Leveling an Aquarium

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Marsiggy

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Dec 26, 2002
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I finally got around to buying the hard styrofoam and some shims to level out my tank, but its turning out to be a lot harder than i expected.

For starters i set the stand in the area the tank is gonna go and ascertained that there wasn't any wobbles. I then used a sheet of 3/4's an inch styrofoam sheeting on the stand and placed the tank on top of that. I then used a carpenters level to see if it was level. Its level from left to right both in back and the front. Then i went to check the side of the tank and its almost level but not quite. So i decided to pour some water into the tank just enough to reach the top of the bottom trim on the tank so i could see how much off level the tank is. In the back the tank is one centimeter higher than in the front as seen from the side of the tank. Also i noticed i could slip a piece of paper between the tank and the styrofoam in some places.

I then tried to use the shims but they only made the problem worse instead of evening it out. Not to mention that the bottom of my stand is totally flat and the shims created a gap. This gap made me feel uncomfortable so i emptied out what little water was in the tank and removed the shims.

Does one centimeter make much of a difference or should i try to find some other way of leveling it out? Can someone pelase give me some ideas as to what i should try next?
 

Weezer

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Mar 2, 2007
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Is it on a hard surface or carpet, ours is also flat on the bottom and on carpet, it took about a week to settle in to the padding, ours is about a centimeter low on the right side, i used those wood wedges to shim it, i tried to get it level but a few days later it would change somewhere else, IMO a centimeter or two isn't a big deal, having it totally level would be ideal, I called PERFECTO and asked them exactly how far off it would have to be to void the warranty, they told me 1/4 of an inch,.....:)
 

FishyMatty

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Jan 30, 2007
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How big is the tank? is it on a hard wood floor or carpet?

If its on carpet it will press into the carpet over time and become un level.

Also if its a large tank you may need to put supports under the floor. I live in a second story APT. and my 55g has sagged the floor to the point where I've had to re-level the tank twice now.
 

Weezer

Plastic Plant's Live Longer
Mar 2, 2007
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I live on the 3rd floor and the only problem was the carpet and padding compressing, but after a week it seemed to be good, i just checked it again because of this thread and its still the same as 9 months ago,....:)
 

Brian Bivens

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Jun 8, 2007
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your saying a 1/4 of an inch, but 1 cm is nearly half an inch. If it is a cm off, then consider the warranty voided....
 

Marsiggy

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The floor is a concrete slab with ceramic tiling in a one story home.

The floor was tiled about 4 years ago and the installers made certain the floor was level as they installed the tile.

It's 150 gallons.

I used the wrong measurement the tank is 1/8 of an inch higher in the back than the front. I was looking at the wrong side of the ruler... gonna go back and re-edit my post....
 

Weezer

Plastic Plant's Live Longer
Mar 2, 2007
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your saying a 1/4 of an inch, but 1 cm is nearly half an inch. If it is a cm off, then consider the warranty voided....
It's a quarter. 1 cm is .39 inches......:goldfish:
 

Weezer

Plastic Plant's Live Longer
Mar 2, 2007
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Maybe alittle foam around the front edge, that should do it.......:goldfish:
 

Star_Rider

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Dec 21, 2005
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where the tank and stand come together..it should be flush(read no wierd gaps) the stand should be leveled. that would keep the tank/stand junction cohesive.
 

Phil22

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Apr 9, 2007
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I'm more concerned about the gap between the tank and the styrofoam...do you mean that the tank is not completely resting on the stand? I'm also not sure why you would use styrofoam between the tank and the stand. Unless the stand does not evenly support the tank.
I've had great success just using cardboard to level the stand.
 
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