# leveling a tank



## davidlock (Apr 19, 2008)

I am about ready to start my 90 gallon tank up and after building my stand i notice it isn't sitting level in the basement, it is on carpet which has the under padding and it is out past the nailing strip for the carpent...
what options are there?
or what have some of you done to make the tank sit level.
It is important that it sits level to allow equal pressure on the glass correct? 
thanks
David


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## KnaveTO (May 13, 2007)

It is rather improtant that you level your tanks as much as possible. I would suggest that you get a piece of 1/2" styrofoam (the pink or blue kind as it is denser) and place it under your tank. Cut the styrofoam about 1/4" wider on each dimension of the tank so that the styrofoam is 1/2" larger than the width and depth of your tank that way there is a bit of a lip.


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## redclove (Feb 26, 2008)

If its just a little bit of a nudge it needs, wooden stir sticks for paint cans work well, just tap them in and break em if need be, then add another layer.

Its an easy way to move a lot of weight up a little. worked for me anyway.


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## davidlock (Apr 19, 2008)

the tank is empty and not on there yet, so any option is still available if i put the styrofoam under it will it autmatically level the tank? or shoud i shim the stand up aswell?


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## KnaveTO (May 13, 2007)

I would shim the stand as well just to be on the safe side.


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

Hmm.

I would only level the stand, not the tank. If you don't distribute the shims evenly under the tank you'll create uneven stresses on the glass which would cause more trouble then a slightly out of level tank stand.

Good luck.


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## Mr Fishies (Sep 21, 2007)

_1/2 Ton Disclaimer: The following advice does not come with any guarantee written or implied. _

Can you say how far out of level it is across the stand? 1/4 inch, 2 inches? Is it front to back, side to side or a combination? If it's only 1/4 or so it's more a matter of aesthetics than structural as long as your stand is rigid enough to stay planar under your 1/2 ton aquarium. If your stand flexes over a hump in the uneven floor and the load on one corner is higher than the rest of the tank you can get into trouble pretty fast.

I'm just about to start setting up a 75 gallon and faced this problem as well, the floor in my basement (and any new basement I believe) slopes towards a floor drain near the furnace or laundry room.

I designed and built a stand that can absorb the force of having an imperfect floor and unequal weight distribution across the corners of the stand - so I can level my stand with shims without worrying about it flexing under the aquarium. Depending on the methods and materials you used to construct your stand and the precision of your joinery, you can possibly do this as well. One way to test this is to have your two heaviest friends climb on the very ends of the stand, see if they can use it like a see-saw and it rocks on your unleveled floor or if it flexes under their weight. If it flexes, you need to level your stand with as even a distribution of weight around the perimeter of your stand as possible.

Ideally, _I_ would always prefer to have the stand level and the tank on top of it on a flat planar surface with no shims under the tank.

I've seen the aftermath of a broken 40 long (not mine) and I can tell you it ain't pretty.

---

After I clicked submit, I see that I hesitated to post for so long that others offered the same advice - I agree with Cory and Knave.


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

In the interests of absolute safety-level a tank as close to perfect, always. (falling/shattering glass-even from a 10 gallon- can be very very dangerous- there was one report in the news where a man unfortunately passed away due to an accident involving being in the wrong place at the wrong time, a poorly placed aquarium, and gravity. It was very tragic and I hope it never happens again)

personally, I use two levels, I put one on the longways part of the tank and the other the wideways, and I use shims (the skinny ones so you can be real precise.) and if the shim doesnt go all the way in- because I only need a bit more height there, I break it off then sand it down and it looks good. This has worked for me about 8 tanks so far. You can also do several other methods but if you can manage it with shims this is the safest. Also, because the floor is carpeted, and all things tend to sag, I would angle the tank so it is about 2mm leaning towards the wall. Within about six months it will be perfectly level and stay that way.


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## Shattered (Feb 13, 2008)

What about cabinet levelers? They are fairly cheap, easy to install and use. 

"insert disclaimer here"


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## Mr Fishies (Sep 21, 2007)

Shattered said:


> What about cabinet levelers? They are fairly cheap, easy to install and use.
> 
> "insert disclaimer here"


I believe most (maybe all) won't stand up to over 1000 pounds, I've never seen them rated for more than ~800 lbs. Some may but again it goes back to having weight distributed evenly and eliminating load points. If the stand flexes between the levelers the tank will be unevenly supported and may crack.

