Any other way to level a tank w/o having to lift and insert shims?

isseym328

isseym328

Premium Member
Hey guys,

I'm having an issue with the tank not being leveled, and seeing the different water level at each corner to prove it. Initially I thought it was the stand (because it was build by me and a friend), but after measuring both the tank/stand the culprit is the floor.

There's no issue with potential leakage in the future due to the added pressure (and this was calculated by an Engineer), but the water level is different enough that it's unsightly. I know I will be bothered with this later on when everything is cycled and ready to go.

Now the problem is, the plumbing, water, rocks/sand is all set up already for the tank. So it's extremely heavy (270g). There's no way I can add a shim underneath that one corner to even out the water level. Even draining the water/remove the rocks and sand, I believe I will have a hard time moving it.

Is there another way to balance out the water level and level the tank? I really don't want to continue setting the tank up until I get this issue solved. It just does not look good. One corner's water level is about 1 1/2 inch from brace, and another is 1/2 inch from brace. The diff is too great!

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
Last edited:
Hey kmbaczynski,

What do you mean by closed in?

I thought about jacking it up, but not sure how to insert anything under the stand. The whole setup is heavy as heck! The main problem here is lifting the stand even a little bit to insert something underneath.
 
well, i'd add that in addition to bothering you visually, it will really bother you if that being out of level eventually stresses your tank until it breaks a seam and dumps the water. I'm not sure by your Engineer's avowal that the "additional pressure" won't cause leakage. If the tank was on a planar floor, but one end of the floor was higher than the other, then I would agree with the engineer. But if your floor and or stand is causing any torque to your tank, you will eventually have a broken aquarium. I'd fix this issue even though it sounds like it'll be a complete PITA to do so. good luck man.
 
FWIW - you can absolutley NOT SHIM THE TANK!!!!!!!!! you must shim under the stand. If you shim the tank it WILL create pressure points and WILL fail. Maybe not right away. Probably when you are on vacation or on your way to some really important event. Thats just the way it works.

Drain most of the water (keep it in trashcans - preferably new, but you can use a couple trashbags as liners with old cans. Then shim the stand until it is as level as possible. If you cannot shim under the stand, if it has a plywood top you could place shims under the plywood top, but it is much better to shim the entire stand.

270g is a whole bunch of water to clean up when (if) it fails. do yourself a huge favor and fix it correctly while you can.
 
Thanks for the comments guys. PITA is an understatement. :D

I have also read on a site about the torque, or torsion of a tank with uneven water level. This bothers me greatly, and so aside from just the looks I have to correct this for structural safety.

I was talking about shimming the stand, not the tank itself. Sorry if that was not clear.

I thought about shimming the plywood top, because that would mean less weight since I don't have to lift the stand itself. But I think it'd be much more stable if I can shim the bottom of the stand and nothing in between.

I guess now I just have to go through with it. Buy some trash cans first for the rocks/sand/water.
 
To be clear, there are 2 things to worry about.
There is the torque from uneven water level, as you mention.
There is also "rack", or "twist" in the stand, which is arguably worse.
As an example, think if you raise the right front and left rear.

So make sure all 4 corners are very even.
A water level is very good for that.
Simply fill a section of clear tubing with water. Both ends will be exactly
the same height.
 
Yes I will be buying a level to test everything out before I put the water/rocks/sand back into the tank. :D
 
I just had my 500g tank jacked up w/ a 20 ton jack. We 1st leveled the tank w/ no water in, but after filling it up it was 1/2'' unlevel from 1 side to the other --92'' long. Had my lfs come do it and took about 30-45 minutes and is now completely level. The jack did it with ease.
 
psu reefer - Thanks for your comments!

I got a question for you. How did you jack up your tank? I've been looking at the jacks that they sell at Home Depot, but from the looks of it they all need a little bit of space between the object and the ground so they can slide the jack in. Did your LFS have a special kind of jack that didn't need that space in order to get underneath the tank? If so please let me know what model they are using. I'd be interested in buying/borrowing one so I can lift my tank up. The hardest part for me is trying to figure out how to lift my tank without breaking/bending anything. There's no space between my tank and the floor, making it especially hard to even "lift" it.

Thanks in advance!
 
If you have access in the basement you can level the tank that way also. Go get some Screw style floor jacks. The kind that are designed to brace a floor with. Then pour a level pad for the base of each use 2 of them. Then attach a 6 ft long 2x8 on top of the jack and slowly raise it up to bring the entire spot were the tank is up to level. Trust me I did this exact same thing on my 150 at my old house that was built in the 1920's. Worked like a DREAM.
 
jefathome - yes I can grab from underside of door, BUT I'm trying to lift stand with the tank still on top (because there won't be 10 guys helping me load/unload tank). With the tank on top, there is a possibility that something will crack if I lift it that way.

ironeagle - Unfortunately that is not an option. The garage is under that room, and there's a huge area between the two that has a mix of wood/concrete. The floor jack/braces will not do anything to support the tank.

Appreciate the comments/suggestions guys. I need more!
 
Might I suggest a trip to a local industrial rental place and ask for a hydraulic "enerpac" pump to rent. They usually have several head sizes that should allow you to fit it under the stand. The only thing I would caution is to make sure the area your jacking up can deal with the upward force. A photo or sketch might help determine how to best lift the stand and tank.
 
a good pry bar goes a long way....its important to check under the floor which might need some additional support, if the leg of the stand is between two joists the plywood is not strong enough to support with out caving...place a few braces from joist to joist directly under the corners of the stand
 
troutbum/mm949. Great ideas. I'll snap a pic of the setup so you guys can see what I'm talking about. My stand doesn't have "legs" per say. It's sitting on a platform, due to the fact that the width of the door to that room was narrow, so I had to build an extra platform to get the stand to the height that I wanted.

Stay tuned I'll get some pics tonight.
 
mm949 said:
a good pry bar goes a long way....its important to check under the floor which might need some additional support, if the leg of the stand is between two joists the plywood is not strong enough to support with out caving...place a few braces from joist to joist directly under the corners of the stand
Click to expand...

Pry bar? Wouldn't that place a lot of stress & flex on the entire corner he's working on?
 
yeah, a pry bar sounds scary to me. not saying it wouldn't work, but I wouldn't risk it if it was my fully-loaded tank.
 
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