Help... 300g tank out of level, what to do?

[tammieh]

So, I have a new to me 300g glass peninsula tank 30 high x 34 wide x 66 long. We set it up on the stand and found out that the back (by the wall) is 5/8" lower than the other end.

1. Will this be a structural problem down the road?
2. What's the best way to fix this?
My husband bought composite shims thinking that he could shim up the one end to get the tank level.
The fish are still in quarantine, so they are happy. I don't want to move them into the tank until I'm sure everything is ok.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Ur husband is right with the composite shims.
My brand is timberwolf i believe. Tap in till level. Mark. Remove. Break off. Put back in...with the broken off end as a tap...
Hths
-d

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Shim the stand. Not the tank. Lol
D

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Did u support ur floor? U have crawlspace with beams under ur house?
D

 

[tammieh]

Did u support ur floor? U have crawlspace with beams under ur house?
D

The floor is tile with solid concrete underneath. No beams or crawlspace. And, yes, we were looking to shim the stand (not the tank).

Someone at an aquarium store scared my husband by telling him that shim could twist the stand and tank causing it to rupture.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

No ull be alright. Ur not using a sludge hammer. Lol
D

 

[Mikedawg]

I couldn't see if the stand has adjustable feet; if not, I would look at Grainger or a hardware store to find some. They screw into threaded hole drilled into stand or have an adjustable nut if you have unthreaded hole in most cases. A shim beneath a tank this large/heavy may cause the stand to "rack" out of shape. Assume your floor is level and this stand supported tank when it was full of water.

Good luck; will be a great tank

 

[tammieh]

I couldn't see if the stand has adjustable feet; if not, I would look at Grainger or a hardware store to find some. They screw into threaded hole drilled into stand or have an adjustable nut if you have unthreaded hole in most cases. A shim beneath a tank this large/heavy may cause the stand to "rack" out of shape. Assume your floor is level and this stand supported tank when it was full of water.

Good luck; will be a great tank

Our floor isn't level. It used to be the front porch of the house until it was renovated in the 90s, so there was a gentle slope away from the original front door. We didn't think of that before we put it up (but we can still take it down as no fish in it yet).

There are no adjustable feet and no holes to put them on this stand. We'd have to drill the stand (it's coated steel) to put feet in. We don't mind doing this if it's the best way. But it seems like we'd need to add a lot of feet to spread out the weight.

 

[Mikedawg]

Trying to shim with unlevel floor will be a real challenge. And you're right, you'll need many feet spaced about 12" apart

 

[tammieh]

Trying to shim with unlevel floor will be a real challenge. And you're right, you'll need many feet spaced about 12" apart

While the floor isn't level, it's even (if that makes sense).

 

[WVNed]

With a steel stand shim under the corners until level with no rocking in any direction and it will be fine

 

[Fink]

I used the composite shims to shim the stand for my son's tank, it's much smaller (about 55g total water volume) , but it's worked perfectly for the past year or so...

 

[Redfoxtang]

Had the same issue your having with my 8ft 210g tank. Where my tank is it was an old porch and has a slight slope from settling. I just used composite shims like mentioned and it’s been fine for over a year now!

 

[tammieh]

Had the same issue your having with my 8ft 210g tank. Where my tank is it was an old porch and has a slight slope from settling. I just used composite shims like mentioned and it’s been fine for over a year now!

That's great to hear!

 

[DCR]

You can shim it, although 5/8" is going to be a large shim. Just make sure when you are done that the tank is fully supported around the outer edge and there are no gaps between the tank and the stand. No more than a heavy sheet of paper or thin cardboard should slide between the two. That is what the LFS is concerned about. Having it unlevel does not really cause structural problems by itself. Just unsightly and maybe some issues with the overflow. It is when the stand is not flat or fully supporting the tank that creates warping of the tank bottom and stress on the bottom seams.

 

[tammieh]

Ok, tank stand is shimmed. Tank is 100% in contact with the stand and the stand is rock solid stable. Fresh water is running as a test and finally it's running as it's supposed to run.