# Uneven floor--need help



## abnormalsanon (Jun 6, 2006)

I'm moving my 55gal and 30gal tanks on Sunday. The floors in my new apartment aren't even (it's an old building), and I'm wondering if any of you have encountered this problem. I have a level but haven't yet set it down to see how bad it is. It doesn't look terrible, but it could definitely be sloped enough to place stress on the glass.

How do you correct this problem? Put thin plywood or something similar underneath one side of the tank?


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## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

I assume that the floors are not carpeted? Buy some leveling feet for the stands at Home Depot or Loews. Install them in the bottom of the stands, and jack the feet around until you get them level. You can use wedges, but that's a lot of weight for wood wedges on a solid floor, and you will most likely see the wedges.


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

Do you have renter's insurance? You might want to check into that. Many moons ago, our landlord downstairs had a HUGE aquarium, and I made the mistake of turning the other way for a minute while siphoning my tank. I was lucky, there was no damage, but the landlord's wife was upset. 

Just be careful. I have heard that large aquarium's can cause serious water damage to the flooring if there is ever a problem. 

I hope everything works out for you. Definitely check with the landlord first and / or with your renter's insurance. Always good to have your bases covered. 

I wish you happy tanking.


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## abnormalsanon (Jun 6, 2006)

Thanks, Jimbo--we do have renter's insurance. Our landlord just asks for a $250 pet deposit if you have a dog, and otherwise doesn't care (how many you have, what other types, etc.). Nothing in the lease specifies what size tanks you can have (I looked!) and we are on the bottom floor, which makes me feel better about putting all that weight on the floor, heh.


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## abnormalsanon (Jun 6, 2006)

Ajax said:


> I assume that the floors are not carpeted? Buy some leveling feet for the stands at Home Depot or Loews. Install them in the bottom of the stands, and jack the feet around until you get them level. You can use wedges, but that's a lot of weight for wood wedges on a solid floor, and you will most likely see the wedges.


Great idea, thank you! Do you install them by drilling into the stand, or do they just stick on somehow? Sorry, I'm not mechanically inclined at all...


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

I have always leveled my stands by using ordinary paper. I normally use something like a cereal box, cut into strips about the width of the part of the stand that contacts the floor. First, just use a little stack of pieces at the corners until a carpenter's level shows the top of the stand is level in both directions. Then make longer stacks of cardboard or paper to replace the little stacks. Try to have these "shims" in several places along the front, back and sides of the stand so all of the weight wont be on a small "footprint" but spread out over the lengths. Sit the empty tank on the stand and verify that the tank is level both ways. Push down on it to be sure the "shims" are compacted, and add or subtract a piece here and there until it it level both ways. I usually have to spend a couple of hours doing this to get it right, but it is time well worth spending.

For a really big, heavy tank, like a 90 gallon, it is better to use strips of thin plywood as shims, instead of the paper.


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Funny stuff. I'm currently balancing out a short leg on my table that my 29 gallon is sitting on with pieces of cardboard stacked together and wedged underneath the table leg. Seems to do the trick.

But like Hoppy said, it's probably best to use plywood to balance things out. Level the flooring on which the stand is on, and not the tank itself.

-John N.


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## freydo (Jan 7, 2006)

i would go with wood shims instead of the cardboard, because it would compress a lot more after you've added the water and substrate than wood.

personally i wouldn't use "levelling feet" because then you're concentrating more of the weight at those points. the shims would spread the weight out more.


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## abnormalsanon (Jun 6, 2006)

As it turns out, the floor wasn't as uneven as I thought--it was just barely off (the bubble in the level was just barely to the left or right of that center area), so I took my chances and left it as-is. I tried to correct it, but it was so slight that anything I stuck under the tanks over-corrected the problem.


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## werner (Jul 6, 2006)

*insurance*

You may need to be specific with your insurance provider that you require coverage against water damage from an aquarium. Mine has to have an extra clause for "above ground pools."

It's worth it, though. Had a hose pop off the filter many years back and lost 100+ gallons of water all over the place (fish all survived). Big PITA, but at least the harvest gold lino and shag carpeting were replaced by the insurance company.


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## JERP (Feb 4, 2003)

It really doesn't matter if the floor is sloped, as long as itisn't curved. What is important is that the bottom of the tank is flat. It won't hurt the tank if the water level is 1/8" higher on the left side of a 5' tank. It is very important that the supporting surface of a tank is flat, and not curved. The obvious point is that glass doesn't bend well. Glass shatters instead of bending. My main point is that there is a difference between flat and level, and it's an important distinction. Consider your garage floor. It's flat, but not level.

I wouldn't bother with shims. Just place a dense foam rubber pad under the stand and let the weight of the tank+stand self level on the pad. I've also seen styrofoam used, but I trust the integrity in foam rubber a lot more than styrofoam.


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