Levelling a Huge Gap and Other Setup Questions (230 gallon)

[Hugh Mann]

I have the stand built and ready to go. However, the floor where it sits is way, way not level. In order to have the stand sit level one of the long sides has to be lifted 5/8-3/4 of an inch, give or take. Shims are the usual go to, but I cannot find a single store out there that sells any near thick enough to work. Would have to stack 2-3 and that just doesn’t sound safe or practical. Would putting a piece of plywood under that side suffice? Or is that asking for it to rot/degrade over time? Some other material like metal maybe? I’ve looked at those furniture feet things that are adjustable, but for enough of them that are strong enough to safely take the weight would cost a small fortune.

Onto the next bit. I have heaters, return pump, lights, plumbing, stand, sump, tank, sand and rock? Am I missing something blatantly obvious? (Protein skimmer is being omitted for now as it isn’t necessary with no coral and a relatively small bioload).

Lifting the tank. It is currently sitting on blocks on the floor. I have 5 guys to lift it. One of them, an experienced reefer is telling me since we don’t have the suction cups, we have to lift it somehow gripping the sides with just pressure and friction to set it on the stand evenly. That it is a terrible, terrible idea to lift it from the bottom and just shimmy and slide the tank onto the stand. Something about uneven pressure from one end of the tank being on the stand and the other being held. But doing it his way seems to just be begging to have it dropped. There any truth to what he is saying? It’s rimmed, if it matters.

Aquascaping. This is likely worthy of its own thread, but it’s got two top braces, so I somehow have to arrange and cement my rocks together through three approximately 20x14” gaps. It is also 6’ off the ground. This seems challenging, so tips on how y’all are scaping braced aquariums would be appreciated as well. Using E-Marco 400 to stick
everything together.

Anyways, that’s all for now, I think. Appreciate any input.

 

[blaxsun]

Yeah, your buddy is right - rent some suction cups. What about installing levelling feet on the stand?

 

[flagg37]

Suction cups would be preferred. Do you have any local reef clubs in your area? You could also call up some glass companies to see if they’d let you borrow some over a weekend.

For the gap, I wouldn’t worry about plywood disintegrating (it shouldn’t be getting exposed to moisture). If you’re concerned then plastic would be a good choice.

 

[mehaffydr]

What kind of floor is it. I actually built a perimeter frame on the floor where my tank was going and poured floor leveler. I had a concrete floor so this worked great.

 

[Hugh Mann]

Yeah, your buddy is right - rent some suction cups. What about installing levelling feet on the stand?

There isn’t a place within 300 kilometres that rents suction cups. Same with buying them, for that matter. Same with levelling feet for that matter. Anything I can find I would need to install several dozen of them to take the weight.

I would love to be able to buy this stuff online and wait a month for it to arrive. Unfortunately I am in a bit of a time crunch as my fish are stuffed into a friends aquarium that was already somewhat overstocked. It’s a long story. Let’s just say living in southern BC sucked a few months ago

 

[Hugh Mann]

What kind of floor is it. I actually built a perimeter frame on the floor where my tank was going and poured floor leveler. I had a concrete floor so this worked great.

Concrete floor. Basement. I thought about this, but I don’t know if I have the time, tools or expertise to do it and not screw it up.

 

[Hugh Mann]

Suction cups would be preferred. Do you have any local reef clubs in your area? You could also call up some glass companies to see if they’d let you borrow some over a weekend.

For the gap, I wouldn’t worry about plywood disintegrating (it shouldn’t be getting exposed to moisture). If you’re concerned then plastic would be a good choice.

Nope. Didn’t think about the glass companies though. There is one local I could ask. Don’t know if they will say yes, but worth an ask.

It would definitely be exposed to some moisture. The sump will be in the stand. Though I could likely seal the heck out of it, which would help for sure.

 

[mehaffydr]

Its actually very simple. I had about the same amount as you to fill. I bought furring strips and used Tapcon screws and screwed them down to the floor. I them mixed floor leveler I would recommenced mixing it thinner than the instructions so that it flows out better. And magical you have a level floor.

 

[blaxsun]

There isn’t a place within 300 kilometres that rents suction cups. Same with buying them, for that matter. Same with levelling feet for that matter. Anything I can find I would need to install several dozen of them to take the weight.

I would love to be able to buy this stuff online and wait a month for it to arrive. Unfortunately I am in a bit of a time crunch as my fish are stuffed into a friends aquarium that was already somewhat overstocked. It’s a long story. Let’s just say living in southern BC sucked a few months ago

I know you can find them on Amazon. We moved my 160-gallon with 4 suction cups. I imagine you could also do it with 4 (possibly 6) depending on how close to a wall it's being setup. Glass company is a great suggestion.

Either levelling the space where the stand will go or installing levelling feet would be the two options. I wouldn't go plywood, because at some point the floor is going to get wet.

 

[Hugh Mann]

Its actually very simple. I had about the same amount as you to fill. I bought furring strips and used Tapcon screws and screwed them down to the floor. I them mixed floor leveler I would recommenced mixing it thinner than the instructions so that it flows out better. And magical you have a level floor.

No idea what the heck a furring strip is, not showing up on any of the hardware store websites. Looks just like thin wood strips or is there anything fancy about them?

Is that it? Just screw the strips, and pour in the cement, or does it have to be manually smoothed/levelled? I have never poured cement in my life, so I have no idea.

 

[SmCaudata]

No idea what the heck a furring strip is, not showing up on any of the hardware store websites. Looks just like thin wood strips or is there anything fancy about them?

Is that it? Just screw the strips, and pour in the cement, or does it have to be manually smoothed/levelled? I have never poured cement in my life, so I have no idea.

Furing strip is just the wood screwed into the CONCRETE. Make sure the interior dimensions of this rectangle are larger than the stand footprint.

As to the actual concrete, I'll defer to someone that's done it for product suggestions. I've seen several builds here using self leveling products, which requires you to get it fairly even before letting gravity do the work.