Impact of an unlevel tank?

[shawn100]

Will this have a substantial impact on any or all the equipment? ie overflow/sump/skimmer/ the tank is slightly leaning toward the side that the overflow is on(about an 1/8 of an inch difference) and now the waterlevel in the overflow is constantly fluctuating. There are quite a few things that just aren't right with my setup and it seems to be happening all at once. Could not enough flow from the return pump be causing this fluctuating also?

 

[thangbom]

what size is the tank????
what u mean fluctuate???

 

[acrylic51]

IMO honest opinion drain the tank down and level everything up.....With the tank being unlevel it will put unneeded stress on the tank as well....Don't shim the tank tank shim and level the tank is your best option....Depending on how far along the tank is you might want to completely take the tank down and shim as mentioned earlier and maybe put a little foam under the tank to take out really minor imperfections on the stand.....Again don't shim the tank it will put alot of pressure on the tank.
Shim the stand 1/8" is alot to be off and is really noticeable when the tank is full!!!!!!

 

[shawn100]

The tank is a 100 gallon long, it is established with lots of corals and live rock. What I mean by fluctuate is the water level in the overflow rises and lowers constantly, it goes to the correct level then down below the u joint on the stand pipe about 20 times a minute. I was thinking about wedging the stand with something, The tank is extremely heavy and not sure what other options I have. I guess it seems to be important as I don't want to add any undue pressure on the seams. Anyone else have any ideas?

 

[f1shman]

ya that tank is about 800 pounds, not gonna be esay to move

 

[acrylic51]

Did the tank just start to show the unlevelness or has it always been this way????

 

[acrylic51]

How long has the tank been up??? If you have a couple big vats you could swap everything to them quickly and wouldn't take long to level things up and right back to the main tank they'd go

 

[ericp2311]

Originally Posted by acrylic51
How long has the tank been up??? If you have a couple big vats you could swap everything to them quickly and wouldn't take long to level things up and right back to the main tank they'd go
That sounds like a good idea!! You could use some giant Rubbermaid tubs from a bigbox store (Walmart, Target).
It'll be a pain in the ass, but less of a pain than mopping up 100 gallons of water and dead livestock...
Eric

 

[acrylic51]

Always a good idea!!!!! I was water testing my new 240 and was only leak checking tank and CL and filled tank up to just below the overflow walked in the house figuring I had about 10 minutes till full.....Well mysteriously it filled alot faster or something and when I came out it was running through the overflow which has 3 1 1/2" bulkheads with no plumbing as of yet and I dumped about 20 gallons on the concrete and that was a pain to clean up, and that was on concrete, wouldn't even want to think about the carpet routine...... Just be safe!!!!!!

 

[buzz]

Shawn - IMO, your overflow is only flushing because the airhole on the standpipe is clogged. Take a toothpick or something and clear out the hole on the top. No big deal.
BTW, you've got mail...

 

[shawn100]

Buzz-
You are the Man!!! Okay that issue down, couple more to go. Funny how if it wasn't for you I would of ended fixing the unlevel tank, got the skimmer to work and made sure return line is free flowing and I still would've had the fluctuation in the overflow. You are a great guy and have provided excellent customer service! I would buy from you again any day!
Thanks,
Shawn

 

[thangbom]

ehh.. i dint want to make the man go all nuts but telling him to drin it and shim it if it was only a 10 gal... thats y i asked 1st.. but since it's a big tank.. yeah.. u are beter off draining it and level it..

 

[shawn100]

I'm going to really hate having to take everything out again. I've already moved the fishtank, a week later rearranged all the rock and took out most of the corals, and now this. I really don't want to stress these poor things anymore than I absolutely have to. I know if the tank being off is extremely detrimental to the tanks integrity then it must be done. I should have done it right the first time by leveling it, I know, but I was more concerned with getting everything out of the buckets and was a little scatterbrained. Has anyone had experience with having your tanks being slightly unlevel and everything was fine, or I guess the same question and something went very wrong?