New tank, floor WAY out of level.

[Rijodan]

Hey guys, need some help to figure out what to do next.
Guy in reef club was selling his 180 set up super cheap and we got it moved into the house last night. Knew it was gonna be a challenge supporting it but wanted bigger than my 28g and the price was right.
Tank w/ brother and I pic 1 .

Before anything else we knew we had to support it under the subflooring and so ever joist under the tank every 18 inches we supported with support columns of brick and 4x4, landlord and his contractor approved, pic 2

 

[piranhaman00]

Looks like an old set up!

Was there a question? How to level tank?

 

[Rijodan]

Pic 2.

 

[Rijodan]

But tank is still way out of level, and this is alot of water to be out of level. We have shims under the tank but still out of square by the level indicated on the level

 

[Biglurr54]

You have to get it level front to back and side to side. Shim it and measure it, then Shim it again. Use your level on every surface of the tank (rim, glass, bottom. Make sure it's plumb and perfectly level then fill it 1/2 way with water and measure everything again. I typically measure the floor first with out the stand. Then I get the stand in and get that level, then put the tank on and level again. Sometimes the stand can be the issue. Depending on the construction of the stand and the tank dimensions, it may be warped because it doesn't have a center brace.

The joist supports look good though. You can even drive some wedges in them to unload the joist a bit.

 

[Rijodan]

The joists were after we supported it. The room had no column supports at all before we were under there. Even without the tank it was a spring board.

We took out all the shims that we had to find a more exact amount it was out of level.
Back to front tank is out of level by 1/4 "
Right to left is 1 5/8" out of level

 

[Rijodan]

Current idea is to make a stand for the stand. That way it makes a base that is level for entire setup

 

[lapin]

That was my idea.Use 2 sheets of plywood between the floor and the tank stand. This will help distribute the weight some and allow you to place shims under the stand without effecting the floor

 

[Rijodan]

Ended up making 5 ft shims for front and back of stand that leveled it out

 

[StatelineReefer]

Might be a good idea to shim the joists and subfloor point as well, then recorrect for a less 'flexy' floor. fill gradually, and check level or floor deflection every 1/5th of your fill.

I live in an older house with very sturdy beams running under the floor where my 120 is, and I still worry about the weight every once in a while, despite all the modifications I made to make the subfloor deflect less.

 

[Brian_68]

Not sure if the new braces on on poured concrete footers but these may settle when filling if not when adding 2000 lbs of water to the floor. I agree take it slow when filling and watching for settling.

 

[dbl]

Welcome to R2R and good luck with the build. I moved this thread to the members tank forum to serve as your build thread and took the liberty of adding your build thread banner.

 

[Rijodan]

Awesome, thanks @dbl

@StatelineReefer yeah its definitely a wavey floor but this is after correcting the floor. We raised some joists 1/2" or more when setting it. Was just starting get unsure of the amount we were moving it. Even the frame of the house is out of square so I dont think we could level it much more than we have without moving actual walls

All this weight does scare me about setting It down, but slow and steady to get it ready.