Need Help With The Evenness Of My Tank

[bb1991]

I did a lot so please bare with me on how much i'm gonna type.
 
  So a few days ago i just got a tank in my room, a 36Lx18Hx20W tank and i'm unsure if the tank is even or not. When it was first installed in my room, i let the guys who transported the tank to measure and adjust the evenness of my tank. Once they were done i remembered looking at the bubble in the tube being pretty much in between the lines. Today, I filled the water to half-full. Taking safety in mind (Since the tank is right next to my high-end computer), i went out to buy my own water-level measurement ruler (or whatever its called) to double check if its still even. The ruler was shorter than the one they used, and the result was different from before. It turned out that the ruler was a bit defected. I was getting more anxious because my goal was to make the water perfectly even by the millimeter. Therefore i had the idea of emptying out the water to about 1 cm in height left and measured it my way. What i did was i got a small metal ruler, placed the ruler directly vertical and at every corner of the tank. I felt that this way made most sense and was the best way of measuring the evenness because i believed that there was no the glass itself was uneven in thickness. BTW, i put the ruler inside the tank and saw where the water level was. I also wiped the ruler before every measurement because of remembering something about water viscosity and water surface tension in high school. It turned out from my results that the water was actually uneven by 3 millimeters, leaning towards my computer. What made me doubt myself was that it was opposite of what the tank guys were trying to fix in the beginning. They put acrylic plates under the tank because it was leaning towards the right, now it seems like its leaning towards the left. With the consequences of flooding my computer in mind, i don't want to undo what they did, so that's why i came here first to ask anybody if there's a flaw in the way i measured the evenness of my tank.
 
PS: I tried the method of using clear tubing, filling it with water and placing it in the tank and see if the water level at both ends where the same. I felt that this wasn't as accurate as sticking the ruler in the water method.

 

[This Old Spouse]

The most accurate way is to use a carpenter's level. And isn't there anywhere else you can set it up other than right next to your high end computer?? Accidents do happen, unfortunately.

 

[bb1991]

Yeah that's thing that i have (but a short version of it) and the guys who set up the tank used, a carpenter's level. But the thing is, it isn't accurate to the millitmeter though, because the guys that measure it with their carpenter's level didn't get the bubble EXACTLY in the middle aswell.(But still in between the lines) I thought the ruler method was more accurate. (But i would love to be proven wrong) And no, i can't place it anywhere else since i live in a dorm, there's nowhere else to put it. That's why i'm being abit bitchy about a few millimeters.

 

[This Old Spouse]

Do you have an iPhone? There's an app that has a level that's completely accurate. The only thing is you have to calibrate it once, but then it's perfect.
 
I understand about wanting to get it perfectly level. I hope your CPU is off the floor.

 

[bb1991]

Ok, i'll try that, thanks. I'll trust you on it being "completely accurate"

 

[KirkyArcher]

Chances are that the installers level would be accurate, to test for accuracy of the one you have purchased simply put it on a surface you believe to be level then turn it around 180 degrees and check the bubble is the same distance from the line. If the tank is on a wooden floor or a carpeted floor it is quite possible to "shift" as the weight increases and compresses these types of surfaces, the u-tube level is actually more accurate than any builders bubble level 
http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=SamYsGvOsoA

 

[bb1991]

So i found out the reason why my tank was uneven. I added a few layers of tape to calibrate my carpenter's level to be exactly at the same position when i turn it around (not upside-down), then use my iphone like 'This Old Spouse' suggested to double check if my carpenter's level was correct. And the guys that installed my tank positioned their carpenter's level on top of the tank where there is a panel of glass used to hold the glass walls together. It turns out that the silicone used on the left side was more than the right. That's why it gave me different readings at different positions. So now i'm measuring evenness with my calibrated carpenter's level putting it inside the tank. All readings are the same. Adjusting my tank now; problem solved. TAKE THAT INSTALLERS!!!
 
Thanks This Old Spouse and KirkyArcher for helping with my problem, i'm adding this experience into the long-term memory bank of my brain

 

[This Old Spouse]