tank not level

[toddpolish]

does the tank need to be exactly level?
HELP!
I can tell mine's not (my girlfriend noticed) because of the water line at the top. It's only about a 1/16th of an inch off.
I'm on carpet. Figured it would have leveled itself. Floor not level? I dunno...
see my diagram...
SUGGESTIONS???

 

[saltwaterdave]

I would do whatever it takes to get it level.
David

 

[toddpolish]

I was afraid that these would be the answers.
first had to fix the leaking pvc. now gotta drain the tank and do this...ugh

 

[slick]

you will have to let out enough water so you can tip the stand.

 

[toddpolish]

this was just a test run anyways. used tap for now. next I'll use the ro/di water once I've fixed everything.
so, I'll need to dump it all out anyways.
thx

 

[toddpolish]

shim the stand how?
my first idea is to use a rug underneath but not have it under the whole stand.
my Dad suggested buying some wood shingles, but I dunno.
what would you guys do?

 

[pigeoncreek1]

You can buy cedar shims at Home Depot or Lowe's...
They are about 1" wide by 1 foot long and shaped like a wedge.
The thin end is about 1/16" thick and the thick end is about 1/2" You can push the shim(thin end first)under your stand until you are level.
With a large tank, be sure it's not bearing all of its weight on only a few "points". If you shim your tank to level and there are gaps between the floor and stand, make sure you place a shim every few inches to ensure the weight of the tank is evenly distributed. after all your setting up a 90 right? It's going to weigh 1000lbs plus!

 

[toddpolish]

the outline of the stand is the only thing touching the rug. it's not a flat piece of plywood on the bottom of the stand.
with that in mind, are those cedar shims still advisable here?

 

[scotts]

I would not advise using the shims in this instance. There is too little surface area. I must admit that I am at a loss of what to suggest. a 1/16" is not very much. I would think you could use some poster board. Yes it will compress when you add the water and I am sure this will not be a very popular idea. Hey I don't think that I even like it. Actually you could probably find some thin pieces of metal at Home Depot or somewhere else. IMO you will need to think creatively on this. Maybe something like one side of a hinge???
Scott

 

[pigeoncreek1]

the outline of the stand is the only thing touching the rug. it's not a flat piece of plywood on the bottom of the stand.

My 2 stands are the same. I used the cedar shims on both. I would stay away from paper or metal, the cedar stands up to moisture better than both, and you can get a whole bundle of shims for a few dollars.
IMO, go with the shims
Good luck and let me know how it goes for ya!

 

[nyfisherman]

THIS MAY SOUND A LITTLE ODD BUT A READ IN A BOOK TO USE STYRAFOAM BETWEEN THE TANK AND THE STAND AND WHAT LITTLE DIFFERENCE THERE IS THE STYRAFOAM WOULD TAKE IT UP? HTH I'VE NEVER TRIED IT

 

[toddpolish]

yeah, I read that too. Maybe I should have done that, but I'm not sure it would have worked in my case.
I am fixing this right now. I thought I could be creative - I took an old welcome mat that had a thin rubber border. cut that up and put it between my rug and the stand. It wasn't enough.
Just went out and bought a 60" x 22" rug. I put it all the way across the front of the tank and about 5"-6" deep for the width of the tank. it's pretty much Level now.
it better be level when the water goes back in. my luck it won't be for some reason.

 

[reef fool]

I drove shims under my 125 stand to level it up w/ little problems. It kinda tweaked the end door a little, but it worked out fine. I did it with the tank full, much easier w/ some water out obviously!

 

[overanalyzer]

Originally posted by NYFISHERMAN
THIS MAY SOUND A LITTLE ODD BUT A READ IN A BOOK TO USE STYRAFOAM BETWEEN THE TANK AND THE STAND AND WHAT LITTLE DIFFERENCE THERE IS THE STYRAFOAM WOULD TAKE IT UP? HTH I'VE NEVER TRIED IT
I think the idea with this is to put the foam underneath the entire tank so there is a cushion between the tank and the stand - if you just did it under part of the tank you would end up stressing the tank and run into cracking/leaking issues down the road