125 Gallon Helluva Deal Fixer Upper Progress

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Awesome. Heck, I can't even find a tank without paying an arm and a leg for it.
 
yeah it takes a while to find a good deal, I paid a lot for my 72gal bowfront setup but my 110 I bought everything seperately and all of it was used so it ended up running me around a little over $500. I'm settin up the $125 tonight and I've already put $300 into it besides the $125 I paid for it:)
 
what about one with a big crack in it?
i was thinking of laminating it between two smaller pieces of glass, one bearly small enough to fit in the inside and one big enough to cover the out side since i think that there are two crack in it.

or rip out the bottom glass and replace it for around $600 CAND

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I have finally set up my 125 gallon and will have pics posted tomorrow when the water clears up more. I am seriously worried though because although the stand was built perfectly level my basment floor is obviously very unleveled. I was setting up my tank and could see a slight difference in water height from the left side compared to the right side....I thought, no big deal it doesn't look like a big difference but by the time I had filled it up nearly to the top it seems like there is a between 1/4-1/2" so prolly around 3/8" difference from the left and right side.
-when the water level on the left side of the tank is just past the trim the level on the right side is almost to the rim of the tank.
-so my floor has a downward slope on the right side and also it seems that the tank is slanted a little forward when looking at the water level.....when looking at the tank with the canopy on you obviously can't tell that anything seems to be wrong but I have always been somewhat of a perfectionist and am worried about this slope....i wish there was some kind of jack I could put under the stand and crank it up an inch or two then put some metal shims underneath....that would then make the stand look funny since it is flush with the floor:)
 
I highly suggest you get it leveled.
If you fill it (or at least half fill it) and it is off more then 1/4", then you may need to remove the water, shim and re-level again. Of course, the above is all relative as a 10 Gallon Aquarium that is off 1/8" is off way worse (technically) then a 125 Gallon aquarium that is off by 1/4". Why? Because the length of an aquarium magnifies the discrepancy so the longer the aquarium, the easier it will be to see any difference end to end. YET, that being said the weight of water in a 10 Gallon Aquarium has far less potential force to do damage then the weight of water in a much larger 125, so care must be taken to get it close especially in the bigger capacity aquariums. (Note I didn't say exact.) The important thing is to keep the stand 100% underneath the tank itself. Never shim under the tank (never between the tank and stand) as that can create high and low contact points under the aquariums frame (which is not good) because that is what causes cracks and leaks. If necessary, shim under the stand between the stand and floor.
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Lastly, consider that any shims you do use will see tremendous crushing force PSI (pounds per square inch) and thus must be strong enough to sustain the point pressures of all that weight. (Foam is not an acceptable shim as that acts only as padding and easily compresses under the waters weight to where you started with in the first place.) To illustrate my point, take a piece of foam and place it on the floor and then stand on it. See if it holds you up or if it simply flattens out under the pressure and your weight. (In aquarium use, foam is a "feel good" material because it makes you feel good about using it but it does absolutely nothing.) In general,Plastic too should not be used for leveling a stand as most plastic can (and will) later crack or break down. Plastic may hold for a while but when you least expect it, it could fall apart later on which could then leave you in a precarious situation. Shims should only be solid wood or metal capable of sustaining the point weight pressures they will see. In general I have found that as long as your level is between the two lines, you should be OK once it settles in. If your aquarium is off a bit because your floor is off a bit, you are probably better off without shims at all as long as the level from end to end is less then 1/4" off, especially if you're talking about a 4 foot or longer aquarium. Just my opinion from my experience...
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man this is such a bummer...I guess I'll be pickin up some shims tomorrow and emptying out this whole tank....then fillin it all back up again:(
 
I just measured the "unleveledness"....from the left to right there is exactly a 1/2" diff. and from front to back there is a bit less than a 1/2" difference...I guess I need to go to walmart and buy a ****load of shims:)
 
I have the same problem with an unlevel basement floor.My 125 dips slightly
on the right side,though front and back are perfectly level.I have the same issue
with the uneven water level.It made/makes me a little nervous,BUT its been in
operation like this for 10yrs now,and hopefully goes another 10yrs.I'd like it to
be perfectly level but I'm more afraid of moving it now.Had a nightmare become
reality once after moving a 125 that had been in operation for over a decade.
The front glass broke half way up across the entire 6ft length,in slow motion,
before my eyes,shortly after refilling the tank.Thankfully,there were no fish in
it.Have no idea what caused this tank to go like that,as it was as level as it
could be?
 
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