Aquarium water level Pics

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tarquin375

thats no moon, it's a space station
Sep 3, 2008
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Hi all. I hope this is in the right place...

Below are pics of my aquarium water level. I am wondering if it is off level so much to be worried about. The tanks is a Perfecto 75 gallon, tempered glass, standard dimensions.

The stand is an Aquatic Fundamentals 75/90 gallon purchased from the Drs, it has a two piece flat bottom so I am not sure how to properly shim it up, I have no experience with flat bottom stands.

I don't have a problem at all leaving it as is if, in your opinions, it is close enough to level as to not cause any seam damage. The rim trim on the tank is plenty low enough to hide the un-level water surface. In the pics, the tank is filled to the point of the water just touching the bottom of the rim trim at the front right corner.

This is the first time I have posted pics here so I don't know exactly how to manipulate them, I was going to comment between each photo...instead, from top down:

left side-back
left side-front
front-right end
right side
front-left end

I know they are not in a logical order, I couldn't get them rearranged properly (I will learn). Any input from anyone would be greatly apreciated. Thanks. ....just realized I need to update my sig...

Aquarium_Left-Back.JPG Aquarium_Left-Front.JPG Aquarium_Front-Right.JPG Aquarium_Right.JPG Aquarium_Front-Left.JPG
 

tarquin375

thats no moon, it's a space station
Sep 3, 2008
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Will
Thanks Slappy. The lack of experience I mentioned was with a two piece, seem in the middle, flat bottom stand. I have a 55 on a stand that I have leveled with a level and shims all three times I moved it. It has three upright support panels that touch the floor, it was easy to not worry about bowing or bending. How do I shim the 75 stand without bending/bowing the bottom at the seem? The upright supports on the stand are on either end, the front and back on either end, and in the center on the front and back-these ones being over the seem in the bottom which runs front to back. The seem in the bottom is joined by two metal plates, each with four screws and also by the upright supports which fasten to the top and bottm with metal shaft and cam assemblies.

My worry is that I shim the end and front to level the stand and it gets weak in the middle from end to end. I hope I am making sense here. Should I put a sheet of plywood under the stand first to prevent this potential weaking/warping and shim under the ply? I am trying not to sound ignorant here but I have no funds to replace anything or repair house damage is breakage occurs. I do, however, have plenty of experience using a level. I was a general contractor for seven years before becoming a computer service technician...:)
 

Rbishop

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Dec 30, 2005
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Ideal would be a shim that ran the entire distance. Pics of the stand?
 

tarquin375

thats no moon, it's a space station
Sep 3, 2008
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Pics of the stand.

Aquarium Stand 003.JPG Aquarium Stand 005.JPG Aquarium Stand 002.JPG Aquarium Stand 004.JPG Aquarium Stand 001.JPG
 

tarquin375

thats no moon, it's a space station
Sep 3, 2008
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I spoke with Aquatic Fundamentals customer service department today via the phone and sent them the pics of the tank water level as per their request. They say that because it isn't significantly off level that it shouldn't hurt anythhing by shimming it as you would a stand with feet. I also visited their website and learned that their aquarium furniture is UL listed. It passes strength and durability tests to qualify as commercial furniture. I agree with Rbishop though, full length shims (end-to-end) would be ideal...or maybe apropreately sized shime every so many inches...opinions?
 

Slappy*McFish

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Feb 18, 2002
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Full length shims are sturdier for sure, but can be difficult to properly fit. If it were me, I'd shim it every 6" until level and use the plastic shims I posted earlier. You can then tack on a piece of shoe molding to hide everything or paint the shims black before using them. By the looks of your stand, molding might be difficult to apply.
 

tarquin375

thats no moon, it's a space station
Sep 3, 2008
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Will
As I have it estimated (I haven't taken exact measurments yet...), the entire right side of the stand needs to come up just about 1/4" and the front right corner an additional 1/4" (for a total of just about 1/2"). I agree with the difficulty in fitting full length shims properly...are you refering to the plastic shims running with the length of the shim perpendicular to the length of the stand? BTW, the link about seems to be broken now...it worked when I tried it after you posted but not now...:(
 

Slappy*McFish

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Feb 18, 2002
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They're plastic shims sold at Ace Hardware but I'm sure you could get plastic shims at just about any home improvement store. http://www.acehardwaresuperstore.com/specialty/68805.html
Yes, the shims would be running with their length running front to back or perpendicular to the length of the stand if I understood you correctly. The plastic shims are tough as nails but can be a bit harder to cut/trim than common wood shims so keep that in mind if you don't want them showing. A band saw cuts through them pretty easily, but these snap-off toilet shims are about as easy as it gets: http://www.ezshim.com/products/johnnyshim/index.html. I believe Ace Hardware sells them, as well as the EZ-shims. http://www.ezshim.com/products/etcshim/index.html
 
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