how level is your water?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
I made sure to make my tank perfectly level. took some time but i think it is well worth it, i dont like seeing the water level change from one end to the other
 
I agree with rayguy84 and rd, my smaller tanks are all off by a 1/4 inch simply because if a 55 blows a simple wet vac will clean it up. My older larger tanks are perfectly level though, old silicone alone makes me worry. If one of my 220's blow a seam there's gonna be some damages haha.
 
what about on carpet. i keep reading that carpet should eventually level the tank out.. my tank has been sitting on carpet for a about year now and its still just as uneven. which i guess is a good thing.

maybe ill just drain half of it and try to put some shims under one side.

Carpet is like foam, it will not level the tank. The compression is directly related to the amount of force applied. If there is more water on one side, it will compress more. Theoretically, making your problem worse.
 
Oh and BTW. My water is perfectly level.
 
I have an older house so I went as far as to have a contractor come in, level my floors and build supporting 2x6 walls under my tanks but with a 375 and 125 side by side taking chances wasn't an option for me

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
As long as the floor is flat the water depth will never be greater than the maximum depth when the tank is perfectly level so it shouldn't be an issue as there is more pressure on any particular side of the aquarium when the tank is full and level than at any angle. If the floor isn't flat it can result in warping of the stand and pressure points in the tank.

the less level a tank is the less water there is, the less average depth, the less maximum depth, the less pressure on each panel, the less pressure on every point on the panels and seams.

Obviously an extreme example of angle but based on a 24x24x48 120g tank at 45* holds 60 gallons of water. Angled front to back for these numbers.
The maximum water depth drops from 24" to 17", average water depth on the portions of the panels that are touching the water drops from 12" to 6".
Average pressure on the portion of the panels touching water drops from 0.43psi to 0.22 psi, maximum pressure drops from 0.87psi to 0.61 psi.
Maximum force on the panels drops from 495 lbs each on front and back and 248lbs per side to 253 lbs front and back(bottom) and 62lbs per side.

I keep mine as level as possible just out of personal preference.
 
I leveled my tanks this time when I started putting them up again last spring. Not perfect but good.
Within a 8th on the 160 g

Also supported the 160 under the basement from basement floor to 1st floor joist level with 4x4 treated posts, it is just under 2000 lbs with water and tank and on a non bearing wall.
The 160 I cut the stand to level and then ran a piece of trim that was straight to give the illusion the stand was built square.
there are pics of it here on other threads.

I leveled our tanks more for looks. Like others I can't stand looking at a tank that has "drop" on one end.

Ironically our most level tank ( maybe perfect) is the 30g upstairs with the Congo tetras. It's also the least viewed with it being in the bedroom.

Rich
 
As long as the floor is flat the water depth will never be greater than the maximum depth when the tank is perfectly level so it shouldn't be an issue as there is more pressure on any particular side of the aquarium when the tank is full and level than at any angle. If the floor isn't flat it can result in warping of the stand and pressure points in the tank.

the less level a tank is the less water there is, the less average depth, the less maximum depth, the less pressure on each panel, the less pressure on every point on the panels and seams.

Obviously an extreme example of angle but based on a 24x24x48 120g tank at 45* holds 60 gallons of water. Angled front to back for these numbers.
The maximum water depth drops from 24" to 17", average water depth on the portions of the panels that are touching the water drops from 12" to 6".
Average pressure on the portion of the panels touching water drops from 0.43psi to 0.22 psi, maximum pressure drops from 0.87psi to 0.61 psi.
Maximum force on the panels drops from 495 lbs each on front and back and 248lbs per side to 253 lbs front and back(bottom) and 62lbs per side.

I keep mine as level as possible just out of personal preference.

This makes total sense. You must be an engineer. If not, you sound like one lol.


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 
MonsterFishKeepers.com