Poor man's stand, leveling ?'s

[enrom]

Hi all. I've been looking around at this forum and others for a few weeks now, and have just recently bought a 29 gallon for a community tank set up.
I originally had the tank on a desk that is built in to my bedroom wall, but the desk got very flimsy with the tank full, so I emptied it and looked for another place to put it. I'm trying to do things as inexpensive as possible, and didn't want to spend 200 dollars for a good stand, nor did I want a cheaper Wal-Mart one because they're made of particleboard. I looked in to getting a metal stand, but the floor is carpet so I was worried about stability. I eventually settled on making one, but I don't have enough confidence in my wood working skills to be able to construct something that can hold 300+ pounds. I came across a few threads where I saw people using cinder blocks and wood planks and thought "now there's something I can do." I went to Lowe's today and for $25 came up with this:


It's just normal 16x8x8 cinder blocks stacked two high with two 2x10's on top, then three more blocks spaced evenly with 2 more 2x10's on top to support the tank. It's not the prettiest thing in the world, but it's not like it's in the middle of the living room, plus it's very stable. The only issue now is leveling, the stand itself is level, but the tank is not. I put some foam board under the tank before placing it on the 2x10's as I've read that this can help, but it's still not perfectly level. I was hoping some more experienced members could let me know if this is level enough to prevent a blow out, and if it isn't, maybe suggest some ways to fix it. I know that shims will work, but I wasn't sure if I should go that route because the stand itself is dead level. Is my problem being caused by the foam? If so will this correct itself? Here's a picture of the level, sorry for the quality, my camera is cheap and doesn't have a manual focus. (As you can see, it was focusing on the wall behind the tank instead of the level)


Thanks in advance for any help anyone can give me.

 

[Blueiz]

IMO I do not think that small bit of unlevelness is going to harm any. My 75 is off about that much and its fine... I also think that this slight bit of unlevelness is caused by the styrofoam you have under the tank and that once the tank is filled it should even out. Happy Fishkeeping!

 

[kveeti]

I'm sure somebody knowledgeable will be along to help you soon.

In the meantime, I'm really not a "level" person.... but I do have one observation. Your level is standing on the top of the frame, correct? The frame might not be perfectly put on. Did you try the level reading on the bottom glass inside the tank?

 

[Bristlenose Chuck]

You could try to shim up the cinder blocks with wooden shims you get at Lowes.

That being said, none of my tanks are perfectly level. My house is old and none of the floors are level and Ive never had any problems. *knocks on wood*

 

[enrom]

blueiz - Thanks for the feedback, I guess I'll just go ahead and refill and give the foam a few days to settle. If it doesn't level after two or three days, I guess I can try to use some shims. Even if it won't be a problem, I'd like to have it as level as possible just for peace of mind. I think Murphy's law dictates that if a tank is going to have a problem, it will happen 10 minutes after you leave for work for the day. :thud: Although if you have no problems with a 75 like that, I guess I shouldn't worry about a tank less than half that size.

kveeti - Great point, I didn't even think of that. I just checked the framing and it looked pretty level when I eye-balled it, but of course that isn't exactly accurate, which is why there are levels in the first place. That's a good idea to put the level inside the tank, unfortunately I can't really do that as there's still a few inches of water in the tank from a previous fill, in addition to sand and gravel. I'll just have to hope that the frame isn't what is causing the problem.

Thank you both for your help and suggestions.

 

[enrom]

Bristlenose Chuck - You know, I actually walked right by a big box of shims when I bought the 2x10's, and thought "nah, I shouldn't need those." D'oh! When in doubt, save yourself a trip. Live and learn I suppose.

 

[enrom]

Well, blueiz25 was exactly right, the foam appears to be what was causing the uneveness. I filled it up and checked the level, dropped the level, swore, reached in the water to pull it out, swore some more, checked the level, and it was perfect. I just added 5ppm of ammonia, and now the wait begins. At least I still have to get plants and decorations, that should keep me busy for a while.

Once I'm cycled I'm planning on getting a Pearl Gourami, two or three African Dwarf Frogs, two male and two female Cherry Barbs, a school of 10 or so of some type of tetra (I'm leaning towards Rummynose at the moment) and possibly a snail to help keep things tidy between water changes. I'd love to replace the Barbs with a Dwarf Gourami of some variety, but I'm not willing to roll the dice on compatibility with the Pearl.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[kveeti]

I didn't notice the water/gravel in the first pics. But, anyhow it worked out for you and that's great. Sounds like a nice community tank. Planning is half the fun.

 

[daveedka]

Just a tip for you, If you want that stand to look really nice, hang a curtain all the way around it. I Know more than few people with cinder block stands in their living rooms, and visitors do not know they aren't finished furniture.

Dave

 

[enrom]

The curtain thing is a great idea, I considered doing just that. The reason I'm not though is because I have a bit of a centipede problem in my house, and cold cement blocks hidden behind a dark curtain is an ideal place for those nasty little s.o.b.'s to hide. I use some pretty heavy pesticides to keep them under control, but obviously I'm not going to be spraying around my tank (unless someone knows of something that's fish safe?) so I'd like to keep it open under there.