How Important Is It To Have The Tank Absolutely Level?

[zuulan]

How important is it to have a fish tank absolutely level?

Not sure why but I've set up a 125ltr tank but I didn't ensure it was 100% level. Now that I've filled it up it's clearly not level as the water level on left side of the tank is up to 5mm higher then the right.

If I leave it as it is will it potentially cause a problem to the stand? Ideally I know the weight should go straight down vertically and evenly across the stand, but will 5mm make that much difference.

 

[The Other Lebowski]

i would say the problem with the stand is already there just by the fact that it's not leveled. wouldn't trust it to begin with. or maybe the stand is leveled, but the house isn't. do you happen to live above some abandoned mines? or maybe you have a sinkhole under your house. what happens when you put a golf ball in the middle of a room?

i dont mean to scare you bud, but it's quite possible that this guy's problems also started with a 0.5 cm level difference on his fishtank, and this is how it ended....

http/b1ttersweet.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/sinkhole.jpg

 

[doresy]

based on no scientific basis I would think 5mm would not be a problem. Having said that it would drive me crazy and would have to put it right.

Method would be remove as much water as possible and using squares of hardboard raise one end using a lever and place them under the feet.

 

[zuulan]

i dont mean to scare you bud, but it's quite possible that this guy's problems also started with a 0.5 cm level difference on his fishtank, and this is how it ended....

http/b1ttersweet.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/sinkhole.jpg

WOW, all that from 125ltrs!?!

My house is probably fine, my other tank is fine with just a few pieces of newspaper under one side of it. It is at 90degrees to the other tank tho.

Do you think with the tank largely emptied of water, it'll be easy enough to lift up to slot something underneath it?

 

[OldMan47]

It is not essential to have the tank absolutely level but it is very important to have the surface the tank sits on be very, very flat. Although there are aesthetic impacts of a tank slightly out of level, the impact of having a slight twist in the footing that a tank sits on can be disastrous. A tank is designed to be uniformly supported either along its entire frame or across the entire bottom, it varies a bit from brand to brand. If I want to level a tank, I never place a shim of any kind under the tank's frame. Instead, I take that very flat tank stand and shim under the stand so that the top that is supporting the tank can stay flat. A twist in the glass and the tank joints will eventually lead to the tank failing as the seams of the tank separate as a result of the continued and unrelenting stress put on those joints by the crooked support.

 

[morgan]

It is not essential to have the tank absolutely level but it is very important to have the surface the tank sits on be very, very flat. Although there are aesthetic impacts of a tank slightly out of level, the impact of having a slight twist in the footing that a tank sits on can be disastrous. A tank is designed to be uniformly supported either along its entire frame or across the entire bottom, it varies a bit from brand to brand. If I want to level a tank, I never place a shim of any kind under the tank's frame. Instead, I take that very flat tank stand and shim under the stand so that the top that is supporting the tank can stay flat. A twist in the glass and the tank joints will eventually lead to the tank failing as the seams of the tank separate as a result of the continued and unrelenting stress put on those joints by the crooked support.

 

[zuulan]

It is not essential to have the tank absolutely level but it is very important to have the surface the tank sits on be very, very flat.

Cool, thanks for the info.

My floor is definitely very flat, so no worries there. It's only the aesthetics then but no-one can tell unless I don't fill the tank past the lower rim of the lid. So I'll leave the tank as it is then.

 

[The Other Lebowski]

It is not essential to have the tank absolutely level but it is very important to have the surface the tank sits on be very, very flat.

Cool, thanks for the info.

My floor is definitely very flat, so no worries there. It's only the aesthetics then but no-one can tell unless I don't fill the tank past the lower rim of the lid. So I'll leave the tank as it is then.

he's not talking about your floor. he's talking about the surface on which the tank itself directly rests. that's why various kinds of foams are used under aquariums to compensate little surface deficiencies. even a small bump, or a small rock, can break your fishtank bottom.

 

[meguro]

Don't use newspaper or other types of wedges. Get a sheet of foam/rubber and place the tank on it.

 

[OldMan47]

I meant exactly what I said. It is very important that the surface the tank sits on be very flat. I could not care less about the surface the stand sits on. I have home built stands that I cut each leg a bit different to level a tank while keeping the top of the stand absolutely flat, not warped, twisted or otherwise wrong.

 

[Bignose]

Water has a density of 1000 kg/m^3. Acceleration due to gravity is 9.8 m/s^2. And zuulan says that difference in height is 5 mm.

(1000 kg/m^3)*(9.8 m/s^2)*(5 mm) = 49 Pascals of pressure (This is the static pressure equation: static pressure = fluid density * acceleration due to gravity * height of the fluid). 49 Pascals = 0.007 psi (pounds force per square inch). If a tank cannot handle having an extra 0.007 psi on one side versus another, it is an extremely poorly made tank. A different in 0.007 psi is the same difference as if you put 2 rocks on one side and only 1 on the other -- tanks don't break just because you have an extra rock on one side.

If the water height difference is truly only 5 mm, I wouldn't worry a bit about it.