Bifferwine
I am a girl
I filled up my new tank tonight, after aquascaping. It's not level. It's off by about 1/4-inch from side to side. What should I do? Drain it again then shim up one side?
Tank is not level
- Thread starter Bifferwine
- Start date
Zissou
What about my dynamite?
You'll want to shim the stand and not the tank. And yeah, I think you'll have to drain the whole tank unfortunately. :(
PRC
Stop Quoting Me!
+1 Zissou...Get some wood shims at Home Depot, hammer them into the bottom of the stand (between bottom of stand and floor). Cut or break off the excess. If you get a little help from NDB you may be able to do it without draining the entire tank, maybe just half.
Toolman
RESPECT MY AUTHORITAH
Can you see it the difference by looking at the water level? if the water level is the giveaway why not a 1" piece of black tape around the rim. What type of stand is it on? you seem pretty handy from what I have seen you post if the stand is solid enough at the bottom use a pry bar and a fulcrum and go a little at a time and shim with metal not wood. Just for GP's did you put a level across the top of the tank?
sen5241b
Reef enthusiast
I would drain the entire thing and level it immediately. Over time the strain and pressure on the joints and seals may cause it to slowly start leaking and then what are you going to do with an established reef system? 1/4 inch is a lot!
Bifferwine
I am a girl
Thanks. This is what we will do. :(
We have several packs of shims in the shed, from our new window/door project. We'll see how much water we can keep.
It's very obvious. It's not so much the visual that bothers me, but that it's leaning to one side, and I don't think that's good for the tank! Metal shims? I'll have to see if the hardware store has those. We did use a level...but not before I filled it! :lol:
That's what I was afraid of! Thanks everyone.
rdahlke1105
I'm a girl.
Biff has EVERYTHING in that shed of hers. :lol:
Bifferwine
I am a girl
It is true!! :mrgreen:
dcantucson
Reef pro
Make one of those new kitties useful. Stick one or two of their paws under the stand as a shim. Kill two birds with one stone! A) You won't have to go looking under any beds for a missing kitty, and B) Your tank will be level. :lol:
Lizardgi
I used to have lizards
About a week after I had my 125 on my custom built stand it was off by about 1/4". I used a car jack to jack up one corner just enough to slide shims under. I was hella nervous doing it, but it worked well.
d2mini
Reef enthusiast
WIN! :Cheers:
Bifferwine
I am a girl
And Quackers has all those extra toes to spare! Perfect!
Toolman
RESPECT MY AUTHORITAH
Had to help a guy at work with his tank is on a table with 4 feet at the bottom I used Fender washers to level his tank out I have also used paint sticks. Not knowing your setup anything goes I would just be nervous using with the shims if they are what I think you are talking about. Good Luck with whatever you decide on doing
I had the same problem with my tank not being leveled about 1/4 inch. I live in an apartment with nice wood floors so I had to put a mat down first then the stand on top. I was going to try wood shims except my tank stand is flat at the bottom and the mat wouldn't quite let me. So, I simply used paper. It takes a while, but you can spread paper out and eventually you'll get it leveled. At the time it sounded silly, but it actually works pretty well.
