Leveling my 6 foot 125 gallon tank...

[Animal-Chin]

So I did my leak test yesterday and my plumbing is good but my tank isn't level. My left overflow gets way more water flowing into it because of this. Can I just shim this up with wooden shims? It seems so heavy, the concept of just shimming it up doesn't seem right because it's so heavy but I cant find info on any other leveling methods.

Stand is on laminate wood floor, no carpet.

Thoughts?

 

[PB_Smith]

Uhmm, you really need to drain the tank and make the stand level.
I can't fathom how in the heck you are going to get any kind of shim under there with it full of water.
Guess this needs to be added to the "tip of the day" ,
make sure your stand is level before you fill the tank.

 

[Animal-Chin]

oh no, i drained it. I was just at the leak test phase so I filled it with a garden hose to make sure the plumbing was solid when I noticed how uneven it is. So now that its empty, are shims the comon way to level something this big? Will they hold it?

 

[Ingy]

Don't shim the tank. That will cause stress on the glass plates. You need to shim the entire stand.
Do you know if the tank is crossing floor joists or running along them?


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[Animal-Chin]

Crossing them.

Ya my plan was to shim under the stand on one side to raise it a bit. The stand is solid wood. The concept i'm having trouble with is if I shim the one side wont it take the weight that is evenly distributed on the floor and create load now only on the ends? Is shimming a 6 foot tank even an option for leveling?

 

[Dav3]

How is the stand constructed? 4 or 6 vertical supports? The total load will be distributed to those points.

 

[Animal-Chin]

This is the stand...

 

[Dav3]

2x4 horizontal top and bottom with 4 vertices supports in front and some number in back. And a flat plywood bottom? Will be fine to just shim the one side.

 

[Dav3]

Just out of curiosity... How off is the level over the 6'? 1/4"? 1/2"?

 

[Animal-Chin]

I'd say maybe a quarter inch? Maybe a bit less. When I turn the return pump on from the sump it fills the left overflow completely before the water starts cascading into the right.

 

[Ingy]

If it were me, I'd consider shimming the floor between the joists and subfloor from the crawlspace (if that's an option). Just a little bit, and spread as evenly as possible between joists. Might not be an option at all tho

 

[Animal-Chin]

Ya not really an option. Wicked idea, but I don't see that happening. I'll shim it up tonight and see how it goes...