Loaches Online Forum

The tank leans to the right. We moved it last night and tried it all over the room. Always leaning. After getting a great post from Starsplitter, I went and used the level on the FLOOR. It's the house.
So I'm thinking, we can stack a little bit on the other side to level the tank. I'm hoping that is a good solution. After the HUGE drain, move move move, and refill, those fish are not looking fabulous today. I'm hoping that we can do this level without too much of the same...but I doubt it...
Beginner mistakes. They really hurt.
And no, it's not our house. It's a rental....a LEANY CROOKED rental. We take really good care of this place, and it' repays us by leaning. Typical Mt Pocono building at its finest! Goooooooo NEPA!

That is just terrible and scary. Wait for some of the experts to come along. I think you could use some styrofoam under the low end. I would check other areas in the house for a flat surface. And I would definitely go to a bottom floor.

We just put in our requests for possible move to areas with the FAA. I was hoping for a somewhat slow process (a year to save up some so we don't end up going into debt for the move would be nice)....now I dunno.
The dowstairs is one huge room. It used to be two, but was redone, so the living & dining room are all one area. It's a big area. The insulation of this house is a joke. But that makes sense, since none of the windows/doors actually close tight (and now we know why). It's fine since WE have a huge fireplace down there. But that would cook the fish! Without the fire, the heaters cannot heat the area unless we pay five hundred a month in winter for power (we got to 350.00 a month our first winter here).
I would do so many things differently, if I could do it again....
But, perhaps the solution will actually be something relatively simple. Something to slide under the whole setup. Worst case, we tear down the tank. I'm sure a fish store would take our fish, we have found a couple about an hour away that do seem like proper, caring people are owners. Can't possbily afford another tank really, unless we could find another steal on craigslist, a smaller one of course.

Our landlord actually offered us this house recently, to BUY. We laughed him politely off the deck. It would be *great* purchase....already comes with one really good tenant (besides us). But if it is falling apart, then, yeah...not a great buy at ANY price.

Many houses don't have level floors, tanks just make it easy to see. Get a package of wood shims, thin tapering strips of wood shingle. Much easier without much water in the tank. Slide 1 shim between the floor & stand on a low corner (not between tank & stand). Use the level to tell when to stop & snap off the excess shim. You probably need to do this in more than 1 corner to get front to back & side to side level. It doesn't have to be perfect but the bigger the tank the more level I try for. If the stand has wood all along the bottom you'll need to shim in several places, just shove in & snap off.

That is exactly what I was looking for~!! Tapered/slanted wood! Thank you very much . Now I even know what to call it when I go to the store ))
Thank you ALL for your help. 'specially Starsplitter. Without her input I'd have let it be.

Thanks Nancy, I didn't know how to fix it. That's just scary. Glad you got it sorted, ahmandi2.

My 75 got chips in a corner when we moved it. I used silicone and wall guards to brace the corners. Then I filled the tank on the porch and let it sit for a few days. Knock, on wood, it appears to be happy after 18 months.

My house also has issues. Each set up (tank, stand) has to be worked out very carefully.
I use wood shims when I need more bulk, but sheet cardboard works well, too. Not corrugated.

Styrofoam is fine between tank and stand. It smooths out any imperfections in the stand so the tank is supported evenly all around. I would not use it as a shim, though.

If the stand is one with individual legs and feet, then shim each foot a different amount until the stand is level and does not shift. One foot (maybe 2) would sit directly on the floor, the other 2 or 3 might need a little or more shimming until the whole thing is right. Test with a level, not just in one direction, but every which way you can hold the level, including diagonally.
If the stand is one that sits on the floor along its full width then you need to support it along its full width (not just in the corners). Sort of like needing an extra long shim. This is where I use cardboard. I cut several pieces, the first is almost the length of the stand, then each is a bit shorter. Stack these up, move them back and forth, add another, remove one or two... keep working the problem.
Work on the ends of the stand at the same time. Yes, it takes some patience, especially when the floor is not only tilted one way or another, but when the floor is irregular.
It took me about half an hour to make one stand level in one location. This was straddling a room addition and the old part of the house went one way, and the addition went the other.

Quote from Diana,
If the stand is one that sits on the floor along its full width then you need to support it along its full width (not just in the corners). Sort of like needing an extra long shim. This is where I use cardboard. I cut several pieces, the first is almost the length of the stand, then each is a bit shorter. Stack these up, move them back and forth, add another, remove one or two... keep working the problem.
Work on the ends of the stand at the same time. Yes, it takes some patience, especially when the floor is not only tilted one way or another, but when the floor is irregular.
I think that is EXACTLY what I have to do. The stand doesn't have individual feet, it meets the floor the entire length of itself (and has slanted "legs" which aren't legs at all, but come out a bit farther from the tank, and reach to the floor, on an angle, biggest on the bottom, for extra support).
Our level addresses every angle, so we'll be using that at every step of the way.
Can I ask, though, exactly how level is acceptable to you for your tank? Using the level on our tank, the bubble is in the middle, where it should be, except it's more to the right (almost touching the 1st line on the right), which is how we found this problem.
Is it possible to actually get it perfect? How close do I need to get it? Bubble in the middle SOUNDS great to me in theory, but in practice it seems to be far from good enough.
What do you find an acceptable amount of slant?

Off to the point that the bubble is still inside the lines, just touching one or the other is fine.
If the bubble was outside the line at all then I would keep working to level things better.
I can tell by looking at the water level that some of my tanks are not perfectly level. Some have settled over a year or more in one location. Some I can tell are out of level only because if they are overfilled the water escapes at one end. I am more concerned with the larger tanks.

I don't get too worried about a 1/4 inch difference on a 55g lengthwise. It just looks "off" when the water level is up to the tank trim on 1 side but not on the other. Just my opinion, try for level but after water is added there may still be some differences as the weight compresses the shims/cardboard. The stand may not be absolutely square either. Do the best you can then keep the tank really full, lol, I think it'll be fine.

Lol ok, yeah it is unsightly to have one side "full" and the other not so much. I think I'm still going to try the shim leveling thing, the closer the bubble gets to center the happier I'll be I think. I'ts real close to middle, so maybe I can get it 1/8 or so more with the wood.
Gonna be a fun weekend doing that, but hey, it's snowing out, nothing else to do up here; )