Tank Levelling - Should I bother?

JoeMomma · #1 09/25/2007, 08:52 PM

I just passed a milestone in my tank build. I set up my return pump and started pumping water from my basement to my main tank.

When I was setting the tank up I used a level to check everything and the tank was more of less level. Now that there is some water in it its apparent that that one side is about 1 cm off. Is this enough to make me empty the tank and level it? My stand is such a way that I'll need a ton of shims to raise up one side. Is it worth all the effort?

nlmotoring · #2 09/25/2007, 09:07 PM

I wouldn't mess with it. As long as everything seem stable then I would leave it.

AZDesertRat · #3 09/25/2007, 09:15 PM

A centimeter is quite a bit. I would shim the stand up some.
I always add a couple of inches of water to my tanks and let it settle in for a day or so before levelling so everything has a chance to level out.

Sk8r · #4 09/25/2007, 09:19 PM

If your build is warped and you add the weight of a small safe to it, also off center, then heat the water to 80 degrees, thus softening the seams a bit---no. Fix it now. We see all too many "My tank's sprung a leak!" threads. It's minor at this point. It isn't, once you have a thriving tank.

Jescd · #5 09/25/2007, 09:31 PM

Hmmm, I don't think that it would be worth all the effort/work for as little as "about 1 centimeter". All in all, I would leave it as is, IMHO!

Good luck

AZDesertRat · #6 09/25/2007, 09:35 PM

A centimeter is about 3/8" I believe. Thats a lot when you are talking about unequal stresses in a water filled glass or acrylic box. We level 10,000,000 gallon steel water tanks better than that.
On my old system I ripped a 2x4 down into a wedge that was 4 feet long and tapered from about 1/2" down to nothing.

JoeMomma · #7 09/25/2007, 09:44 PM

If I am to level this, standard shims are about 2" wide. I'd need 24 of them to cover the entire back of the tank. Is there an easier way?

AZDessertRat - How did you rip the 2x4 into a wedge? It sounds like something I'd never be able to do with my meager tools.

AZDesertRat · #8 09/25/2007, 09:51 PM

You only need to shim the load bearing points. Start with the corners and if the stand has a center brace or multiple uprights put one under each. It works best to install one shim from the back side with the taper facing out then place a second one on top of that with the thick side out that you can drive or push in from the outside. That way even though the shims might only be maybe 1/4" thick you can shim up to 1/2" if needed. It also gives them a better more level bearing surface.

JoeMomma · #9 09/25/2007, 10:17 PM

Ah yes the load bearing points! I was thinking it was everywhere that the stand made contact with the floor.

I've drawn it out as I don't want to make any mistakes and have a tank crash through my floor or start leaking.

The brown is the bottom of my stand that makes contact with the floor and the black is where there are load bearing points. So if I need to raise the back by 3/8" then I just shim along the black lines in the back and ignore where there is no load bearing points.

Can I have confirmation on this before I make a mess.

Should I also empty the tank? I have about 30 gallons of water and about 60 lbs of sand in there right now.

Should I got for composite shims or cedar shims?

Thanks for all the help!

AZDesertRat · #10 09/25/2007, 10:32 PM

Is this the 120 gallon tank? It has no center uprights or braces at all either front or back? I suppose if its only a 4 foot tank that is probably OK though. You drawing looks accurate to me. I would get the back where it needs to be then fill in a little around the two sides, mostly to fill the gaps. I don't know if the shim material really matters as the compression strength is pretty good on the wooden shims anyway.

JoeMomma · #11 09/25/2007, 10:53 PM

Its a 120 gallon tank - 4'x2'. It has an oceanic stand that came inspected by some guy at oceanic. Even has his card with his autogrpah. Not sure if that means a whole heck of a lot.

My mistake, there is a small center unpright at the front where the 2 doors meet. Not sure if its for load bearing or design though...

Jescd · #12 09/26/2007, 04:53 PM

I'd be interested to know how it all pans out...Good luck

kmf507 · #13 09/26/2007, 05:56 PM

I would certainly fix it. A cm is a lot of difference when considering the weight of the water.

64Texan · #14 09/26/2007, 06:48 PM

I would do it so I could sleep sound at night.

Really, the way I look at it is once you have it all set with rock, sand and the rest, do you really want to worry about the seams later?

Not to mention just knowing it's not level and have it in the back of my mind... Consider your work now insurance for later.

