Floor way out of level.

[JDJP]

Bought an acrylic 375 8'x3'x2' with a 2x4 stand. I want to put it in my garage, but the floor slopes down toward the garage door. When i put a 6' level on the stand i have to lift one end of it a couple inches to level the bubble.

What is the best way to correct for this. Shims arent going to work. I was thinking maybe i could rip a 2x4 into a giant shim, but not sure if that will work?

Also thinking i could cut some blocks to put under the verticle 2x4s only, but im no carpenter.

 

[Pife]

I'd shim your tank to level and then scribe and cut a piece to fit perfectly underneath it.

 

[KJAG]

Either shim it or use leveling feet. McMaster sells them under ball and socket leveling feet. They screw into either a weld nut or a threaded insert built into the bottom of your stand. Two inches is a huge variance though, but the heavier duty leveling feet have a load tolerance of like 3000lbs each.

 

[redfishbluefish]

If the floor is out of level by inches over this eight foot length, here's what I'd do......

Put the stand where you want it. Level it out by using blocks/shims/whatever. Now measure the distance in the elevated corners to the floor. Build a frame with these measurements that taper down to nothing using 2x4's. Cut these 2x4's using a circular saw. Here's the idea....you'll want to add some crossbracing.

 

[jjflounder1]

Thsts a big tank ... I hope it is more like 2x6s ..
How many legs on it ...?

If you level the stand with what ever you have ...
Use the hight of the "shims" to determine how much you need to cut off the opposite leg ..

 

[mcarroll]

following

 

[JDJP]

Thsts a big tank ... I hope it is more like 2x6s ..
How many legs on it ...?

If you level the stand with what ever you have ...
Use the hight of the "shims" to determine how much you need to cut off the opposite leg ..

Its got 4 legs per side. The corners are 3 2x4s and middle legs are 2 2x4s

 

[JDJP]

If the floor is out of level by inches over this eight foot length, here's what I'd do......

Put the stand where you want it. Level it out by using blocks/shims/whatever. Now measure the distance in the elevated corners to the floor. Build a frame with these measurements that taper down to nothing using 2x4's. Cut these 2x4's using a circular saw. Here's the idea....you'll want to add some crossbracing.

Think it might be easier to cut this off of the bottom of the high side of the stand?

 

[AlexStinson]

Its got 4 legs per side. The corners are 3 2x4s and middle legs are 2 2x4s

People in our hobby greatly underestimate the strength of wood.

 

[mcarroll]

People in our hobby greatly underestimate the strength of wood.

Any good reading that can help with this?

 

[Erica-Renee]

If the floor is out of level by inches over this eight foot length, here's what I'd do......

Put the stand where you want it. Level it out by using blocks/shims/whatever. Now measure the distance in the elevated corners to the floor. Build a frame with these measurements that taper down to nothing using 2x4's. Cut these 2x4's using a circular saw. Here's the idea....you'll want to add some crossbracing.

That much out of level this is the BEST WAY , Using Leveling feet that long can cause it to become wobbly unless they are anchored into the floor .

 

[WVNed]

Form it up and use cement to make to make the floor level. Lots of videos online on leveling floors.

Ya, my house sucks.

 

[ihavecrabs]

The only way I would do this is with @redfishbluefish 's recommendation.

If you wanted it more permanent, you could always use a series of self leveling cement, but working with the wood will be as effective and much easlier/cheaper.

 

[JDJP]

The only way I would do this is with @redfishbluefish 's recommendation.

If you wanted it more permanent, you could always use a series of self leveling cement, but working with the wood will be as effective and much easlier/cheaper.

Yeah, now that i think about it, i could use the extra height. Im putting a 180 gal underneath as a sump/fuge/fragtank and its 2' tall.

Im thinking of doing what redfishbluefish said except maybe using 4x4s and frame it all the way around and give myself a couple more inches of height to the stand.

Then i just have to figure out how to level the 180.

 

[JDJP]

Form it up and use cement to make to make the floor level. Lots of videos online on leveling floors.

Ya, my house sucks.

Could be another option. I wonder if i could put some plastic down underneath it to make it not permanent.

 

[AlexStinson]

Any good reading that can help with this?

Honestly, I am being a bit anecdotal on that. But working in a store and seeing the difference between major manufactured stands (presumably designed by an engineer) and hobbyist made stands there is a huge difference in size and amount of wood. I remember after building my first 'large tank' stand (a 185) and then receiving a stand in the store for a marineland 300dd I was flabbergasted at how overbuilt my stand was.

 

[davocean]

I've done a couple garage tank stands where the floor is sloped heavy for drainage, and I kinda did the frame like redfishbluefish suggested, and that can work, but what I did was use those boards for forms, and I poured concrete and made a slab.

Both times I did it I laid down heavy plastic, and both times we pulled those tanks years later and we were able to lift those slabs w/ out any damage to floor.
What I liked about this, is there were no large voids under stand.
I have pics of a smaller version on my own build thread of what I did on a stone floor I can look for to show

 

[Matthew Frost]

Build a "form box" using something like Redfish's idea. Build it 6" larger than your current stand dimensions, this could be done relatively easily with 1x4 or 1x6 stock. When you have the form box built fill it with quick crete let it set for two weeks and put your stand on top of it. Your 180 sump will go inside the stand and already be level.

 

[AlexStinson]

I've done a couple garage tank stands where the floor is sloped heavy for drainage, and I kinda did the frame like redfishbluefish suggested, and that can work, but what I did was use those boards for forms, and I poured concrete and made a slab.

Both times I did it I laid down heavy plastic, and both times we pulled those tanks years later and we were able to lift those slabs w/ out any damage to floor.
What I liked about this, is there were no large voids under stand.
I have pics of a smaller version on my own build thread of what I did on a stone floor I can look for to show

Thats freaking smart. I have the same issue as OP. My tank room was a garage in the homes early history (built in 68, added to in 70) and the floor does slope a great deal at one end.

 

[davocean]

Here's one of my build threads that shows exactly what I did and used.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/rebirth-of-my-octocab-tank.204901/