New tank not level!

Matt Miller · Dec 17, 2016

When I first set it up it was almost perfect, but now that I have a lot of water in it it looks like its leaning pretty bad. Should I stop??!

Brew12 · Dec 17, 2016

Yes! Stop!!!

You need to find out what is going on. Is this tank on a concrete slab? How big of a tank is it?

Matt Miller · Dec 17, 2016

110g on the 1st floor, I have a basement. Newer house. The floor joists are pretty big, 2x12s I think

aaron23 · Dec 17, 2016

I would drain the tank and shim the bottom until it's level, but it doesn't look that uneven

Brew12 · Dec 17, 2016

Matt Miller said:
110g on the 1st floor, I have a basement. Newer house. The floor joists are pretty big, 2x12s I think

Put your level on the floor next to the tank. See if it is something in the stand or if it a joist issue.

Matt Miller · Dec 17, 2016

Seems like the joists are not all level.

Brew12 · Dec 17, 2016

Matt Miller said:
Seems like the joists are not all level.

Before you drain it I would go below and look at the joists. It's possible the stand is straddling a joist or that a joist isn't secured well. Or it is in the middle of a long run. Either way, I think you have some reinforcing work to do before you fill the tank.

Matt Miller · Dec 17, 2016

The back is on the joust that sits on a cinder block wall, and the front is just over the next joist

Matt Miller · Dec 17, 2016

2x10s

Brew12 · Dec 17, 2016

Matt Miller said:
2x10s

Is that directly below the tank with the tank running parallel to the 2x10's? Do you think the tank sits on both beams?

Matt Miller · Dec 17, 2016

Yep, the back of the tank sits over the wall and the front is just past that 2nd beam

Swoody · Dec 17, 2016

Looks like its leaning to the front of tank....Is this correct? I would not be comfortable with that at all. If it is on a carpeted floor you probably would not have seen this until there was weight in the tank. You should shim across the front and refill and see results. You can also go down and view the exposed joists from below and see if any sag etc...is visible.

Brew12 · Dec 17, 2016

Matt Miller said:
Yep, the back of the tank sits over the wall and the front is just past that 2nd beam

It looks like it is in the middle of a long span. Can you put a level on both beams? Might give you a better idea of what is going on.

Matt Miller · Dec 17, 2016

Yes, leans forward and carpeted floor.

Matt Miller · Dec 17, 2016

The one beam is on the wall so I can't level across them. It's about 10' from my from door, there's a cross joist to the left of them too.

Brew12 · Dec 17, 2016

Matt Miller said:
The one beam is on the wall so I can't level across them. It's about 10' from my from door, there's a cross joist to the left of them too.

Try to go from the one off the wall to the next one in. That should give you an idea if the joist is sagging.

Joey waid · Dec 17, 2016

That's a lot of tank on that long of a span. Most of the weight is being held by one joist.

jsker · Dec 17, 2016

It could be the carpet is compressing and the tac board is pushing the tank forward. shim it from the front and problem solved. If you really want to do it right I would, yes drain the tank. cut up the carpet around the system, pull the tac board, and brace the system with 2x4's between the joists and then come back with some molding to hide the 2x4 bracing

Brew12 · Dec 17, 2016

jsker said:
It could be the carpet is compressing and the tac board is pushing the tank forward. shim it from the front and problem solved. If you really want to do it right I would, yes drain the tank. cut up the carpet around the system, pull the tac board, and brace the system with 2x4's between the joists and then come back with some molding to hide the 2x4 bracing

I would agree that if the forward of the two joists isn't sagging then shimming the front, or probably just moving the tank forward an inch, might be a good solution. If the joist is sagging from being such a long run, it should be reinforced.