Tank leveling! help!

[bettasnsnails]

at what point is a tank too unlevel? i have a 20 gallon long which i attempted to shim, and it's still not level, and i'm SUPER worried about it breaking. its been here 5 months and i've only now just checked it again after it settled in (whoops). it's a shrimp, snail, and betta tank with 100+ shrimp. can i leave it alone or should it be re shimmed? how should i shim it? i currently have a piece of slanted plywood. thank you in advanced

 

[Aqua67]

I set my tanks on top of a piece of styrofoam about an inch thick. I get squares of the foam at the craft store. The idea is that the water will level itself and it seems to work here with my tanks. I would also put that tank on a hard floor and get it off the carpeting, especially if it tends to rock at all. Set the styrofoam on top of the hard floor and then set your aquarium up.

 

[bettasnsnails]

I set my tanks on top of a piece of styrofoam about an inch thick. I get squares of the foam at the craft store. The idea is that the water will level itself and it seems to work here with my tanks. I would also put that tank on a hard floor and get it off the carpeting, especially if it tends to rock at all. Set the styrofoam on top of the hard floor and then set your aquarium up.

it has to stay in this room unfortunately. boy am i gonna have fun trying to relevel this thing....

 

[Fishyfreeonz]

Personally on a 20 gallon tank I wouldn't worry about it as long as the cabinet it is on is sturdy and not flexing or anything. The cabinet may be better off directly on the carpet.
Also I like to secure the cabinet to the wall with an L bracket to prevent it from rocking or anything.

 

[Alice B]

it has to stay in this room unfortunately. boy am i gonna have fun trying to relevel this thing....

go to home depot and get some composite shims, in the building / construction department, usually near lumber and cinderblocks, less than $5 for a pack. I have a 29 stand like that and setting on styrofoam made it unstable. The composite shims can be slipped under the low side during a water change if you have someone to help you, and range from about 1/16th of an inch to a quarter inch thickness. That's how I leveled my 29 before my foundation got leveled

 

[Fishyfreeonz]

Composite shims are great to have around as they don't rot and compress over time like wood shims.

 

[bettasnsnails]

go to home depot and get some composite shims, in the building / construction department, usually near lumber and cinderblocks, less than $5 for a pack. I have a 29 stand like that and setting on styrofoam made it unstable. The composite shims can be slipped under the low side during a water change if you have someone to help you, and range from about 1/16th of an inch to a quarter inch thickness. That's how I leveled my 29 before my foundation got leveled

wouldn't those break down just as easy as the wood did? they look plasticy but i've never used them before so not sure

 

[bettasnsnails]

Composite shims are great to have around as they don't rot and compress over time like wood shims.

wish i knew that before setting it up! i thought the wood would be stronger, guess not

 

[Fishyfreeonz]

wouldn't those break down just as easy as the wood did? they look plasticy but i've never used them before so not sure

They are great. Far superior to wood.

 

[MuddyWaters]

I set my tanks on top of a piece of styrofoam about an inch thick. I get squares of the foam at the craft store. The idea is that the water will level itself and it seems to work here with my tanks. I would also put that tank on a hard floor and get it off the carpeting, especially if it tends to rock at all. Set the styrofoam on top of the hard floor and then set your aquarium up.

Do you set the tank itself on the styrofoam or the tank stand on it? Is the idea that the water will find level and push down the styrofoam more in one area than another to force a level setting? I'm about to set up a 75 gallon tank. I live in a townhouse built in the 1970s. It's ...mostly...level but i'm sure it won't be 100%- I will be setting the stand/tank on hardwood floor, so that part is good, but was wondering what I should do to ensure it's level. Lord knows I don't want all that water eventually on that floor .

 

[Alice B]

wouldn't those break down just as easy as the wood did? they look plasticy but i've never used them before so not sure

I use them to build fountains and they don't break down there. With concrete basins on them and water running over them, but it's your call.

I removed my styrofoam piece and threw it in the greenhouse before setting up on shims, I was terrified dogs were going to knock that tank over with the styrofoam. I had it on the floor with cabinet stand on top. Had to drain the whole tank and move it and stand, I'm never using styrofoam again

 

[10 Tanks]

at what point is a tank too unlevel? i have a 20 gallon long which i attempted to shim, and it's still not level, and i'm SUPER worried about it breaking. its been here 5 months and i've only now just checked it again after it settled in (whoops). it's a shrimp, snail, and betta tank with 100+ shrimp. can i leave it alone or should it be re shimmed? how should i shim it? i currently have a piece of slanted plywood. thank you in advanced

Hello. Unless the tank is grossly unlevel, like an inch or more, i wouldn't worry about it. I would think you could easily level a tank that small during one of your weekly, large water changes. Dropping the water by half or two-thirds should make it fairly easy to carefully lift one side and use some wooden shims to level it. You'll need someone's help to position the shim. You shouldn't try to do the job by yourself.

10

 

[davros]

That Bubble level suggests to me you are out of level maybe an inch (2.5cm) along the 20 gallon. Is that the difference that you see inside the tank?>

 

[10 Tanks]

at what point is a tank too unlevel? i have a 20 gallon long which i attempted to shim, and it's still not level, and i'm SUPER worried about it breaking. its been here 5 months and i've only now just checked it again after it settled in (whoops). it's a shrimp, snail, and betta tank with 100+ shrimp. can i leave it alone or should it be re shimmed? how should i shim it? i currently have a piece of slanted plywood. thank you in advanced

Hello again. A fish tank that's not level by an inch or more, may not have any problems for sometime. Over a longer time, the plastic seams and the adhesive could move because you're emptying and filling the tank pretty often and you don't want to have a sudden mess on the floor and have to move fish or whatever else you have in the tank in a hurry. I mean, what if your tank goes south when you're asleep? I wouldn't leave anything to chance. Get some help and drain the water. Shim one side. It won't take that long and you'll sleep better.

10

 

[Alice B]

a larger tank off by half an inch at an end can eventually pop a seam and when it does it's not pretty. But you know do what you like.