Leveling Tanks on carpet - how much perfection?

[NancyFish]

How level is your tank?

I know aim for perfection but I’m debating perfection vs shims on carpet and stability (but obviously want no leaks).

Top horizontal rim.

My tank is 65g, 25g (not full) sump, and 10g ato in cabinet. Tank is 36x18 & 24 tall. I’m getting different reads with different levels, most are small, my bigger one reads this running horizontal.


This is one side panel, bubble still within lines but you can see I can probly center it more by lifting just enough for a few sheets of paper only, super marginal.

Is it worth it to shim even though then my stand would have an unsupported base since I’d be using practically 1/4” length of my shims? Not to mention it’s on carpet and a plywood bottom.

I want to do whatever is best of leak prevention but I also don’t want to stress the stand stability out?

 

[rhitee93]

This is what I did to maximize the amount of support the shimmed part of the cabinet had. Don't know if it was a good idea or not, but my 120 has been fine and not changed level in over a year. (Now, thanks to this photo, I realize how dirty my cabinet has become :rolleyes: )

 

[NancyFish]

This is what I did to maximize the amount of support the shimmed part of the cabinet had. Don't know if it was a good idea or not, but my 120 has been fine and not changed level in over a year. (Now, thanks to this photo, I realize how dirty my cabinet has become :rolleyes: )

Thanks for sharing! I was thinking wouldn’t that gap right after the shims since stands are big? Did you get it perfectly level doing that?

It’s soo slim, I’m unsure if it’s worth messing with the stand, because then the weight will not be distributed amongst the bottom plywood board I have? Instead the gaps you see.

 

[Bohemian Waxwing]

Honestly I ended up buying a metal stand with 4 points of floor contact because trying to level a flat bottom stand was giving me an aneurysm.

If I ever build one again I’m just going to put heavy duty levelling feet on it. I just could not get it level.

 

[NancyFish]

Honestly I ended up buying a metal stand with 4 points of floor contact because trying to level a flat bottom stand was giving me an aneurysm.

If I ever build one again I’m just going to put heavy duty levelling feet on it. I just could not get it level.

I agree metal might be where it’s at, if I ever scrape might I’d just buy a t slot or custom. The whole build I thought it would work out better and cheaper with better fit.. but ended up just causing anxiety on what ifs and every quirk. Even now, all those cross platform supports between top and bottom platforms ate into like 8” of headroom that would have been amazing to have. That’s all aside from the fact the level feet would have made an easier difference.

 

[W31Olds]

Considering it's 65G, I would be less worried about getting your tank perfectly level and far more worried about it sitting on carpet. Not because it's harder to level something on carpet, but because of spills getting underneath causing problems. I would also be more concerned about a twist over the length.

 

[NancyFish]

Considering it's 65G, I would be less worried about getting your tank perfectly level and far more worried about it sitting on carpet. Not because it's harder to level something on carpet, but because of spills getting underneath causing problems. I would also be more concerned about a twist over the length.

Yeah I think I’m gonna try to level it next month when I swap rock just makes me nervous doing major changes. Do you mean water under a wooden stand or just even water drips or spills on carpet getting moldy?