Leveling 6ft tank

[BryanF]

So I'm replacing my 125 with a 150. My 125 was never level so I'm going to try to fix this issue when I swap tanks. Problem is my 120 year old floor slopes up to two inches from one side of the tank to the other.

Does anyone have any advice as to the best way to level this thing with such an uneven floor? I'm afraid if I use traditional shims the weight of the tank will only be at two points rather than distributed evenly across the tank.

Any advice or recommendation is much appreciated.

 

[FinsUp]

I hate to be the one to say it... but with that much of a difference, you'll need to build a stand that fits the floor. If you already have a stand you want to use, then build a short platform for it that accommodates the unlevel floor.

 

[Smiley]

if its a glass tank, it only needs to be supported under its four corners.... but best bet is to do like Cindy says, build the stand to match the floor. My last house had the garage converted to a bedroom which ended up as my fishroom cuz it had a drain in it... the floor sloped about an inch at 4ft. I had to rip a 2x4 to make it level.

 

[daverf]

i think if the stand is built with legs that you can in fact just use shims under the legs? whereas if the stand is built with continuous contact along the floor than you would need to modify or rip a 2x4?

also, do you have proper structural support in the floor/subfloor before you resolve the issue...such as installing floor jacks (or are they called lally columns?) if needed before the tank is set up?

did you read through majicmike's sticky on this subject? great thread:
http://www.marinecolorado.org/forums/showthread.php?11765-How-much-aquarium-can-my-floor-hold

 

[daverf]

if its a glass tank, it only needs to be supported under its four corners....

also Fred, don't glass tanks also need to have support along the bottom seams in addition to their 4 corners?

 

[Smiley]

acrylic does, but glass does not.

 

[daverf]

acrylic need continuous bottom panel support in addition to seams. i just thought glass tanks can fail at the mid seams if they don't have continuous seam support.

 

[Smiley]

if you go larger than 6ft maybe. I used to work at a shop that had a 300g tank sitting on concrete block only at the corners... tank has been up for over 10 years, and it was full of rock...it never leaked or cracked....

just a side note, im not an engineer...

 

[FinsUp]

When in doubt, overbuild.

 

[BryanF]

Thanks for all the replies, I knew I could count on the expertise here. Nothing can ever be easy can it, didn't expect to need a whole new stand.

My tank is indeed glass so I don't worry too much about the tank but more about the weight on the floor. Fortunately it seems to be supported fairly well with a load bearing wall in the basement.

With regards to ripping the 2 x 4, would that be down the length of the 6ft tank or just the depth, in my case 18"?