What is acceptable when leveling a tank?

[jm667]

I know it is very important get a tank level. But then again, nothing is going to be absolutely perfect, so I want to know what the limits are. I actually built my stand pretty level, the floor is off a tiny bit. The bubble was actually just touching the line, and I shimmed it and its pretty close to the center. I have a plywood top on the stand, and when I place the tank on it, it does not wobble at all, but at one corner and in the middle, there is a little gap between the tank and the top of the stand. I can slide a credit card in there, and nothing more. Is that anything to worry about? Should I leave a card under there, or is not a problem. I ran a metal straight edge across the top to make sure it was flat, and just one corner has that real small gap. I know nothing is going to be perfect, but I just don't know what is an acceptable range to be off a little bit.

The tank is 50 gallons by the way.

 

[SWerner13]

I think its partly up to you. How big is your tank? Just keep in mind its kind of exponentional. The more one corner is off extremely increases the added stress of that particular side. I think a small amount of error is perfectly acceptable and what you are describing sounds reasonable. Especially if you trust your tank and its seals. You could leave the card there. There is also a sort of pad material you can place under your tank that helps to evenly distribute the weight, alot of people do that?

To sum it up, I think you will be fine but if there is something you can, whether it a credit card or whatever why not?

 

[WhiteDevil]

Acceptable levelness is within 1/8" inch I believe, I just use a 2' level on the top and a 4' level on the side to check plumb, Acceptable is when the bubble is in the center.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

I would say the thickness of gaps is irrelevant (after all, if the tank isn't touching the stand at a particular point, it doesn't matter if the gap is 1/10" or 1". In either case, that is a point where the stand is not supporting the tank. You are relying on the edging around the tank to provide the support, and because that edging isn't being supported at that point, it's putting a strain on the edging at that point.

What I would say IS important is the width of the gap. Short gaps, say 3 inches or less, shouldn't be a big deal. If the gaps are approaching a foot, I would suggest finding ways to shim the gaps.

 

[jm667]

Yeah the gaps are pretty short, they arent anymore than a few inches. Maybe I will just slip a card under there. But once I fill it, it should be pretty level from side to side and back to back because the stand is almost perfectly level.

 

[jm667]

I finally got ready to set up the tank today, and got the stand pretty dead on level. I put the tank on it and filled it just to make sure it would stay level with the weight on there pushing down on the carpet and all, and it is still perfectly level. There are no gaps at all under the four corners or on the narrow sides of the tank, but on the front and back sides, there is a small gap that I can slide a credit card under in the middle of the tank (two cards are too tight, and one is just in there loose). Before I filled it, one was probably about 4 inches wide, and the back one was maybe 8 inches wide. After the tank was filled, I can barely slip the card under the front one, and in the back its only about 3 inches wide now. Is this acceptable? Should I just put a slim shim underneath these two sections, maybe two cards (even though that is a little too big, but one card wouldn't quite touch it)? Or should I place this tank on something? I don't have any foam or anything around, but I do have a piece of some real thin industrial grade carpet. Would that be a good idea, or am I fine just leaving it the way it is on the plywood top?

 

[jm667]

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

 

[HooKooDooKu]

How wide is the gap... measuring with a sheet of paper (after all, the thickness of the gap is irrelevant)?

I assume that what is happening is that with the weight, the plywood is flattening making the gap smaller (because you don't want the tank warping to fill the gap.

If you want to make the gaps smaller, you could go all the way around the tank and mark where the gaps are, and then go back and sand the plywood where there IS NOT a gap to effectively erase the gaps. That would be structually more sound than trying to fill the gaps. And you wouldn't have to sand the whole sheet of plywood, only where the edges of the tank are sitting. Of course if you don't take it slow, you could create even more gaps.

If you want to try to fill the gaps, perhaps place small slivers of wood at the center of the gaps, then place another thin sheet of plywood on top of all of it before adding the tank.

 

[jm667]

With the tank filled with water, I went around it with a sheet of paper and could slide it under about 14 inches along the front side, and about 18 inches along the back side (the tank is 36" long). The four corners and the two 18" sides of the tank could not have anything slid under them. I don't think I want to go around sanding because once I start that, I am afraid I will make it worse. Maybe I will just unscrew the plywood from the 2x4 frame it is on, and place some small shims under the middle of that.

 

[thincat]

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Use the credit card that you owe the most money to, that should help to level things out....... Just kidding That's why people put molding around the edge of their tanks...Ha,Ha,ha

 

[jm667]

Are you referring to the molding that covers up the black plastic frame, because if so I already have that on my stand. So are you saying that gap won't hurt?

 

[jsoong]

I think that a long gap like put stress on the tank. Ideally, you should have the tank rim contact the plywood all the way around. The gap is likely due to some unevenness in the plywood. You can sand it down to dead flat if the gap is slight. An alternative is to lay down a sheet of rigid insulation foam (1/2" or so thick) on top of the plywood, then put the tank on top of that. When the tank is filled, the weight will crush the foam down so there is perfect contact all around the rim.

 

[jm667]

Actually I could have sworn that plywood was pretty even, so I set the tank on a granite countertop which I know should be even, and I got the same thing. Solid around the corners and sides, and a gap like that in the middle. It must be in the tank itself, so I am not going to worry about it. Instead of the foam, I had some of that shelf liner that is like real thin softer foam, and I put that on there.

 

[jm667]

I emailed Aqueon a few weeks ago about this and finally got a response today. They told me that as long as all four corners are level and in contact, there should be no problems. Just thought I'd post that in case anyone has this problem.

 

[fisch]

Have you had water in it the whole time with no problems?
I'm not sure I agree with the response you got from Aqueon. One of the first tanks I purchased before I really knew what I was doing had a stress crack develop withing 24 hours. All 4 corners were on the stand but I had a gap between the stand and the tank in the back. I bought the tank and stand from the same store so I assumed it would work. Silly me.

 

[jm667]

I have had it set up for almost 2 weeks no with no problems. I did put a thin rubber mat on the stand. There is no gap between the tank and stand anymore either. I know it wasn't the stand's fault causing the gap, it was the tank itself. It almost looks like there was a slight bow in it to compensate for the weight of the water and everything. But it's all fine now, and I guess I gotta believe their response. Some of the stands they sell just have support on the 4 corners so that must be where all the pressure is.

 

[fisch]

Most of the pressure is on the corners, but there is still along the edges as well. If you have a mat you should be fine though.

 

[thincat]

+1 on the mat, you should be okay. start worring on what you are going to put in the tank and start having fun...
TC