Tank leveling & shims - Pictures?

[vthokie]

Hi everyone. I am in the process of setting up a 75 gallon tank and my current hurdle is how to level the tank. I have read hundreds of posts on the topic and it seems that the best way to do it is to shim the stand with hardwood shims.

The problem I'm having is visualizing how this is done. Of all the posts I have read, none have had any photos. Would any of you out there who have shimmed your tanks be willing to post a few pictures showing what you did?

From reading the posts it appears that most people place the shims perpendicular to the stand. Seems to me this would be problematic since the weight would be placed along the line between the shim and the edge of the stand bottom.

Some people suggest creating a custom shim which runs the width of the stand, so that the weight is evenly distributed. The drawback with this is that it would be harder to adjust since you'd have to make a new shim.

I'm setting up in a room which was formerly a carport, so the concrete floor slopes both toward the center of the room and towards the front of the house. The floor has carpeting. My stand is a store-bought wood stand with a footprint like the letter "I".

Adding to my frustration is the fact that none of my local stores carry hardwood or composite shims, and I don't have the tools to make my own.

Sorry for the long post, but this has been driving me crazy for days. Any help, especially in the form of pictures, would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks!

- John

 

[TomK2]

ask and ye shall recieve....

In this instance, the left side of the tank, and the front side of the tank were a little bit lower than the right and rear. Just a tiny bit. So I tapped the shims under the left front tank to level it out, the shims going inbetween the tank stand and the carpet. In the past, when the amount was greater, I would put some shims in the middle of the tank where the center support was too, so that the shims raised the tank over the whole length. In this case, the amount of leveling was very minor, so I just shimmed the one side.

Also, in the past, when the tank stand / floor was in a more visible spot, I would take a pliers and grab the shims that stuck out, and wiggle them up and down so that they broke off even with the tank stand and were not visible when looking at the stand/floor. Or a screwdriver placed under the shims that stick out and lifting up would make them break off too. Fortunately for you, in this installation the floor is not very visible where the shims went, so I never bothered to "trim" them and I could take a photo of them.

Look carefuly, there are three shims. front of tank, center side, and rear side. These are cheapo pine (?) shims available anywhere. They are real thin at the front and taper back to greater thickness.

 

[TomK2]

Boy, do I need to dust around that corner of the tank, or what? I edited the photo, no need to look carefully anymore.

Oh- and I install the shims after the tank is filled, so that any compression or bowing of the carpet and floor from the water weight is already done.

 

[vthokie]

Thanks TomK2! The picture certainly helps. I'm going to need to bring one corner up about half an inch, so I'll need to use more than one shim in places. I notice that your stand has a board underneath. My stand doesn't so I'm considering getting a 3/4" board to put underneath. I've read that this helps with the leveling, but I'm concerned about making the whole setup any taller than necessary.

Hopefully I will get the issue resolved by this weekend. Thanks for taking the time to help!

- John

 

[TomK2]

Its an oceanic stand, and the bottom of the stand is a flat piece of wood the same dimensions as the footprint of the tank built into it.

I take it your "I" shaped stand has no flat surface on the bottom? I can see your concerns about tapping shims under just a thin board then. You could cut out a piece of plywood, then paint it, so that it looked like it was meant to be under the stand. And yes, that would really make leveling the stand easier too, and distribute the leveling adjustments over the entire stand, not just one of the supports. Not a bad idea, considering you have a half inch to make up. I think I had about an eight of an inch or less to compensate for.

Good luck!