HELP unlevel aquarium

[Shauno]

Hi,

I recently purchased a Red Sea reefer 170 and on setting it up and filling it, it appears to be slightly unlevel.

Just wondering if you think this will be ok? Or shall I empty and relevel

It's on carpet and the tank does not rock etc. On using a spirit level is 2 degrees out

What you guys think?

Thank you

 

[scuba dude]

Is it on ground level with a solid floor , like concrete?

If it is on an upper floor you might want to consider a jacking post under it on the lower floor. My 90 gallon is in my kitchen and I put a post under it ans supported it from below with the thought of preventing it from sagging over time, 170 gallon is a lot of weight!

On carpet, is it close to the wall so the back edge could be on the tack-strip that holds the carpet along the edges. How's the level on the floor itself?

 

[Fresh2o]

I have a much smaller tank that was unlevel on carpet. One side was higher that the other; front to back it was fine. I let it settle a few weeks but that did not seem to help. I had some wood shims lying around from another project and used those to level it out. It's not 100% but close enough.


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[Shauno]

Thanks for the replys. It is 170 litre sorry, not gallons. Approx 35 litres sit in the filtration system below also.

i may try levelling it with shims. Just don't want the tank to crack. My old tank was also around 170 litres and did fine for 2 years

 

[Shauno]

As for the floor it is not completely level out by 1 - 2 degrees from a spirit level. Not too close to the tax strips either

 

[Hunter73]

I have a much smaller tank that was unlevel on carpet. One side was higher that the other; front to back it was fine. I let it settle a few weeks but that did not seem to help. I had some wood shims lying around from another project and used those to level it out. It's not 100% but close enough.


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This is what I have done to one of mine. I put the shim under the tank stand leg to get it almost perfect.


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[Andy Sager]

It's more important that the tank be on a flat surface than a level surface. Not level can lead to issues like where a hang on filter should go or seeing a water line at the top of the tank but on a non flat surface, that could cause the tank to crack. One way to compensate for non flat is to put polystyrene or styrofoam under the tank so that any pressure points would be able to move on the styro. For unlevel on carpet, you can put the stand on a piece of plywood and then shim the legs so that the stand is level then use the styro and then the tank. That should handle all the issues except the floor itself. If the floor is unstable, I would seriously consider putting the tank elsewhere or supporting the floor from underneath.

Hope this helps