Please help tank uneven

[Miller Aquatic]

So I filled up my tank and the tank is level but the water level is different on each side. The left is a little lower than the right. I think it’s because the return is only shooting the right side for some reason. The right line is getting all the flow. Is it because it is a lot longer away or what.

 

[Dburr1014]

I appreciate it. Would you place these shims all connected under or separate them?

Seperate them

 

[Dburr1014]

What is the tank sitting on?
Please don't say a stand or the floor.

I mean, legit, are you on a wood floor? Cement slab? Do you have a basement?

 

[Miller Aquatic]

What is the tank sitting on?
Please don't say a stand or the floor.

I mean, legit, are you on a wood floor? Cement slab? Do you have a basement?

I do have a basement and the tank is right next to exterior wall. I honestly don’t know much about it but I had some construction family members come over and they said it is on some solid joists.

 

[Miller Aquatic]

and I don’t know if it matters but the basement is conecrete.

 

[phillyb614]

Being up against an exterior wall certainly helps, but if it were me, I would at least be installing some jacks under each floor joist approximately where the the front of the tank is sitting.

 

[Dburr1014]

Being up against an exterior wall certainly helps, but if it were me, I would at least be installing some jacks under each floor joist approximately where the the front of the tank is sitting.

This is the way^^^^


I have one end on an exterior wall, the other in the middle of my basement. The back is on a load bearing wall.

This is how I re-enforced the floor.
Two 2x10's glued and screwed. 1 jack on one side.
After I filled it, I noticed the tank was not level. I hacked up the jack screw by 1/2 turn every couple days until it was close and waited to see if the floor settled out. It did, it's pretty level now.

 

[OriginalUserName]

I thought you would want to shim the high side because the water would fall as you raise the side thats taller?

It always helps me to visualize the issue when I place the level across the tank, and then lift up part of the level slightly until the bubble is centered. Then you can easily see the gap between that side of the tank and the level. It's an approximation of how much leveling you will need to do.

 

[Dburr1014]

I thought you would want to shim the high side because the water would fall as you raise the side thats taller?

One way to think about what side to raise.

If you see the water line on one side and not the other, the side you see the water on is higher. You want to shim the opposite side. Raising this side moves the tank up, pushing water to the other side. I'm most* tanks, you can't see the water line on top.

 

[Miller Aquatic]

So should I be worried about the flooring situation because this is right above my movie theater and I can’t have that pole in front of the projecter

 

[Dburr1014]

So should I be worried about the flooring situation because this is right above my movie theater and I can’t have that pole in front of the projecter

Isn't this holding up the tank?

 

[Dburr1014]

I would put a jack under the low side and jack it up some. Put it right up against the wood beam you have now. Once you got it right, shim the beam, remove the jack post.

 

[Miller Aquatic]

I would put a jack under the low side and jack it up some. Put it right up against the wood beam you have now. Once you got it right, shim the beam, remove the jack post.

It is near by but not exactly on it.

 

[Dburr1014]

It is near by but not exactly on it.

This is where the tank is? What side is low?

 

[Miller Aquatic]

This is where the tank is? What side is low?

The side that’s low is the right. The water is all on the right side.

 

[Miller Aquatic]

This is where the tank is? What side is low?

Yeah thats where it is I just showed a picture above to see what the joists looked like

 

[BryanM]

I think I'd go buy a longer level to verify, and if the tank is indeed not level, then I'd also be putting that level on the floor.

That tank, sump, stand, all combine to weigh a ton or so.

And it sounds like jacks are not an option because you have a theater room in the basement... just trying to piece things together.

If your floor is moving, and it very well could be, you're going to need professional help IMO if you cannot use jacks. Shims likely won't fix it permanently.

 

[Miller Aquatic]

I think I'd go buy a longer level to verify, and if the tank is indeed not level, then I'd also be putting that level on the floor.

That tank, sump, stand, all combine to weigh a ton or so.

And it sounds like jacks are not an option because you have a theater room in the basement... just trying to piece things together.

If your floor is moving, and it very well could be, you're going to need professional help IMO if you cannot use jacks. Shims likely won't fix it permanently.

Could it be because it is on tiles and might not be exact without shims. Instead of the floor moving because I noticed it was unlevel before it was even half filled.

 

[BryanM]

Could it be because it is on tiles and might not be exact without shims. Instead of the floor moving because I noticed it was unlevel before it was even half filled.

Certainly could be.

Does the stand have leveling feet?

Honestly I've never had good luck getting shims in place with this kind of weight involved.

Is it just water, sand, and rock in the tank right now? I'd be inclined to drain most of the water in to brutes, throw the rock in there too, getting rid of most of the weight while you try and get it level.

And I'd get a 6 foot level.

 

[Freenow54]

You will need to shim up the side that is lower.

-set your level on your tank.
-raise the level on one end only, until the bubble is between the 2 lines.
-once the bubble is between the lines, there will be a gap between your tank and your level on either the left side or right side of the level
-if the gap is on the left, the left side needs raised (shimmed)
-if the gap is on the right, the right side of the tank needs raised (shimmed)
- you will want to do this same procedure going from front to back of the tank
-once the tank is level in ALL directions, place shims every 3 inches under your stand where there are gaps. This is key in order to keep your tank and stand from failing due to sagging in the middle.

Hope this helps.

I disagree the weight is huge and it would only be on the edge of the tank the bottom of the tank would likely give way. Level the Stand as I said shim every open space and hide the mess with trim down to the floor. Also as I said the stand is pretty flimsy

 

[Dburr1014]

If your floor is bouncing when walked across, you have to re-enforced it in the basement.
There is no way around that.