Stock Tank Sump on Uneven Floor

[Darth_Tater]

I was planning on using a 75 gallon sump for a new setup I'm putting together, but when I moved the tank into the place I need the sump to go I realized just how uneven the floor is. It's pretty close to the drain in the floor so I expected a little slope, but this floor is flat out bowl shaped! There's probably a full 1" difference in height between opposite corners of the tank (the weird thing is that water barely trickles towards the drain, so I didn't realize the slope was anywhere near that!).

Needless to say, that's not going to work. So here's my question: would a stock tank hold up on flooring that uneven? The dimensions would be different, so the drop in the floor wouldn't be that drastic (stock tank wouldn't be 4 feet long), but still enough I wouldn't trust even a shorter glass tank on it.

Opinions appreciated!

 

[Bruce51]

build a wood frame covered in plywood for the tank and use wedges to level it

 

[billdogg]

^^^What he said^^^

But I would think that a Rubbermaid stock tank would work fine. When I put mine in place in a similar situation I never even bothered to check.

 

[WiDataTech]

My first thought was building a frame and shim it also. And then I thought about all of the farmers that use them for years. They didn't go out and level everything nicely.. you should be fine.

 

[Darth_Tater]

Heh, I knew a stand would be suggested. I'm pretty terrible at woodworking and don't really have the right tools. I was hoping for a quick solution since if I have to build a stand for it I'll procrastinate till forever.

I was actually thinking this morning that if I put the sump on the opposite side of the room it might be much flatter. Hard to tell though until I actually move it over there. Problem is that then my plumbing gets much more complicated since it isn't directly under the tank anymore (sump is in the basement, tank is on main floor).

Edit: I guess I wouldn't have to build a full stand, like you guys said and it didn't click, I only need a simple frame. Hmm. Things to think about. Thanks for the idea!

 

[HippieSmell]

Stock tanks are usually thrown into field with little care. Having said that, my stock tank cracked, after which I put a pond liner in it. It's held up since then. I would do that right off the bat if I were you. Maybe put a thick layer of pink foam under it as well.

 

[Darth_Tater]

Good ideas, thanks!

 

[neiltus]

I would check to see if the floor is still that bad even under a load. Seen a few wood floors on depression era houses (pair and beam) that will come up from the sub while not under a load.

If slab-then shim.