Small hump in floor causing stand to be unlevel ....options????

[southpaw]

I just bought a 55 gallon aquarium and stand. I put the stand together yesterday and set the tank on it and noticed there is a slight wobble to the whole setup. So I pulled the stand out from the wall a few feet to see what the deal was... Well it seems that the floor has a high spot in it. The subfloor is concrete and is tiled with 8" square tiles. I noticed that 2 of the tiles about midway of the stand are not flush down to the rest of the floor by probably less than 1/4". It is more of a hump with the area betwwen to 2 tiles being the highest point.So the probem is that the small hump is leaning my tank forward by about 1/4" and also lifting 3 of the corners slightly off the floor making it wobble slightly( the back 2 corners are up the height of the hump,front right corner up about 1/8"). The stand has a solid flat base so if it isnt touching pretty much the whole area of the floor I assume when I put weight on it that it will conform to the shape of the floor and possibly put some twist stress on my tank and stand. Is there anyway to remedy this?? This is the only spot I have to set the aquarium up at in my house.

I have read a few threads where people were putting the foam sheeting like you get at Home Depot or Lowe's under their stands to help with unlevel problems. Would this help in my situation or would it too just conform to the floor and when compressed just be the same problem with the exception of my tank/stand sitting alittle higher? I also thought if I used the foam sheeting maybe I could take an electric knife and shave a small bit from the foam where it sits over the hump in my tile. Do you think it would help level it out?

I am up for any suggestions right now as i have spent all this time and money to get an aquarium setup only to get set back by a unforseen problem like this.

TIA

[rwilliams254]

I don't have a suggestion, but I feel your pain.

[Coler]

You don't want the stand wobbling. I'd be putting thin pieces cork under the stand as necessary to level it. If it's stable then the tank should be OK but you can also put foam between it and the tank - some people do this as a matter of course. Some tanks don't require it e.g. Juwel tanks specifically are not supposed to be set up like this.

[Squawkbert]

1x2 strips under the load bearing, vertical portions of the tank stand (either side of the door, probably ea. end too) and dense foam under the rest - thick enough so that it will bear at least some of the weight. The 1x2s will bear enough to keep things from wobbling.

[southpaw]

I have some 1/4" x 2" wood strips I have been playing with and had this idea... Let me know what you think. Here is a crude pic for reference...all the lines are about where I would put the 1/4" x 2" strips for support.

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I would use the 1/4" strips to put across the whole 4' section across the front and along both sides....then I would run the strips across the back as close to the hump to keep it level and then put a few strips in the middle for added support. The way my stand is made it supports on each end and around each corner front and back about 8" and then there are 8" wide supports in the middle of the fron between the doors and another in the middle of back... I was thinking the huump would act as a support for the back middle support .

[Star_Rider]

you need shims and a level,

the level will help determine where you need shims.

level the stand using shims.. hardware stores have these..I used the all the time when installing hard offices when I was a facilities engineer.

after leveling the stand place the tank and recheck the level.
I prefer wood shims but you can get them made out of various other material.

sorry I was posting when you were posting. but in essence , yes your method would work(firring strips)

[southpaw]

I had gave the shim method a thought but it seems that the support wouldnt be across the whole bottom of the stand and only be where the shims are and leave gaps between the stand and floor....

Thats why I came up with the idea above to try and give it as much equal support across the bottom as I could.

[southpaw]

Well now I may have to scrap this idea too as I have been fooling around with the strips to see how level it will be before I put the stand on them and it seems the hump extends farther out than I had first thought...It isnt as bad toward the front of where the stand would sit but still enough that it will cause some issues.

I have the stand sitting on another wall now after some major room rearranging and it seems to be pretty stable and level there...but definately not where I wanted to sit it...

I will still entertain any options you might have for the original location but I am afraid it might be more trouble than it is worth.... I guess I could always form out a small frame and pour a 1" or 2" concrete slab over the area I want the stand to sit to get it level

[Star_Rider]

one of the guys I visit for live corals(marine tankset up) has his main tank in an enclosure of the base..basically similar ot what you are suggesting..he made a form poured in some sort of solid material for foundation then a rim around the slab..water tight.

in case his main tank overflows.

[southpaw]

I willl wait until this evening when the wife gets home and see what her opinions are...if she likes where I have it sitting now I can just leave it be but if she is set on having it on the other wall I will throw the building a slab idea at her and see what she thinks (gotta keep momma happy :) )

[Squawkbert]

More like what I was thinking - w/ shims and/or foam as needed

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[yourchoice]

Is taking it back and going with a metal stand an option?

[jm1212]

Is taking it back and going with a metal stand an option?
yes, if you can find one that can plant its feet around the bump without problems.

[southpaw]

Is taking it back and going with a metal stand an option?

Well... probably not. I ordered it from Petco and got free shipping on it to save gas as the nearest Petco is like 70 miles from me.

Wife got home and is ok with where I have it now so I guess I can say problem is solved.

Thanks for everyone's input and I am sure I will have many more things to ask once I get it all completely setup and start cycling it and adding fish down the road

[enrique4jc]

Glad you got it worked out. I was sure you would find a solution. Keep us posted on your progress.

[southpaw]

Thanks....

Hoping to get it all going tomorrow...Went looking today to find some pure ammonia to start my fishless cycle but no luck...I guess I may have to find a different way to get it going....went to a place that has Bio-Spira but I couldnt justify the $28 price tag on it for enough to start my 55g