Unleveled stand/aquarium, should I be concerned?

[landonjacob]

Hello again! So I made the switch from saltwater back into freshwater and this is my guppy breeding startup project I literally just got up and running today. I got a sturdy 75 gallon capacity stand with a metal frame for extra weight precautions.
I plan on planting heavily and breeding full red albino guppies. The tanks on the bottom are cycled and the 40 gallon breeder on top is fast cycling with used filter media. I thought my dream was finally complete after A LOT of work and moving today. Until I noticed the 40 gallon was slightly unlevel when I was filling it with water today. The water level in the front of the tank is about a half inch higher than in the back. Come to find out the pegs on the back on the stand are slightly higher than the two in in the front. We forgot to adjust them! My boyfriend is saying the slant could put too much pressure on the front of the 40 gallon because all the water weight is pushing on the front seals. Or weaken them. I also want to point out the 15 gallon and five gallon at the bottom also have a higher water level towards the front of the setups. As pictured. Should I be worried and start completely over to turn the stand upside down to level the pegs on the bottom a half inch? Are my tanks going to come crashing down one day or weaken because of this? Or do you think I’ll be ok and I’m just overthinking it? My worst fear is coming home to 40 gallon of water on the floor and my pets dead. I don’t want to take any chances or lose my investment.. or my babies.

It’s a sturdy stand. I’m hoping it will be just fine. But please be honest and tell me if this is a risk I’m taking. My backup plan is to drain the tanks during a big water change and lift the stand onto the rug right in front of the stand to level it out.

Any advice or peace of mind would be appreciated.

 

[Back in the fold]

It should be fine . “Should be “ . Things like that make me nervous . The size of the aquariums aren't so big that you couldn’t drain the water into something like a NEW plastic garbage can , level it all up and then put the water back in .

 

[Archerfish]

I think the tank should be level. Moving the rug under the stand is not a good idea. If the stand has levelers, use them. Just curious, is that a stand made for aquariums? Doesn't look like it. Also, that shelf might make maintenance etc of the lower tanks difficult.

 

[landonjacob]

I think the tank should be level. Moving the rug under the stand is not a good idea. If the stand has levelers, use them. Just curious, is that a stand made for aquariums? Doesn't look like it. Also, that shelf might make maintenance etc of the lower tanks difficult.

Yes it’s a metal frame aquarium stand with a capacity to hold 75 gallons and 35 gallons on the bottom. It’s very sturdy and the stand doesn’t move. At all.

 

[Back in the fold]

I think the tank should be level. Moving the rug under the stand is not a good idea. If the stand has levelers, use them. Just curious, is that a stand made for aquariums? Doesn't look like it. Also, that shelf might make maintenance etc of the lower tanks difficult.

I thought the same thing about those lower aquariums . Maintenance could be a pain . Not enough overhead room for water changes when you get into it with your siphon hoses and then refilling .

 

[landonjacob]

It should be fine . “Should be “ . Things like that make me nervous . The size of the aquariums aren't so big that you couldn’t drain the water into something like a NEW plastic garbage can , level it all up and then put the water back in .

Same I think I’m ocd. But it seems so sturdy I feel like things would be ok. But I need second opinions. I’d hate to have to start all over

I almost feel like the tanks at the bottom would keep anything from falling over. You can’t noticeably see the difference unless it’s pointed out to you. It can hold a lot more weight than it’s currently holding so I’d like to think she holds.

 

[Archerfish]

Welcome to the 'learning' club! I learn lessons from the school of hard knocks every day! Just level the stand and you should be fine. Use a level to level the stand. It will save you time and agony.

 

[Back in the fold]

Same I think I’m ocd. But it seems so sturdy I feel like things would be ok. But I need second opinions. I’d hate to have to start all over

Starting over isn’t so bad if it gives you the peace of mind that knowing everything’s fine . I totally get the OCD thing and it would drive me nuts . I agree with your boyfriend . There was a thread on here recently talking about the quality of the silicone seals on new aquariums these days and thinking about that I’d fix it now before you get to the point of stocking it .

 

[landonjacob]

Welcome to the 'learning' club! I learn lessons from the school of hard knocks every day! Just level the stand and you should be fine. Use a level to level the stand. It will save you time and agony.

So you think it’ll collapse pretty much? I guess I’m going to have to do a big water change one day and start all the way over. Unless I put the front four pegs on the rug in front of the aquarium.

 

[Archerfish]

I think you mentioned the stand has levelers. Best to use those rather than the rug. The rug will compress especially after it gets wet, and it will get wet.

 

[landonjacob]

I think you mentioned the stand has levelers. Best to use those rather than the rug. The rug will compress especially after it gets wet, and it will get wet.

Do you think if I don’t take it all the way down and apart, flip the stand upside down to adjust the levelers and then restart the entire three setups.. my current setup will eventually collapse or weaken ?

 

[landonjacob]

You guys think my tanks will bust or fall over if I don’t take everything apart and start over?

 

[Archerfish]

I doubt the stand will collapse if the stand is certified for aquariums that size. But, with an unlevel stand, what could happen is the aquarium's front glass will have undue pressure on it and it could fail over time. Yes, best to resolve the problem now. Using the stand's levelers is the best course of action. Look at it this way, bad news never gets better with time!

 

[landonjacob]

I thought the same thing about those lower aquariums . Maintenance could be a pain . Not enough overhead room for water changes when you get into it with your siphon hoses and then refilling .

It’s just enough room for me fortunately, I did a test run today. Depending on the space and tank size.

 

[fishorama]

I'm going to say 1/2 inch is pretty far out of level to me. I've used wood shims to get my tanks closer (hardware store item sold in a bundle). I don't worry about up to 1/4 inch too much. But check level front to back, side to side & diagonally corner to corner. The diagonal is, I think, more important since it will put more weight on 1 leg of the stand & 1 corner of the tank. With 2 tanks on the stand, it's even more weight. Fix it now & have peace of mind.