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i would recommend leveling the tank if possible, but a cheap and nasty solution is adapt or create a hood that comes down the front of the tank just below the lowest water level

Just keep us informed how the leveling went & hopefully the fish & tank will all be fine.


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havent done it yet, waterchanges due in all tanks today but only got QT and 9gal done will empty 54gal tomorrow and hopefully without cracking straining joints (thanks keith) i will be able to level up the one side i bought these special wedge things for this purpose, so hopefully will be easy (better than a million peices of cardboard ) which i ghess would probably compact down revealing the same problem anyway. if you hear a cracking sound followed by a crazy women yelling thats just me!!

Just wondering how you went about adjusting the levels. With a tank that still has some weight in it the slighest twist can/will crack the glass or put unnecessary stress on all the glued joints of the tank and the stand.

If it was me I would completly empty the stand and either chock up the "legs" or recut them to the floors level.

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Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
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LouLou, make sure its definately the floor and not the stand itself, as if its a standard pine stand, they are often held together very flimsily. It should be screwed or bolted, nails and glue just won't cut it.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

loulou,

Somehow I must have missed this earlier. You speak about wedged under the “feet”. Does that mean that you stand bottom has 4 feet and that these are the only points that touch the ground? In this case, leveling should be much less of a headache. Just make sure that any wedges are creating an equal area under the whole foot and not only on a foot’s side (as this small area would be the section where all the weight is carried).

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

yes of course im draining it. im hoping if i drain 95% (leaving a tad bit of water for my clowns and Ottos) it will be light enough to wedge something under the legs. if fishes get too stressed with the water level dropping i will poss be able to net them out. no way im taking everything out that will just stuff everything up to much!!

i second jas on that but if you cant empty the tank at least lower the level as much as you can short term for the move

Remember to empty the tank first & them try to level it.
Never try to move a full tank.


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little fish
its 1 inch lower on the right side, the water level from front glass to back glass is spot on the same. so its only out from side to side. i poured a little water on the floor (tiles) and it ran to the right slightly. i will attempt to wedge something under the right legs and try getting it up 1/2 inch at least. its bugging me ] thankyou for all your help peoples /:'

loulou,

I would say that it depends on the circumstances that make the tank not being leveled.

I mean:

If it is simply an evenly sloping ground then there is no need to worry, a 55G will not create enough pressure on a side panel that it would crack (if it is only one inch).

If the ground is uneven, means part of it is supporting the stands bottom while other parts are not, then you may have an issue. The fewer points touch the ground the higher the weight pressure from the tank on these points is. Then it could come to bending of the stand and cracking of the tank.

Same counts for “twisted” grounds, meaning that your tank is actually not sloping but twisted. There the risk of cracks seems to be rather high. You could easily identify this by looking at the water line and comparing that it is at the same height on the left back and front – as well as the same height on the right back and front. If not – twisted.

I have a 29G that has an almost 1” difference in water level from back to forth, and this are only 12 inches. No problems.

I agree that it can be an esthetics question, having a crocked surface line when looking at a tank can be annoying. My 125G is off from left to right by about ½ an inch, but that is not a problem because the water line is covered by the tanks upper frame.

Just my 2 cents

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I would most defenately level the STAND, not the tank to avoid, as mentionned by others, stress on the tank it self. Almost all my tanks needed to be leveled as the floors in my apt are not leveled and straight. When you level your stand, think of where the pressure will be exerced and what structural stress it will impose on your stand. The best way to avoid any stress on the furniture is to use full size pieces of wood... eg pieces that will either run the full width or lenght ( depending ) of your furniture. An inch off means that you need about a ½ inch correction. That's quite thick. I would probably prepare a few pieces of various thickness to support the furniture at regular intervals. To minimise the effect, a thick carpet can be used if your base is full size. If only on 4 legs, you'll need to shim 1 or 2 legs and leave it at that OR put the stand on a full size base ( wood board ) and shim the base.

That what I would do. Mind you, I'm quite "maniac" about these little details and not everyone is as picky as me.

Good luck !

Sponge

i have had this tank up and running for about 3 months and last week i noticed the surface water was lower at one end than the other by an inch!! the tank is new as i had it made. its 10mm glass and has been siliconed nice and thick. it was made by a pro and comes with a warranty so im confident its been made very strong. its a 3foot tank. im wondering how bad it is that its not level? what would you do if it was your tank? would you empty it and get the stand level or leave it?

Frank, the shims are there on the far right, its hard to see because they dont come quite to the front (almost, but not quite).
That tank was such a bear to level because the highest point in the whole building is at the front left corner of the tank/stand. Its all down hill from there.

Last edited by doedogg at 19-Dec-2005 13:04

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I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.
~ Mae West

Hi,
Doe, that is not going to work as shown in the picture.

The filled tank will be exerting at least 550 pounds of
pressure downward. That pressure will be distributed
along the main vertical boards. Assuming that center piece
is not movable, that means the pressure will be distrubuted
across the back pannel, the two side pannels and the center
pannel. Those points must have solid shims all along those
surfaces between the bottom of the cabinet and the floor.
I don't see (could be the picture angle) a shim at the far
right of the stand between the stand and the floor.
As things seem now, the stand will bow on the right.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

My 55 had to be leveled quite a bit and I couldn't imagine trying to do it with water in it. Its still not totally level, but its good enough for me. I can't even begin to tell you how many shims we had to use.



Last edited by doedogg at 19-Dec-2005 07:50[/font]

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I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.
~ Mae West

If it were my tank, I'd drain it and level the stand - side to side and front to back, corner to corner. Get it right. I figure, why push your luck? Besides which, an out of level tank is simply not aesthetically pleasing, and for me, instead of being a source of tranquility, the off level tank would be a source of anxiety.

I have a 90 gallon that needed to be shimmed to level it. This is very commonly needed as few houses are square and few floors are dead level.

After sitting many years on the lino, this spring we decided to redo the flooring. Moved the fish, drained and tore down the tank and discovered the shims had actually sunk about 1/16-1/8 inch into the lino.

After the new flooring was installed, I cut a sheet of 3/4 ply to fit under the stand, stained it to match, then placed new shims (more numerous than used previously) between the 3/4 ply and the stand. This ensures pressure will be spread over a wider area and the new flooring should not be damaged by the weight of the tank.

As it is, it is no major problem except appearance. To level it up correctly you will have to completly empty the tank, using a level set it up level then reset the tank up again.

Depending on your base will depend on how you lift it up.

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Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

what i normally do is the next time you do a water change get some wooden shims and slide them under the stand. shims are triangle splints of wood that ramp up as you slide them under. this works perfectly in most cases.

I think that it's better to empty the tank &amp; start all over again.
Try to level the stand &amp; the tank &amp; then fill up the tank again.
If you leave the tank as it is, it can get broken with the water pressure, as it's only on one side &amp; not level.


http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/s8xi5heh/my_photos
http://www.geocities.com/s8xi5heh/classic_blue.html
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com