# Water Level Uneven



## sukhkawal (Sep 18, 2009)

o no, i was staring at my tank today (36G acrylic bow), and noticed the tank surface water level is uneven by a little more than 1/8":bump:. now i have my tank sitting on 1/2" extruded polystyrene styrofoam (technical name). and my stand sits on carpet. my stand has a bottom layer which supports the whole bottom instead of just the sides. now underneath my carpet is some type of wood (dont know which). 

im still cycling my tank and its been set up for a month. no leaks so far. so what can i do here. should i put something under the stand on the side that has low water level. or can i get away with this?? BTW if i try to shake my tank or tank, it shakes pretty well. thanks in advance


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## wi_blue (Apr 5, 2005)

I used peices of cardboard under the stand to level mine.


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## pfertz (Jun 26, 2007)

Its not uncommon to have to shim a tank for levelness. You can use paint sticks, actual wood shims, carboard (as wi blue suggested), or anything else to level the tank out. Just make sure that it is stable once you've shimmed it


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## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

I'd recomend either plastic or composit shims. they don't compress like the the wood ones do. granted a 36g tank is not that heavy. shim the stand, not the tank.


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## flashbang009 (Aug 6, 2009)

I assume the only way to do this is when the tank is empty?


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## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

it should be empty or very close too it. on a tank that small, you might be able to leave the substrait. You can save the water. 

you must level then as a unit, some times stands and tanks are just a little out of square. also put your level on the bottum glass, not the trim. don't rely on the plastic trim as a leveling guide.


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## sukhkawal (Sep 18, 2009)

thanks all, i know its not that much of a difference in the uneveness(1/8"), but still, i will put a couple of cardboard pieces on the bottom of the stand to be safe. i think i can do it without removing all the water(im going thru my cycle). ill get some helpers.

and also, after leveling it, if i see some small uneveness, lets say about 1/16" or so, will that be allright,??

BTW ,what happenens if your tank is not level, will it completely bust, or start leaking at the place of uneveness?


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

1/8" is not a big deal. The slight wobble on the carpet might be a bigger concern. 
However:
1) drain the water (you can save it). During cycling there is a reasonable population of nitrifying bacteria in the water while they are searching for new homes. Once they have anchored in place there is very little in the water. 
2) Get your friends to lift tank and stand as a unit, and shim the stand as equally as possible across the full length. Do not just shim one end. The stand is built to be in contact all over, usually around the outside, so if you shim it you need to repeat that support. If the contact area is for example a 2" wide band all around, then the shims need to be 2" wide around 3 sides. They will need to taper smoothly from the low side (biggest lift needed here) to zero lift at the taller end. 
3) Use a level to be sure it is level back to front and side to side. 
4) Add support to the stand that will hold it more stable, and not rock because of the carpet. This could be some angle braces bolted to the wall. 
5) Refill, checking that it is level as you go. 

I also use some Styrofoam sheeting under my tanks. It compresses, so whenever I move a tank I get a new piece.


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## sukhkawal (Sep 18, 2009)

thanks diana for taking you time to help. i will do as you describe, but i have some new questions now:

1 - what type of shim is recommended for this job? and you said it has to be the same thickness as the bottom layer of the stand, right?
2 - i thought i would only need to shim the uneven side, so i have to shim the entire stand?, but wouldnt it still be uneven because of the carpet underneath?
3 - sorry, i dont really understand where to put the leveler to level it (back to front and side to side) , do i level it from the top of the tank or bottom of stand?


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

I have used cardboard to shim a tank, and it worked well, I have also used thin strips of wood that were originally sold for some other purpose, but worked because they are so thin. 

Plastic shims will not deteriorate if they get wet. 

Put the shims between the carpet and the stand. Wherever the stand is touching the carpet now it still needs that support. Put the shims all around the low areas. 

Put a level on the stand left to right to be sure it is level in that direction, then hold the level back to front and be sure it is also level that way. Adjust shims as needed. Keep checking and adjusting the shims. 

Then put the tank on the stand (with the Styrofoam or other pad, if you are using one) and use the level again. If the level will fit inside the tank you could put it on the bottom, but of course you would have to remove the substrate. You can use the level on the top of the tank, too. Again, make sure the tank is level both left to right and back to front. 

As you fill the tank, keep checking it.

Here is a picture that is more extreme than your situation, but see how the shims go all around? At the end that needs the most lift there are more pieces. Along the sides the pieces get shorter so the stand is supported all along, but the end result is the stand gets tipped just a bit until it is level.


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## sukhkawal (Sep 18, 2009)

thanks so much , i get it now, my cycle is almost done, so i will wait for the cycle to finish, then do a 80-90% water change, and will also shim my tank then. thanks again


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## MotionInsilver (Oct 19, 2009)

like everybody stated- shim it 

its kind of concerning as well if its related to the support of your floor itself- because a 36g bowfront is not a long tank. 


many bigger tanks have busted because of not being level in the first place


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## sukhkawal (Sep 18, 2009)

well, i finally changed 90% of the water and then spend about 2 1/2 hours to shim the darn thing. it was my first shim, so it took some practice. then measured the water line with tape measurer , front, and sides, and now its perfect.

only thing i didnt check was the spirit level. i bought a small one, but the problem is that the bottom part of my stand is not perfectly even (just a tad diff. between sides). so it had weird readings. but the water line is good now. thanks all


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