Dr Begalke · #15 09/26/2007, 07:25 PM

i'd have to think that the engineers at oceanic considered the floor not being perfectly level, not many floors are, but i could be wrong...

t-bone2 · #16 09/26/2007, 07:40 PM

my 210 is off a 1/4 for 5 yrs now no problems but 3/8 is starting to become a little to much IMO

mskohl · #17 09/26/2007, 09:56 PM

could this problem be solved by putting a sheet insulation under the tank?

JoeMomma · #18 09/26/2007, 10:10 PM

Well I shimmed one end of the tank today and its still off by a little. I'd say its something like half a cm. I'd bet it would be pretty hard to get it 100% perfect. Does everyone who shims their tank get it perfectly level?

I thought about putting foam under the tank but I'd have to have it sticking out the sides and it would look really ugly. No sure how to avoid that. I've heard of putting tape or something around it but I have a fake wood finish on the bottom edges of the tank.

JoeMomma · #19 09/26/2007, 10:38 PM

I just measured it again and it looks perfect. Maybe its settling...

I shimmed the entire right end.

rgulrich · #20 09/27/2007, 07:40 AM

Here's what I posted for someone who dealt with a cracked Oceanic 220 and was concerned about level:

FWIW, here's the process I went through leveling the new All-Glass 180:

1. Level the stand as best possible with a long level, using 1/8" thick pieces of Masonite strips (wide enough to fit under the wood of the stand and maneuver a bit, and about a foot or so long) under the frame at the corners and various points along the front and back, trying to keep the slope as gradual as possible. This would mean that if you have a 1/4" lift in the right front corner, the right rear corner might need a 1/8" lift and another piece of 1/8" masonite would go immediately to the left of the two holding the right front corner up.

2. Place aquarium on stand, let settle over night, and re-level if necessary. Be sure to not only place the level front to back (on the sides of the frame), but also side-to-side (across the front and back), and diagonally from the front across the sides. Again, try to minimize the slope of the shims.

3. After it has settled, test fill with water slowly, checking level throughout the process. If it starts to settle out of level, stop filling, begin draining, and address the low/high spots again. If it doesn't appear to be going out of level, fill to max height (overflows allowing), and let settle over night. Check level. If you're satisfied, then that should be it. I added one additional step.

4. After the tank had a chance to settle under weight, I drained it down (I know, it's a lot of wasted water. And we're getting ready to do how many water changes with a new reef/saltwater setup?) to a "water bubble", basically a reverse of the air bubble in the levels you've been using up to this point, and its' the entire bottom of the aquarium. Bring this water bubble an inch or two in from the edges (enough to pull back away from the silicone), and level accordingly. You can't much more accurate than that. If you're satisfied, then fill and begin the rest of the fun.

Patient (and very helpful) neighbors slid the shims under while I lifted one end of the tank w/stand.

As this 180 was a new aquarium I used this technique on, I phoned (then All-Glass, now Aqueon or some such) and spoke to them about Styrofoam under the tank, or any other support (the stand only supports the frame of the aquarium). They responded the tank and the stand are designed to work without any foam or additional support, and I happily followed their engineer's advice.

Hope you have fun with your new aquarium!

Cheers,
Ray

JoeMomma · #21 09/27/2007, 07:59 AM

I checked the levelling of the tank again this morning. At worst its only off by a fraction of an eighth. I used 10" long composite shims to raise the right end.

What really bothers me is that the slope of shim is not gradual. The tank is not making complete contact with the entire shim and thats causing parts of the tank bottom to be raised off the
ground.

Now the good thing is that those elevated parts are not load bearing. They are the back and front of the stand as per my drawing above (I'd make another drawing if only I was able to upload it now).

Ray, I'm unable to do your step 4 as I've already put sand in the tank. The more water I've added the better the tank has levelled out.

JoeMomma · #22 09/28/2007, 07:33 AM

This is pretty much how my tank looks on one end. Is it safe????

FleeVT · #23 09/28/2007, 09:55 AM

Ray, thanks for the writeup. I'm going through this right now and had Joe's same concern with the shims. I like the idea of using Masonite strips.

Jescd · #24 09/28/2007, 10:16 AM

I would assume it's safe - but I may be wrong.

Cute drawing

Deacon · #25 09/28/2007, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by JoeMomma
This is pretty much how my tank looks on one end. Is it safe????

Forgive me if I'm totally missing something obvious, but....Are your shims in between the tank and the stand, or in between the stand and the floor?