google how to use shims, and these are by far, the best and easiest shims to use. We've been using them for as long as they've been around, for all the custom furniture we build.
Even put them under our 175 gallon, where the floor was out of level by over 1" from front to back.
It is absolutely imperative that a tank be level, so don't just eyeball it either, use a proper level and make sure it's flat from front to back and side to side. Glass is not forgiving, it will break if not level. (Well, let's just say it's not worth waking up at night to a flood).


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## Aquapolis (Aug 5, 2014)

Thanks guys! I will make a quick trip to home hardware near my house tomorrow and ask about this.


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

Depending on how much you need to shim and the size of the legs, you may have a pocket full of shims. I often used pennies to shim machinery I was installing.


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