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I have just set up my first tropical aquarium, and and upon filling it have noticed that the water level is slightly off - there is about a centimeter of extra water on the right hand side of the tank. It is about 25 gallons - 80x30x40cm.

Also it seems that there is a small gap in the centre of the bottom - about enough to slide a piece of paper in... this is due to the table being ever so slightly concave. The irregularities seem to be minor but i can't seem to stop worrying about it... Should I empty and start again?

Cheers.

if i were you, when you do your next water cleaning, get some styrofoam and place it under your tank more to the left side so it makes the waterline even. After you've found out how much styrofoam you need and where to put it, cover it with a nice looking towel and place your tank on top (make sure the towel has a greater surface area than your tank), maybe a solid colour, like dark green would be best?. This way your waterline will be even and no one will see the styrofoam underneath the tank, it will just look like you have a towel neatly layed out under your tank incase of water droplets getting on your furniture.

Here's a picture to show you what i mean...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/Damarkus/waterlinehelp.jpg

Good advice from Flex. However, you do not need to shape the styrofoam sheet, just cut the piece to fit using the top of your aquarium as a template. The styrofoam will provide centerline support for the glass box as the aquarium depresses the foam.



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Put lots of styrofoam inder the tank, if you go heavy on the thinkness the tank should settle to gravity, and if you dont like the visible edge of the foam you can always paint it black, Or cover it with tape that matches your tank.At least thats the bodge job version, better yet is to start again and choose a table with more central support, it will lessen the chances of stress fractures and leaks, but thats for when time and money are permitting I guess.

The Styrofoam will not level it all if it is that far out of level.

Is the tank sitting on a table/bench if so get a spirit level and check the levels first.

Styrofoam will take up any unevenness it is sitting on a should be used under all tanks regardless of size.

The tank will have to be empty or very close to it if you are going to lift it safely.

Get back as soon as you check all your levels of the table.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

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Keith

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Well done Keith. No, styrefoan will not level the thing off at all. Like Keith said, check the level of the table/stand..whatever it is sitting on. Once that stand is level the tank will be also. Styrefoam under the tank will act as a cushion and even out any uneven surfaces. Whatever, do not place styrefoam under the low side to raise it up, that will only cause stress on the glass and potentially damage the glass or seals.

lol, im talking about small differences, if the tank is that far out, start again with something altogether flatter and more central to gravity. If theres literally a bow in the tabletop then in no way is it suitable for a heavy tank. Seen people get away with murder with small tanks mind you. Not that id recommend it. If you cant get a good table or stand anytime soon, use the floor for now. Lifting a full tank would be insane. You might even have to take the gravel out, and if youre gonna use styrofoam it should always be in flat pieces that cover the entire groundspace of the tank, not in tiles, pieces or uneven layers. I wasnt suggesting anyone prop up the end of a tank with chunks of the stuff! Its possible to panic too much about a 1 cm difference though, ive seen people with houses that have uneven floors that arent central to gravity throughout, and their tanks arent exactly falling apart, but yes I would rather it were completely flat.

thanks for all your input. i have ordered a stand for the tank and i think it will be worth it for peace of mind's sake - going to empty and reposition using a spirit level.

it has been sat uneven for a week or so... i hear that this can weaken the glass, does anyone think there will be a problem with this further down the line? i'm assuming not, that tanks are built to withstand this kind of thing, i just can't seem to get the image of it cracking out of my mind... truly catastrophic.

Probably not. Once the stresses have been removed it will be OK. You have ordered a stand and that should be enough to alleviate the problem. You're not worrying too much anyways, just being a concerned parent, so to speak.

Alongside MTS a lot of us get CGP (cracking glass paranoia) but to be honest that sort of thing tends to happen with impact or the use of dodgy heaters or heat mats where hot spots develop on the glass. Owners of paludaria beware , most of the time its a seal that goes and you get a slow leak, or if youre dead unlucky a whole panel works loose. I had a panel go when my girlfriend bumped a 20 year old tank with a soft covered chair. It opened up like a door. I was like WAAAAAHHHH! Thankfully it was a 30 gal , and I was doing some stuff with the sink pipes and had some ultra strength tape in my hand , caught the two fish that got sucked out in a bucket, and used the tape to hold the tank together long enough to catch the fish and empty the tank. Nobodys seen me move that fast before or since .