old house hilly floors

[SnakeIce]

I live in the attic apartment of an old house and I was lucky to find a spot level enough realatively speaking to put the 20 and the 10. if you rent or live in such a dwelling with variable floors how do you deal with the problem. I know you can do things to the support to make the floor a little more level but that is imposible in my situation. how do you make the spot where the stand sits level when the floor isn't

[ArkyLady]

Just a thought I had once before on this topic, but I've never actually tried it.

I wonder if you could get a piece of thick plywood just an inch or so larger than the bottom of your tank stand and use "shims" to level it so the tank stand was on a level surface (the plywood)?

[OrionGirl]

You can shim the stand directly--no need to use a chunk of plwood, though if you don't know if the floor is sturdy enough, a chunk of plywood will help distribute the weight over a wider area, reducing the stress on an individual location.

Other options: put a slab of styrofoam under the tank. It will then settle into the styrofoam to a level point.

[ArkyLady]

Ahh good idea with the styrofoam. I was thinking of using a piece of plywood for distribution since it wasn't a ground floor.

[Heady]

What I do is, depending on the size of the tank, use 2x4's or thick plywood under the tank stand (my new 100 gallon uses a frame of 2x4's and 4x4's). Then shim underneath the 2x4's or plywood.

I also put a piece of plywood (1/2" thick for tanks under 70 gallons or so, 3/4" thick for tanks above 70 gallons) on top of the stand and a thin layer of bulletin board cork between the plywood and the tank (for cushioning and a very slight amount of additional leveling).

[Tammy]

We've used shims on our tanks - wood, cardboard or felt depending on the type of stand and the amount it needed to be raised.

[carpguy]

I have massively uneven floors and use shims and even blocks of wood cut to size to even out my bookshelves. Lots and lots of shims. Strips of plywood.

Styrofoam couldn't cover the inch plus variations I have. I'm not so sure its self-leveling on more than a very small scale.