Leveling 90G Tank on hardwood floors?

barclayrl

Premium Member
Hello all I am new to this forum but not to this hobby.
Forgive me if i posted this in the wrong forum.

I have been out of the game for a few years and have decided to get back into saltwater. Anyhow, I got my tank delivered this weekend and put it in place. It was over 1/4 Inch out of level on the face, and about 1/4 Inch out of level from front to back. I shimmed it all out with wood shims and on the side, I used a piece of 1/4 Inch Solid pine. My question is, does this look like it is going to hold all the weight of a 90G reef Tank? In the basement the tank is sitting on a 2 X 12 Stud in the center of the tank (running parallel) one corner is on 4 2X 10 Studs that hold up the rest of the house (Supported by beams in the basement) and the other corner is sitting on a 2000LB Floor jack that goes into the concrete in the basement. The back of the tank is sitting on a 2 X 10 that sits on the concrete garage floor. Do you think I will be OK??

Here is a picture of how I spaced out the shims. I will make a matching oak "skirt" to cover up the shims Please post any opinions on the shims. Thanks for looking.
tankshims.jpg
 
If the shims are located directly under the load bearing vertical beams of the stand you should be ok. It looks like you are pretty close. But without seeing the inside of the stand it is hard to tell.
 
I will get more detailed pics tonight, i filled the tank, and had the same problems with the pater level, so my level is ok. (I flipped up upside down and tried both sides as well.)
 
Barclay I had the same problem, after trying the multiple wedges I got a bit scared that it may cause uneven distribution of load within the stand, also I hated the look of all the wedges!

What I ended up doing was taking out a wedge from each side and the one in the middle. Then I took them down to a friend who had a table saw and he cut one strip from the same kind of lumber as the stand and matched the angle of the cut to that of the wedges. I just glued it under the stand and bingo I had a neat perfect front edge and you cannot even tell that it's not a part of the stand.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7546656#post7546656 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Fanof49ASU
Do you use that fireplace?

The fireplace is functional, but we dont use it.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7546846#post7546846 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RobbyG
Barclay I had the same problem, after trying the multiple wedges I got a bit scared that it may cause uneven distribution of load within the stand, also I hated the look of all the wedges!

What I ended up doing was taking out a wedge from each side and the one in the middle. Then I took them down to a friend who had a table saw and he cut one strip from the same kind of lumber as the stand and matched the angle of the cut to that of the wedges. I just glued it under the stand and bingo I had a neat perfect front edge and you cannot even tell that it's not a part of the stand.

That is a fantastic idea, I will give it a try this week!! I have a table saw and I will pick up some wood this week.

Thanks!!
 
Here are the inside stand pictures. The stand is the AGA "Modern Series" Stand. Anyhow, i am not sure what to shim here, this stand looks weak to me (With no center supports) but hey i did not build it. Anyhow, should I shim the coners with some steel plates or oak shims. I tried the 4 foot wedge, and It failed there are several dips in my foor. It just did not seem like a great Idea to stick with. Please keep the great ideas coming. Thanks for everything so far!!!

Here are the pics!! THanks again!
tank01.jpg

tank02.jpg

tank03.jpg

tank04.jpg


I really would like to get this thing filled up with RO water this week, HELP PLEASE!!

Ryan
 
Got your PM.

Supports:
Looking at it, I am a bit worried about the lack of center supports! If it was my tank I would either add two center supports at the back and front or get a different stand.

Floor:
The flooring must be really out of whack for the long shim not to work, maybe you need to build a base out of solid wood and rest the stand on top of that. I have Never seen it done but I am wondering if you were to cut a piece of carpet mat and put that under the board it may create a level platform for you to rest the whole stand on. This piece of board should be a few inches bigger that the stands base and made out of something solid and tough. Other than that I am out of ideas, short of getting the floor fixed by a contractor. Whatever you do don't rush, you would regret that later on.
 
Mask the area off, the perimeter of the stand, and move the stand. Get construction grade plastic; like 6 mil at HD. Lay the plastic on the floor in the spot the stand will be on; in the masked off area. You will need to make a form, like concrete guys do, out of cheap wood. Fill any gaps in the wood with any kinda RTV. Fill this form as deep as you need to with liquid level. Ask for this at HD. There are several different brands that they sell. You will now have a perfectly leveled, one piece platform for your stand to sit on. The plastic is so you do not ruin those nice hardwood floors.

Let me know how it works out.

Elvis
 
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