Help with rimless tank/ stand and self leveling mat

[JoeG370Z]

I’m lazy and decided to go with a stand that is aluminum and laminated wood. After placing filling and stocking my tank I noticed things weren’t level. The mat makes up for the imperfections but I’m still scared of eventual issues because the tank has been setting and there’s a bigger gap in some places between the mat and the edges.

I’ve read on here that some people have recommended sanding the surface of the stand to make it level and then adding plywood or some type of metal as well as a new self leveling mat. I don’t want to build a stand and want to use what I have. I do not have any problem buying more materials to make this work.

What’re your opinions? I was going to glue down some 8mm Eva foam to the top of the stand and call it a day but I’ve read that could be too much foam.

I’ll be removing everything from the tank soon to do whatever I need to do to make it work.

My tank is a 142g Fiji rimless.

 

[Fish Fan]

If the tank is fully supported by the stand all the way around its footprint, then you can place shims under the stand to level everything (or some stands will come with leg levelers). I would suggest using composite (not wooden) shims like these:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/TimberWolf...ubr2i1mBATZCVT6d9b05ShGcNMNw6kXhoCzY8QAvD_BwE
Good luck!

 

[JoeG370Z]

If the tank is fully supported by the stand all the way around its footprint, then you can place shims under the stand to level everything (or some stands will come with leg levelers). I would suggest using composite (not wooden) shims like these:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/TimberWolf...ubr2i1mBATZCVT6d9b05ShGcNMNw6kXhoCzY8QAvD_BwE
Good luck!

Unfortunately it’s on carpet

 

[W31Olds]

If you Tank has no livestock in it, I would drain it and remove the carpet and then level the stand. The carpet is going to be a constantly wet smelly mess. My fish are large and are constantly splashing water out of the Tank onto the floor. I also you see you have Aa DSB so need to be cautious with that.

 

[Fish Fan]

I agree with the above, it's generally not a good idea to have a tank on carpet. The carpet may be why it's not level too.

 

[JoeG370Z]

Thanks for the advice my friends. I will go with cutting out the carpet and leveling the stand.

 

[JoeG370Z]

If you Tank has no livestock in it, I would drain it and remove the carpet and then level the stand. The carpet is going to be a constantly wet smelly mess. My fish are large and are constantly splashing water out of the Tank onto the floor. I also you see you have Aa DSB so need to be cautious with that.

AA DSB?

 

[JoeG370Z]

If you Tank has no livestock in it, I would drain it and remove the carpet and then level the stand. The carpet is going to be a constantly wet smelly mess. My fish are large and are constantly splashing water out of the Tank onto the floor. I also you see you have Aa DSB so need to be cautious with that.

As of right now it’s got all of the fish in it but I’m willing to drain/empty it to make it right

 

[W31Olds]

Sorry, I meant (DSB) Deep Sand Bed. I'm not an expert on this subject but you may want to search the forums.

 

[BryanM]

I dunno, I'm fairly picky I think, and those levels look fine to me. well within the center, even if the bubble isn't perfectly centered.

I do agree, I don't like the carpet, that said, with the weight of that tank full, it will be smashed down in short order and likely not move after that. I'm not sure its worth draining to remove the carpet, even though it would be good to not have it there.

 

[JoeG370Z]

I dunno, I'm fairly picky I think, and those levels look fine to me. well within the center, even if the bubble isn't perfectly centered.

I do agree, I don't like the carpet, that said, with the weight of that tank full, it will be smashed down in short order and likely not move after that. I'm not sure its worth draining to remove the carpet, even though it would be good to not have it there.

My other friend was saying the same thing but I wanted to hear everyone’s opinion. It’s been sitting for 2 weeks but not sure if I want to risk anything eventually cracking. Right now the top of the stand is bowing a tiny bit on both sides because I didn’t adjust the aluminum frame enough. The mat is making up for any of the imperfections. Do you think it’ll be an issue?

 

[BryanM]

My other friend was saying the same thing but I wanted to hear everyone’s opinion. It’s been sitting for 2 weeks but not sure if I want to risk anything eventually cracking. Right now the top of the stand is bowing a tiny bit on both sides because I didn’t adjust the aluminum frame enough. The mat is making up for any of the imperfections. Do you think it’ll be an issue?

That's a different issue than the tank being on carpet and not level.

The frame should not, IMO, be bowing. That would concern me a great deal.

 

[JoeG370Z]

My other friend was saying the same thing but I wanted to hear everyone’s opinion. It’s been sitting for 2 weeks but not sure if I want to risk anything eventually cracking. Right now the top of the stand is bowing a tiny bit on both sides because I didn’t adjust the aluminum frame enough. The mat is making up for any of the imperfections. Do you think it’ll be an issue?

Nothing is at risk of collapsing. Everything is tightened down

 

[JoeG370Z]

That's a different issue than the tank being on carpet and not level.

The frame should not, IMO, be bowing. That would concern me a great deal.

I didn’t align the aluminum bars enough when I tightened everything down. The stand is secure it’s just the top starting bowing a bit because the aluminum bars weren’t aligned well enough when I put it together.

 

[Freenow54]

I dunno, I'm fairly picky I think, and those levels look fine to me. well within the center, even if the bubble isn't perfectly centered.

I do agree, I don't like the carpet, that said, with the weight of that tank full, it will be smashed down in short order and likely not move after that. I'm not sure its worth draining to remove the carpet, even though it would be good to not have it there.

Agree I would not cut out the carpet you probably will make a mess its not an easy thing with the carpet fibers. If you really want to make full all around skirt in 4 pieces jack it up when about one third full and put them in that is a lot of weight on 6 little legs

 

[UncommonSense]

It looks from your bubble photos like the entire tank is highest in two diagonally opposed corners (front left, and rear right)… this implies some twisting force is being applied…

So, there might be something going on here, beyond the carpet…

most likely underlying causes:

— the floor is out of level/plane (surprisingly common)

— the floor joists are bowing… (less common, assumes tank isn’t on a concrete slab foundation)

 

[edd59]

if the top of your stand has gaps between the stand and tank leveling the bottom isnt going to fix that. a little bit off level being the tank will not cause problems, but space in between rimless tank and stand can cause serious problems if glass isnt fully supported. your taling 2 differant issues here.

 

[JoeG370Z]

if the top of your stand has gaps between the stand and tank leveling the bottom isnt going to fix that. a little bit off level being the tank will not cause problems, but space in between rimless tank and stand can cause serious problems if glass isnt fully supported. your taling 2 differant issues here.

What would be a good course of action?

 

[JoeG370Z]

I’ll empty it this weekend and cut out the carpet where it will sit on concrete slab

 

[JoeG370Z]

It looks from your bubble photos like the entire tank is highest in two diagonally opposed corners (front left, and rear right)… this implies some twisting force is being applied…

So, there might be something going on here, beyond the carpet…

most likely underlying causes:

— the floor is out of level/plane (surprisingly common)

— the floor joists are bowing… (less common, assumes tank isn’t on a concrete slab foundation)

I appreciate you informing me. So you think I should cut out the carpet and check the alignment on the stand? Underneath the carpet is a concrete slab.