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Leveling issue

Goonie

CCA Members
Stand is a custom stand by TRUVU super thick plywood furniture grade. It was between the lines on the level when we placed it across all three axis.

The tanks a 185 truvu same thing in the lines on a 3 foot level, began to fill tonight and I took the water one inch over the stand lip to see I have about 2 mm of height difference in the water.

The stand has a solid flat wood bottom, so I'm not sure how to shim that.

Any one have any advice ?

Thanks
 

Becca

Members
A yoga mat or two. It's probably not a big deal and likely related to a slope in your floor. I don't think any of mine are perfectly level but they're all pretty close. Are you installing on carpet?
 

Goonie

CCA Members
Nope on a slate and brick slab that was for a stove.

It's acrylic if that matters. Never felt with a tank this size so it's kinda nerve racking. 75 was my biggest prior to this

IMG_20191118_053518794.jpg
 

Becca

Members
Nope on a slate and brick slab that was for a stove.

It's acrylic if that matters. Never felt with a tank this size so it's kinda nerve racking. 75 was my biggest prior to this

View attachment 22014

I would put leveling mats/yoga mats under the whole thing. No way in h*ll I'd install it on ceramic with no cushion. A grain of sand under that tank could crack the ceramic (it probably wouldn't, but it could). You can certainly cut the mats so that you won't see them, but use them.
 

DiscusnAfricans

Past President
Thick/dense styrofoam can work too, and acts as an insulator. Basically anything dense enough to not be completely crushed, but compress to allow the weight to be distributed.

I've had large tanks where the water wasn't even either but never had a problem. I did start using foam tape between the stand and tank now though. I would think it be less of a problem with acrylic, but I can't say from experience. As Becca mentioned, Josh is a good resource for information on the topic.
 

JLW

CCA Members
The tank not being level will not hurt it. Even if its off by a lot, it won't hurt it. The issue isn't if the tank is level or not, its whether its supported equally on all corners. A non level tank is supported evenly and won't hurt, unless you've got something crazy like the back right and front left are higher than the back left and front right. If I'm saying that right. :) Basically, it needs to be "flat," but not necessarily "level". Of course, you'll want it level for cosmetic reasons, and even a small imperfection is going to show on a tank.

You can, and should, level the stand somehow, and shims are great. Make sure they go under the stand, and not under the tank, because otherwise, they'll create pressure points on the tank. This will crack it. I wouldn't worry about what goes between the stand and floor -- heck, I have stands that sit on blocks because we wanted to up the height a few inches. No big deal, as long as the weight is supported and its even.

Between the tank and the stand, you should put a piece of styrofoam. Doesn't need to be thick, just helps with imperfections in the stand.

J
 
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