Need help leveling my tank

[fishy7]

I am going to level my tank but not sure what is the best way to do this.
I know the floor is not level.
The tank is a 4X4
Move stand to location
Place tank on stand
Break out level and shim where it is low?
The tank will be on a 1st floor on tile.
Am I missing anything?
What type of shims to I need to use?

 

[prk543]

after you are done getting it close, take some foam and put it under the tank, the foam will also help level the tank. They make sheets of half inch Styrofoam that you can pick up at home depot or Lowes. The Styrofoam will help minimize minor differences and equally distribute the weight of the aquarium.
Prk543

 

[fishy7]

No shims just the foam?

 

[lablabablah]

shims will be fine, foam is to much trouble.

 

[fishy7]

Question:
shims are for the tank to floor
Foam is from tank to stand?

Sorry just want to level the tank and not have the tank level me

 

[scopus tang]

Use plastic (better) or cedar door shims (they won't rot as bad) under the stand (between stand and floor). The styrofoam is for between the tank and the stand, but if you are using a prefab stand, IMO/E you don't need this. Styrofoam is generally used on uneven or imperfect surfaces like a countertop when people place a tank on it. The prefab stands should have a flat surface for your tank to sit on (though it never hurts to double check).

 

[veni vidi vici]

Shim under the stand where ever there is a leg or support and leave the tank sit firmly on stand.

 

[littlebuck]

DONT USE FOAM!!!!!!!!!!
cedar shims work the best. The best thing to do is level it out with the shims then put in about 6-8" of water in it check it again. adjust the shims as needed.
Then what i would do is fill in the gaps with the shims to where they are snug dont pound them in.
Just shim the ground to the stand

 

[fishy7]

Thanks for the help. I used plastic shims and the tank is perfectly level.

 

[snakeblitz33]

I would still set the tank on foam. ... 3/4"

 

[gmann1139]

I just went through this last weekend. Tank cracked, probably due to NOT being on foam.
Here's what I did:
1. Move stand in place.
2. Level stand.
3. Foam stand.
4. Tank on foam.
5. Level tank.
6. Added ~1/3 of water and sand.
7. Double check level of stand.
8. Double check level of tank.
I used shims under the stand to level the tank. I would not recommend leveling the tank directly with shims. Tanks are designed to take a level load along the bottom, if the bottom of the tank is not resting on something (like if it was only resting on the 4 corners), the stress will concentrate and crack the glass (this is what happened to me).

 

[scopus tang]

Would check with your LFS before sitting tank on foam, some companies (AGA, for example) will only warranty tank if it is sitting on their own unmodified stand. Adding foam could (depending on your LFS) void your warrant.