Re: shims. You can find packages of cedar shingles/shims sold at most Rona type stores, ~$10 for a pack that will level more aquariums, bookcases etc than most of us will ever have.


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

Not sure what kind of material you used on your custom tank stand, but I find that shims tend to slide. I use loonies and twoonies for my metal stand. They seem to work fairly well.

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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

Zebrapl3co said:


> Not sure what kind of material you used on your custom tank stand, but I find that shims tend to slide. I use loonies and twoonies for my metal stand. They seem to work fairly well.


A wooden shim placed properly under several thousand pounds will never slide.


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## davidlock (Apr 19, 2008)

the stand is perfectly built for the construction side of things took it at school so I’m not worried about that...or I shouldn't be anyway and if I am maybe I’m in the wrong business lol  it is made out of red oak, with six 2-3/4" square legs (4 outside and 2 in the middle) with six gables (sides) going down from top to bottom, with a solid 1-1/2" top 
Thank you for your suggestions but keep them coming, 
I just did a level check and long ways (side to side) the stand sits perfectly level, depth ways (back to front) it is out of level roughly 3/8" it is leaning forward should I shim the front up?
My concern with shimming the front is that I did such a nice job building and finishing the stand if these shims were ever noticed it would kinda suck, but as it seems maybe it’s my best/only viable option.

Again more input is appreciated and thank you for the input thus far
David


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

3/8" is way too much in my opinion for that size tank. Accidents can happen. As per the shims being visible yes its sucky but you can always make veneers 3/8" tall and run along the front of the stand. Nobody will ever know 

I really think the best is totally level-unless you live in a known earthquake zone. then you should level the tank about 1/10 or 2/10" toward the wall, so if it ever were to slide it would not be toward people


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## Mr Fishies (Sep 21, 2007)

davidlock said:


> <SNIP>
> I just did a level check and long ways (side to side) the stand sits perfectly level, depth ways (back to front) it is out of level roughly 3/8" it is leaning forward should I shim the front up?
> <SNIP>


The basement in my old place was a sort of low loop industrial type carpet with underpad and the ~1/4-3/8 inch of shims sank in and the stand "floated" just above the carpet.

If your stand is sitting on carpet and you can figure out the shims needed to get the lift on the front you need, I suspect that the shims will sink into the carpet and if you recess them a bit from the edge, your stand may look like it's floating above the carpet a bit or it may just sink right down flush to the carpet (depends on whether you have industrial, berber or maybe even shag carpet!).


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

Styrofoam will not level a tank/stand, but will take up any imperfections in flatness.


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## MT-ED (Apr 4, 2006)

Here's my 6 foot, 125 gallon tank during setup. All my apartment is nicely level apart from the one logical position for this tank in the lounge.










It took me two days of trial and error to get it level. How bad? Get this:

Front left-hand end corner is 2.3cms off the floor
Rear left-hand end corner is 0.7cms off the floor
Front right-hand end corner is 0.6 cms off the floor
Rear right-hand corner is on the floor.
(Measured today)

Everything inbetween is packed with mixed materials to provide even support under each end and interior bulkheads. There's no styrofoam between the stand and the tank.

I did level tests of the cabinet loaded and unloaded and when I finally_ thought _I'd got it, did test fills to check via water-level. Involved a couple of fills, emptys and refills, but got it in the end. The tank has been set up for several years now, and considering it's one of Big Als recycled Cornflake packet jobbies, I must have done something right.

You absolutely MUST take your time doing this. It's very important both from structural, safety and plain common sense reasons. I live in a Penthouse, so there's plenty of people below me to_ really_ piss off if I screw it up.








You can just about see some shims here.

I agree with the carpet theory. Your shimming may dissapear from view if the pile is long enough.

Good luck. Do it right

Martin.


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## Shattered (Feb 13, 2008)

MT-ED said:


> I live in a Penthouse, so there's plenty of people below me to_ really_ piss off if I screw it up.


Picturing several movies where the tub falls thru the floor in the the apartments below.


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