leveling a tank

jonathan · 02-24-2006, 12:25 PM

no....not taking a crane and wrecking ball to it

but i need to find a safe way of leveling out my tank. i've seen foam being used but when i went to lowe's, the smallest size was about the footprint of my car. has anyone seen somewhere online or at a local retailer a product that would suit my needs a little better? i appreciate any feedback you may have. thanks.

Matt Rogers · 02-24-2006, 12:30 PM

Can you provide more detail on how your tank isn't level?

CHeck these out:
LEVELING MY TANK

Level??????????????????????

jonathan · 02-24-2006, 12:42 PM

my situation is relative to that first link you provided. my tank stand sits on carpet and as mentioned in the above link, not quite level. i just want to be sure (confident) that my tank glass isn't going to give at some point...

sssnake · 02-24-2006, 02:03 PM

My tank isn't 100% level either (just a smidgen off the center bubble) meaning I would probably have to raise the back of the tank stand about a quarter inch to make it dead-level........I'm not going to bother.

If the stand was wobbling however, meaning that one of the 4 corners were not touching the floor then it would be reason for concern (IMO).

Cheers.

jonathan · 02-24-2006, 09:20 PM

thanks for the reply sssnake. i have an aga stand and the top of the stand isn't solid (it's more like a big hole). so i built a platform to fill in the gap (and for support of the glass) using pine and painted it to color match the stand. i just thought that after filling the tank with sand, rock and water might cause the bottom to bow a little bit. i figured i could use some type of foam to fill whatever gaps may still exist and in turn allow the tank to level out. it's only a 15 gallon so i'm not too worried, just taking some extra precautions. thanks for the advice.

SAW39 · 02-24-2006, 10:03 PM

Jonathan,
Don't use foam, use a 1/2 inch thick Styrofoam sheet. The tank stand should sink evenly into the Styrofoam, making the tank level. I didn't need to do this with my tank, but did use this trick for the tall display bookcase in my living room. It's a well known trick in the furniture business.

SAW39 · 02-24-2006, 10:06 PM

If you don't want to move the whole tank, just use 3x5 cards under the low end of the tank. Estimate the height you need to raise that end, and insert that quantity of cards under the base of the stand. (This is easier if someone helps you.)

jonathan · 02-24-2006, 10:20 PM

thanks for the advice saw39. the tank isn't filled yet so i'd much rather use the styrofoam approach then the 3x5 card idea...i just think it would look a little cleaner. where is the best place to find the styrofoam? and is it something that would come in a smaller sheet as opposed to the insulation foam i've seen before? thanks again.

sssnake · 02-25-2006, 03:32 AM

I have the same type of stand for my tank meaning there's a hole where the tank bottom sits. But the stand has a piece of wood across the middle going from front to back thereby giving support to the tank bottom (which also has a support piece on the bottom again running front to back of tank). When the tank sits on the stand these two supports running front to back (one on the stand and one on the tank) mate and sit flush with one another. This coupled with the thickness of the glass on the bottom of the tank should take care of any "bow" effect which may present itself.

I too was tempted to put a piece of something in order to create a form of table-top for my tank to sit on but opted to leave things be and not ****-around with the manufacturer's design. My tank is presently about two-thirds full of water (85-90 gal) and so far so good. My initial understanding from your post Jonathan was that your floor wasn't level thereby giving your stand (and tank) that "leaning tower of Pizza" effect.

IMO I wouldn't put anything between tank and stand.

I still can't believe that a simple wooden "box" which I can almost lift myself has the capability to support close to a ton of weight sitting on it. Everytime I look at my tank sitting on that simple stand it scares the sh*t out of me.

jonathan · 02-26-2006, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sssnake

I still can't believe that a simple wooden "box" which I can almost lift myself has the capability to support close to a ton of weight sitting on it. Everytime I look at my tank sitting on that simple stand it scares the sh*t out of me.

i know how you feel. my tank is only 15 gallons and with substrate, rock and water...i'm estimating it will weigh around 150 pounds (give or a take a few pounds for water displacement from the rock). so the stand i'm sure can support that weight, it's just the direct weight on that bottom pane of glass that scares me. because my stand is smaller, i don't have that center brace that you have...i decided to build a small "table top" to help with any possible bowing and i was able to just place it in the stand without having to use screws from the outside and disrupt the stock look of the stand

. i suppose i'll just skip the foam idea for now...