Severely Unlevel Floor (6ft tank)

[BigDog]

I'm dealing with a VERY unlevel floor in a highrise apartment. My floors are made out of concrete, and after filling the tank a bit with water, I've noticed end to end the level is off by almost an inch!

I know I should shim the tank, my question is can I simply stack shims to get the proper level?

I plan on using composite shims

[Sethjamto]

With that much of a difference, you will need a lot of shims. Don't just shim the very end to raise it the inch, you'll need to do smaller shims along the entire length to get even support on the stand itself.

[FullBoreReefer]

+1

Shims across the length not just corners

[BigDog]

so just buy stacks of shims and go to town, making sure that there are no gaps between the tank stand and floor?

[Sethjamto]

yup!

[syrinx]

Shim the stand so it is level, not the other way around.

[mixedreefjunky]

Otherwise you will risk a large crack or fracture

[shellz]

I agree, make the stand the tank will sit on level. I had to do that very thing, 2 yrs later no issues with cracks/fractures

[BigDog]

how do i handle not being able to shim the back of the stand?

as is the stand is tilted foward somewhat by 1/8in an inch, and to the right by 3/4th of an inch...

for what is worth the surface of the stand is absolutly flat

[syrinx]

Well you should drain the tank anyway, So you should be able to slip in the shims. One way would be to do your measuring as to what you need to do. slide tank away from wall- jack it up, and use blue tape to hold shims on back of stand-then move it into place and shim the other sides. A buddy with a table saw could easily rip a full length shim.

[davocean]

I'm a contractor/carpenter and I've built stands for people that had floors that out of level.
You are going to have to drain the tank, but if you do it right, have enough barrels it can be done fairly quick.
Yes, you need to shim front and back.
I've done it w/ just composite shims stacked, but it would be ideal to rip a full length shim as previously mentioned.
Maybe you can find someone that is familiar w/ doing this in your area that can help if you don't think you can do it yourself, but you most likely can.
Might want to post some pics of stand if you can.

[ca1ore]

how do i handle not being able to shim the back of the stand?

as is the stand is tilted foward somewhat by 1/8in an inch, and to the right by 3/4th of an inch...

for what is worth the surface of the stand is absolutly flat

Though you don't say the size of your tank, they really do need to sit level (to 1/16th or an inch). Unlevel tanks, regardless of how flat the top may be, will put stress on the glass panels and seams, and if you have dual overflows, will prevent them from working properly.

Best approach is to shim up the low end (or if you have access to a tablesaw, you can rip a length of wood as a DIY shim), and then the front and back. Depending how long the stand is, you can probably get away with shims every 2 feet (but definitely under all vertical supports) or so, but you do need to get some along the back edge. If you cannot get in there then the stand is too close to the wall.

[BigDog]

What's odd is my electronic level is saying the tank is level, yet my eyes seem to say its not level....


the tank is a 6ft 240 gallon setup

[ganjero]

Does it have a plastic Rim? Sometimes that plastic rim is not siliconed leveled. Make sure to put your level in the bottom panel of your tank, or the top of the stand.

[BigDog]

it does have a plastic rim :-\

[Joe0813]

just a suggestion. you said the floor is concrete.... why not just mix up some concrete and level the floor alittle bit the shim what is left?

thats what i did in my basement with my 6 foot tank. i mixed up some self leveling concrete, and poured it on the floor. took a trowel and moved it around. then took my long level and made sure the bubbles were all in the middle. let it sit for 2 days. put my stand on it and did the fine adjustments... looks a lot better then a ton of shims on your floor

[BigDog]

The floor is concrete, but has hardwood on top of it... :(

this is getting really frustrating! :( :( :(

[Joe0813]

are you a DIY type? how hard is it to remove the hardwood? sometimes they just snap in place and are easy to take off and put them back on.

[ganjero]

it does have a plastic rim :-\
is your electronic level calibrated?

[davocean]

Shim it as many have recommended and then just trim out the bottom to hide those shims and gap, it's not that difficult really.
Have trash cans, siphon tank, shim it, pump water back in, shouldn't take more than an hour or so.

[BigDog]

Looks like we're going to drain the tank, remove the tank from the stand... shim the stand and make sure its level, then put the tank back on the stand...

I've gotten all the water out, have fans running for the past 10 hrs to dry the tank... will continue to run the fans till Saturday to dry out the tank...

But I have about 100 lbs of sand in there that I am having difficulty getting out since the tank is 31in tall....

Is it okay to leave some of the sand in there... getting out as much as I can?

[echoreef]

Use a shop vac to vacuum the sand out.

[Tradewinds]

I ran into this problem in my basement. If you don't want to use a bunch of smaller shims you could rip a 2x4 at the angle you need to make one large shim. I see this was suggested before and think a large shim would be easier in the long run.
http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv341/mike5050/80b50136-e633-4274-b617-ca39d908b4a5_zps9c2f3cb6.png