Shims didn't work... Now what?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
HarleyK said:
I've got a 6 ft (220 gal) tank, and it's been off by an inch for the past 9 years.
I _think_ shimming might put undue stress on your stand and possibly twist the tank on top of it.
I _know_ that a 6 ft tank is just fine standing on a bit of a slope.
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If I properly support the rest of the stand will there still be this risk?
 
Place the shims every six inches or so in the front and back to create more contact points
Bennlfer said:
And what do you mean twist the tank on top of it?
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Bennlfer said:
The tank was off front to back a bit too so I put some shims in the front. But I just realized that the middle of the backside isn't being supported at all. It's the only 1 of the 6 points of contact (4 corners and 2 middle sections) that isn't being supported. Should I be concerned? Should I try to throw some shims under that part? To clarify, only the 2 back corners are touching the floor or shims. The rest of the stand is suspended
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If that were me, I'd add additional shims/blocks for areas where the stand is suspended and not resting on anything.
 
I have it supported at each of the verticles right now. I think that should be enough since the verticles are load-bearing pieces correct? Is it super hard to have 2 giant shims cut for the entire length of the stand?I feel like that would be most ideal
 
I was also thinking about taking the shims out of the left side and just replacing them with a 2 foot piece of 2×4 and using the shims to support at the verticles
 
My tank is glass.
 
Give me some opinions on this idea please. I want to rip 5 2-foot sections of 2x4 with their thicknesses incrementally decreasing from 1.5" to 1.25" to 1" to .75" to .5" These will be placed evenly along the length of the stand and will span the entire width of the stand, supporting both the front and back of the stand evenly. Do you think 5 points of contact on a 6 foot stand is enough to support it long term? Thanks ahead of time for your advice.
 
I would just use the composite or metal shims to level left to right and front to back, then fill in with shims every 6 inches. Have a 6 ft tank up for a few years and always been shimmed like that. Can take pics when i get a chance, just had it moved to the garage
 
That's what I did but since I had to stack 5 shims to get what I needed, it became unsafe
 
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