How important is it for a stand to be leveled?

[k0olmini]

I’ve built a couple aquarium stand for smaller tank and they’re currently on carpet but I’ve ran into this problem and what some insight. This is going to be a long post so saddle up. 
 

When constructing an aquarium stand how important is it that both the top and the bottom are level? I’ve heard that it would put and uneven amount of pressure on the tank and it could cause a break in the future. I’ve also heard a long as all four corners are supported it’s fine. I’m OCD when making things and it drove in insane that it was not level

Next question, if it is important for it to be leveled how do you do it?! The most I’ve done is put plywood on top. Is there something I need to do when constructing it?

[lefty o]

building a stand to be square, and level isnt too hard. the problem is, most floors are not level.. imo , main points are the top of the stand must be flat so that the ends of the tank are not twisted/cocked. a little out of level isnt a huge deal, but try to minimize . ive taken to using door/window frame shims under the base of the stand when i can get away with it. sadly when setting up, one can make the stand perfectly level, but once filled with water it no longer is due to floor sag. ya do the best you can, and concentrate on making the top of the stand flat.

[k0olmini]

So what are your tips to make the top level? 

Edited April 12, 2021 by k0olmini

[Sal]

We live in an old house, and the floors are not level anywhere.., so we definitely had to make sure to shim up the base of the stand using regular old shims from the hardware store.

We used a long construction level to check everything.  I've seen them as long as 96", but definitely as long as 48" or 72" readily available.  You'll spend $50-100 depending on how long you need, but it's a worthwhile investment in my opinion.

 

 

Edited April 12, 2021 by Sal

[k0olmini]

6 hours ago, lefty o said:

building a stand to be square, and level isnt too hard. the problem is, most floors are not level.. imo , main points are the top of the stand must be flat so that the ends of the tank are not twisted/cocked. a little out of level isnt a huge deal, but try to minimize . ive taken to using door/window frame shims under the base of the stand when i can get away with it. sadly when setting up, one can make the stand perfectly level, but once filled with water it no longer is due to floor sag. ya do the best you can, and concentrate on making the top of the stand flat.

What do you do to make sure the top is level?

[lefty o]

it has to be flat/straight, so that the ends of the tank are in the same plane as each other. if the tank itself is twisted because it is not on a flat surface, thats when bad things can happen. a carpenter square, and bubble level are handy tools for this.

[Andy's Fish Den]

If the top of the stand is not flat and level, what I would do is get a piece of 1/2" or even better 3/4" plywood cut to the exact size that your stand is. put it on top, and if it doesn't sit level, rocks side to side or corner to corner, use shims under the plywood to get it where it is sitting level and has no rocking. nail or screw the plywood down to the stand, being sure to go through the shims you just added so they don't come out of place. another thing you could do, but I only would recommend if that difference is small, like less that 1/8" or less, get a piece of styrofoam and cut it to the same size as the stand and tank, and set it on the stand and then put tank on top of it. That's an old timers trick used in a lot of fishrooms when stands might be a little uneven. You can then add a piece of wood to match your stand or paint the edge of the foam so it's not so noticeable.

[MJV Aquatics]

You merely need one or more shims where the stand meets the floor which is easiest done before the tank is full of water, but can be done after. Place the shim on the low end and use a block and a hammer to level.

[KaitieG]

12 hours ago, k0olmini said:

What do you do to make sure the top is level?

When my husband did the stand for our big tank, we filled it with water to leak test, and while it was full, he measured the space between the water and the rim in several places.  He then custom built a set of shims to match those measurements (our house is old, so we have the uneven floor issues others have mentioned.).  That took care of the leveling--now the water is even at all points on the tank.

If you're also asking about smoothness on the top of the stand (please forgive me if I've misunderstood) to avoid putting pressure points on the glass bottom, then there's 2 things here.  If you have a tank with a rim, the rim supports the glass, so small imperfections are okay.  If you have a rimless tank, the glass bottom will sit directly on the surface, and even minor imperfections in that surface can cause stress points, so most people with rimless tanks put a piece of foam in between the tank and the stand.  There's a good recent video by MD Fishtanks on youtube that shows him prepping the foam pad for a new tank/stand in his Natural Biotope tank project if you're interested.

[Demobanana]

Is it really that important? My floor isn't that level (either that or its the carpet) and the right side of my 10g tips a little compared to the left side. At first I was worried but nothing happened so I didn't care anymore.

[Trish]

On 4/12/2021 at 2:26 PM, Sal said:

We live in an old house, and the floors are not level anywhere.., so we definitely had to make sure to shim up the base of the stand using regular old shims from the hardware store.

We used a long construction level to check everything.  I've seen them as long as 96", but definitely as long as 48" or 72" readily available.  You'll spend $50-100 depending on how long you need, but it's a worthwhile investment in my opinion.

 

 

@Salhaha.. me too.  You just have to look at the water line of some of my tanks.  

Edited April 13, 2021 by Trish

[Sal]

15 hours ago, Demobanana said:

Is it really that important? My floor isn't that level (either that or its the carpet) and the right side of my 10g tips a little compared to the left side. At first I was worried but nothing happened so I didn't care anymore.

I'm a newb, so I am hoping someone with more experience will chime in.  My guess is that it's maybe not as vital on smaller (10, 20 gallon...) tanks, but with a larger tank you'd end up with more than expected water pressure on an uneven corner, and that could end up in a busted tank stand, leaks or seam issues on the tank, etc...

In my opinion, why would you want to end up with 55 (90, 125....) gallons of water on your floor, when you could just make it level pretty easily, and have the peace of mind that at least each corner is receiving equal amounts of the weight, which is how it is intended to be?

[KaitieG]

16 hours ago, Demobanana said:

Is it really that important? My floor isn't that level (either that or its the carpet) and the right side of my 10g tips a little compared to the left side. At first I was worried but nothing happened so I didn't care anymore.

I would tend to agree with @Sal.  I don't think it matters much for smaller tanks, but for big ones it may be more of a structural issue.  For us, it mattered because it drove my husband crazy that the water line was about half and inch off.  I honestly didn't even notice--the tank has a rim for goodness sakes 🙂  But seeing as how he had to do the work and how it bothered him, now we have a nice level tank!

[Demobanana]

3 hours ago, KaitieG said:

I would tend to agree with @Sal.  I don't think it matters much for smaller tanks, but for big ones it may be more of a structural issue.  For us, it mattered because it drove my husband crazy that the water line was about half and inch off.  I honestly didn't even notice--the tank has a rim for goodness sakes 🙂  But seeing as how he had to do the work and how it bothered him, now we have a nice level tank!

Well thats reassuring, wasn't sure if I had to take the stand down lol