Leveling a stand/tank?

[BarroomHero]

Lately I have been a little concerned about how I leveled my tank stand.

My floor slopes to ones side, so one side of the tank was about 1/4" lower than the other. I placed shims at the 2 corners on the low side and then filled in the gap between the stand and floor, leaving about a 1 inch gap between shims.

Is this the way to do it? Would it been enough to just shim & support the corners? Should I have filled in the gaps more closely? Are these shims going to eventually cause high spots in the stand from weight not being supported 100% evenly, leading to tank failure?

By the way it is a 75gal tank and the stand is one of these-
http://www.aqueonproducts.com/products/classic-pine-stands-canopies.htm

 

[beblondie]

I install these before setting up http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=2053&filter=levelers

 

[BarroomHero]

I install these before setting up http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=2053&filter=levelers

do you put them on just the corners?

 

[RDTigger]

I saw a nice little trick to leveling...

Using a foam pad underneath the tank. It allows the natural weight of the tank to help disperse it evenly across the pad and lets it naturally level itself off. Wonderful idea if your setup will allow it.

 

[beblondie]

I use a total of 8 per stand but thats probably overkill on a 75

 

[12 Volt Man]

a foam pad won't level your tank out on its own.

placing a tank on a foam mat that is on an unlevel stand just means that you have a tank with foam that is unlevel on an unlevel stand

 

[BarroomHero]

Part of why I started this thread is because I just picked up a 60"x18"x24" tank and I am going to build a stand for it out of 2x4s. The porcelain tile in my house is a litte uneven, but no more than a 1/16" high in some areas and a 1/16" low in other areas, but where I am going to put the tank is very level. I am not sure if I should just shim the stand all around or what. Could I put plywood on the bottom of the stand and styrofoam under that to absorb those minor high and lows? Anyone got any ideas?

 

[12 Volt Man]

shim stand so that the stand is level and planar to the floor.

see this thread for a whole discussion on foam:

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=179982&highlight=styrofoam

some swear by it. some never use it.

the manufacturer's tell us not to use it.

but some feel they are wrong..

 

[greenterra]

Build your stand as a level even stand and shim it when you put it in place unless where you are placing it will be its only resting spot in its life..The foam under you tank is to allow for small irregularities in your stand but it won't level out your tank.
I usually set the tank and stand in place.Fill it with about an inch of water. I then measure the from the top of the water to the bottom of the tank(Water doesn't lie, it will always sit level) Work out where your tank sits highest and leave that or those points/legs on the ground(The water will be lower here). Shim the rest to hieght until the water mesures the same at every point and you will have a perfectly stress free level tank every time.

 

[zennzzo]

Build your stand as a level even stand and shim it when you put it in place unless where you are placing it will be its only resting spot in its life..The foam under you tank is to allow for small irregularities in your stand but it won't level out your tank.
I usually set the tank and stand in place.Fill it with about an inch of water. I then measure the from the top of the water to the bottom of the tank(Water doesn't lie, it will always sit level) Work out where your tank sits highest and leave that or those points/legs on the ground(The water will be lower here). Shim the rest to hieght until the water mesures the same at every point and you will have a perfectly stress free level tank every time.