Levelling the New Aquarium

jdjeff58 · #1 04/30/2007, 08:09 PM

I have a new AGA 120 and stand. There is no water in the tank. This is a brand new setup. The spot I picked to park the Aquarium is giving me about 1/4" off level from side to side and about 1/8" from front to back.

Under normal circumstances (like a bedroom dresser), I would just build up each corner with whatever I could find (like a cardboard coaster) to make it level. My concern with the aquarium is that building up the corners (or even one complete end for that matter) will put unequal pressure on the bottom of the stand and tranfer that unequal pressure up to the aquarium.

Am I thinking to much? Or is this a real concern. The stand is on a carpeted concrete floor in my finished basement. I seriously doubt that I will find a level spot anywhere in the room...especially near the walls. But this location for the aquarium is the most sensible for my setup.

The other question is, isn't levelling an aquarium without water somewhat of a crapshoot? Once you add all the water weight, things could and probably will change on carpet. I am guessing we check the level on the wet run and make necessary adjustments when we empty...correct?

Any help with this will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

jdjeff58 · #2 04/30/2007, 08:42 PM

nudge

gonzalezcp · #3 04/30/2007, 09:01 PM

on smaller tanks I have used weather stripping tape all along the perimeter. The soft stuff that has an adhesive on one side. You can layer it up as necessary in spots and if you get enough layers under the high spots it should compress to the same tension as the low.

jdjeff58 · #4 04/30/2007, 09:59 PM

bump

heyfredyourhat · #5 04/30/2007, 11:00 PM

You can also level off the top of the stand. I read a thread awhile ago where the guy just built a dam around the perimeter of the stand, then mixed a 2 part resin (the stuff they use on tables in restaurants). He just poured the stuff on and it leveled itself out. I cant remeber the name of the stuff he had used, but im sure if you google table top surfacers, or something liek that you will find it. It seemed like an excellent idea.

heyfredyourhat · #6 04/30/2007, 11:03 PM

http://www.uscomposites.com/kk121.html

Theres the link to what that other guy had used. If i remeber correctly, you need to mix very precise, and stir the living daylights out of it for ever.

Toddrtrex · #7 04/30/2007, 11:51 PM

I would level it from b/t the stand and the floor, that way the tank is still supported all around by the stand. And yes, you may have to level it a bit more when there is water in there. Not saying that would be easy to do

Maybe fill it with tap water first when you are checking your plumbing for leaks -- that way you won't waste RO/DI or salt water.

reefshadow · #8 05/01/2007, 04:42 AM

Quote:

You can also level off the top of the stand. I read a thread awhile ago where the guy just built a dam around the perimeter of the stand, then mixed a 2 part resin (the stuff they use on tables in restaurants). He just poured the stuff on and it leveled itself out. I cant remeber the name of the stuff he had used, but im sure if you google table top surfacers, or something liek that you will find it. It seemed like an excellent idea.

I would not do this for a couple reasons. #1 is that ANY bump or unevenness in the resin however slight will put point pressure on one part of the tank, this can easily lead to breakage. #2, if you decide to move the tank down the road to a different place, you are stuck with a stand that was leveled for a different situation. This would be a good product to use on the slab itself however, provided the spouse doesn't mind you cutting the carpet around the tank perimeter, and if the product is formulated for concrete and weight.

If you can't do that, you should use shims between the stand and floor, go ahead and do it dry then fill with FW for a test, measure and adjust as necessary. Most likely the same measurements will persist when filled considering it is on a slab, unless you have reason to believe that the carpet or pad is too thick or wrinkled in an area.

jdjeff58 · #9 05/01/2007, 07:32 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by reefshadow
This would be a good product to use on the slab itself however, provided the spouse doesn't mind you cutting the carpet around the tank perimeter, and if the product is formulated for concrete and weight.

If you can't do that, you should use shims between the stand and floor, go ahead and do it dry then fill with FW for a test, measure and adjust as necessary. Most likely the same measurements will persist when filled considering it is on a slab, unless you have reason to believe that the carpet or pad is too thick or wrinkled in an area.

I don't have a spouse, but I won't be cutting up the carpet. That's a bit drastic. I'm hesitant to use the shims which was why I wanted to check with the other reefers. It's kind of bugging me that all that weight will be supported just on the shim...which could strees out that el cheapo AGA stand.

The bottom of the stand is just an edge. In other words, it is not a flat surface from one side to the other. What really boggles my mind is that the tank also only rests on an edge of 3/4" wood. I guess it's a proven method but it looks scary to me.

I was just wondering what would be the consequences if I were to cut a piece of 3/4" plywood the same dimension as the bottom of the stand and put the stand on the top of that. Then shim under the 3/4" plywood. Seems like that would tranfer the weight more evenly if one side was raised 1/4".

I've read a few articles on this and everyone says that you need to level the stand and not the tank. I wholeheartedly agree with that. But nobody really goes into any detail on how to level the stand. They just say, "it will be necessary to level the stand".

I hope I'm not being too nitpicky with this. But just allowing the stand to rest on a small pressure point (shim) with all that weight is just bugging the heck out of me.

Village Idiot · #10 05/01/2007, 07:35 AM

I shimmed my stand.