How big a problem are shims?

[mik3c]

I have a 120g (4x2x2) set up on a stand, i think the stand is level and sturdy but to get the tank perfectly level I had to put a few shims on one site. The stand is right on a wood floor (I plan to put some vinyl or something down before I fill it and settle in) and the floor is sturdy enough, it's up against a support wall I just think the floor is s bit off level. I had to raise one side of the tank about 1CM. I put 3 pairs of 2 shims along that side and tapped them in good, is that going to affect the long-term stability of my tank or be a problem? I feel like people have put shims under tanks and lived perfectly normal lives. You know... like what people that keep aquatic animals as pets would consider normal. There have been shims under tanks for centuries, the Aztecs kept salt-water pools and I'm pretty sure they had to put shims under Mexico to pull it off... so how far under the tank should I put them and is it better to go from the side, or the front or what? If I have to stack a couple of them together to get enough lift should I glue them or something?

 

[tvan]

I shimmed my stand, to level the tank. It is only a 20L bout 160lbs

 

[AlexG]

Shims should not be a problem as long as they are made from the right materials. I prefer composite shims that are made of plastic as they will not be impacted by a water spill. Wooden shims also work just make sure they are not located in a area where they will often see spills. Generally there is no need to glue them in place unless you really want to. The weight of the tank should remain static and not move the shims but they can be periodically checked if needed. The only trick I have learned with shims is that you need to check level in all directions between adding each shim as they can throw off the level if they are inserted too much. Also if the adding of shims creates gaps between the floor and the tank where it normally should be resting on the floor add additional supporting shims to these area that are snugged in place to distribute the weight of the tank.

 

[pecan2phat]

Have shims under my 180g, 120g, 65g for 13 years and no problems that I can see.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

I have a 120g (4x2x2) set up on a stand, i think the stand is level and sturdy but to get the tank perfectly level I had to put a few shims on one site. The stand is right on a wood floor (I plan to put some vinyl or something down before I fill it and settle in) and the floor is sturdy enough, it's up against a support wall I just think the floor is s bit off level. I had to raise one side of the tank about 1CM. I put 3 pairs of 2 shims along that side and tapped them in good, is that going to affect the long-term stability of my tank or be a problem? I feel like people have put shims under tanks and lived perfectly normal lives. You know... like what people that keep aquatic animals as pets would consider normal. There have been shims under tanks for centuries, the Aztecs kept salt-water pools and I'm pretty sure they had to put shims under Mexico to pull it off... so how far under the tank should I put them and is it better to go from the side, or the front or what? If I have to stack a couple of them together to get enough lift should I glue them or something?

Shim stand not tank, never shim a tank.. Hopefully I understood your opening page

 

[mik3c]

Shims should not be a problem as long as they are made from the right materials. I prefer composite shims that are made of plastic as they will not be impacted by a water spill. Wooden shims also work just make sure they are not located in a area where they will often see spills. Generally there is no need to glue them in place unless you really want to. The weight of the tank should remain static and not move the shims but they can be periodically checked if needed. The only trick I have learned with shims is that you need to check level in all directions between adding each shim as they can throw off the level if they are inserted too much. Also if the adding of shims creates gaps between the floor and the tank where it normally should be resting on the floor add additional supporting shims to these area that are snugged in place to distribute the weight of the tank.

Ok that sounds reasonable, I was using wood shims but I could order some composite ones. I was also playing with the idea of throwing down a little support box with some self-leveling compound but that sounds kind of extreme.

 

[mik3c]

Shim stand not tank, never shim a tank.. Hopefully I understood your opening page

Yes... very good point and TO BE CLEAR on that... the shims are under the stand, sandwiched securely between the base of the stand and the floor and are ~37" from the nearest glass. I'm kind of new at this but at no point did it even occur to me that tapping shims under the tank itself would be a wise, reasonable or fun thing to do.

Ie:

 

[mann1139]

1CM is a lot of shimming.

Are you running across joists, or with them?

 

[mik3c]

This one is running parallel to the joints (spanning 2) but right in between a supporting wall a what looks like a large iron beam. The joists themselves are like 8x3 inches. Even if I just put a level directly on the floor (tank or no tank) it comes up a tiny bit off no matter how I orient it. It may not even be a full cm and, I suspect it would actually NOT be this bad over filled.l but if that's really that much I could level the area right under the stand.