Setting up tank on slanted floor

ColaAddict

ColaAddict

New member
I'm setting up a fish tank in the basement, of course the floor is slightly slanted towards the drain on the floor in the middle of the basement. The water level would be about 1/4" higher towards one side of the aquarium compared to the other side due to the slant. Is that going to be a problem long term as far as the tank/stand? I'v set an aquarium upstairs as well and noticed that floor tends to slant towards the middle of the room.
 
Depends, sometimes slants like like show when you look at the waterline. I suggest composite shims and a leveler. Wiz.
 
The floor in my closet "tank is in the wall" where the tank is it is also slanted, I just put a 6" wide strip of 1/4 " plywood under the end and 1/8" strip under the middle and now it's perfectly level side to side and front to back and has been for just short of 3 years now.
 
Yep, you should level the tank out, constant pressure on one side (due to the slant) could compromise and stress the seams over time...plus, it'll drive you crazy to constantly see that uneven water line. :)
 
Smitty said:
Yep, you should level the tank out, constant pressure on one side (due to the slant) could compromise and stress the seams over time...plus, it'll drive you crazy to constantly see that uneven water line. :)
Click to expand...


True that my 30 gal in the kitchen has that gangster lean goin on and it bugs the s#!t out of me.
 
If I level it by just putting plywood under one side of the stand, won't that stress the stand. there will be a gap between the stand and floor towards the middle of the stand and the tank will weight close to 2000 lbs when fully stocked. All the weight of the tank will be carried by just the 2 ends of the stand. Should I have it professionally levelled?

"Depends, sometimes slants like like show when you look at the waterline. I suggest composite shims and a leveler. Wiz." Where do I get these?
 
I have a 130 gallon reef tank in the basement and the floor is not even since its near the drain an inch difference from one side to the other and from back to front I put solid wood strips to make it even and also I put the tank over a 1” pink insulation foam , $10 8’x 4’ from Menards no compression at all its been running for 7 years now. You can do it yourself just make sure its level I placed the foam to level it more due to the weight. Also make sure to fill in all the gaps under the stand to aviod stress.
 
Well I put a 6"wide 1/8" strip in the middle also but just remembered I build a riser with 2"X12" for the tank and stand to sit on and the plywood strips are under the 2"X12" frame. I needed the riser to get the bottom of the tank just above the back of the couch. So this might not work for you then.
 
Below you will see the foam between the tank and stand


DSC03253.jpg
 
Your stand is going to withstand some stress over glass and silicone. I had a lady in my store that is going through her third 10 gallon tank in 6 months, and i asked what she has it on, and she said a desk. I asked if the desk is level, and she said, "well the water is straight" ie, never checked to see if the tank was level. You are about to put thousands of dollars into an aquarium, do it right the first time, take the 20 mins and level the stand with shims. The worst thing you can see is that tank on the ground, going down the drain that the concrete slants towards.

I built my stand, and put leveling feet on the bottom, easy fix.
 
scotty said:
Your stand is going to withstand some stress over glass and silicone. I had a lady in my store that is going through her third 10 gallon tank in 6 months, and i asked what she has it on, and she said a desk. I asked if the desk is level, and she said, "well the water is straight" ie, never checked to see if the tank was level. You are about to put thousands of dollars into an aquarium, do it right the first time, take the 20 mins and level the stand with shims. The worst thing you can see is that tank on the ground, going down the drain that the concrete slants towards.

I built my stand, and put leveling feet on the bottom, easy fix.
Click to expand...

I'll give the shims a try. Where do I get "leveling feet" and is that what they are called?
 
ColaAddict said:
If I level it by just putting plywood under one side of the stand, won't that stress the stand. there will be a gap between the stand and floor towards the middle of the stand and the tank will weight close to 2000 lbs when fully stocked. All the weight of the tank will be carried by just the 2 ends of the stand. Should I have it professionally levelled?
Click to expand...

Ahhh, your gap is bigger than i expected. In that case you'll need a combo of plywood and shims, using plywood where its the deepest gap and shims as it gets smaller. I ran into a 1/4" gap towards the left side on my old 125 and used a combo of spare granite pieces and shims (some shims were even stacked together) to level it out, held fine for 4 years.

If youre not comfortable doing it, PLEASE consider a professional. Although a relatively simple job, the amount of weight and money involved your tank could prove disastrous. My tank was in the basement and im cheap so i had to take things into my own hands.
 
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