Tank 1/4" off level and feet for reefer?

[ReefLab]

I just filled my tank 88 gallon tank (reefer 425) with 20 gal of water and checked level. The water level is about 1/4" higher in the back than it is in the front (so the front of the cabinet is a bit higher than the back). Also, the red sea reefer comes with little rubber feet but I noticed i didnt put any on the front and not positive what's on the back.. i have 5 extra feet that probably should be on the tank.
Advice? Do I drain and level/get the feet under there? Or should it be okay?

 

[Jon Fishman]

Drain and level

 

[ReefLab]

Drain and level

I'd really like to avoid that... rock and sand are already in.. is it absolutley necessary?

 

[Jon Fishman]

I'd really like to avoid that... rock and sand are already in.. is it absolutley necessary?

I thought leveling the tank, and adding floor-jacks was going to be the easiest part of my setup, but I ended up working on it for 2 days. I did it because once the water is in there, there is no turning back.

I’m not familiar with the stand you have, or type of floor it is on, but if you can shim it, as is, and make it level, you can probably get away with doing that, but it may screw up your floor.

Any rocks that aren’t secure you want to make sure one isn’t gonna take a tumble and scratch (or even worse) your new glass.

I would error on the side of caution. Quick job to lay out a bunch of towels, pump the water into. storage tote, put the rocks in, and make sure the tank and stand are nice and level. If I had to do it over there are still corners I cut that I wish I could undo, and now I am kinda stuck with “good enough”

If the stand is one inch closer or further away from the wall than you want, etc, now is the time to measure twice, and not regret later.

Edit: You can remove the tank from the stand with the sand in it probably, with help from someone....... not a total loss.....

 

[Keesers]

Hey there, looks like you new to group and must of missed it. So welcome unless your coming back for another round then welcome again. If it were me I would drain and level . Is it on carpet or hardwood or concrete ? As just mentioned above better to start 100 percent level don’t need any pressure points and as the tank gets completely full which correct me if I’m wrong it only had 20 gallons and wasn’t level may actually get worst as more water is put in. You will thank yourself later by correcting now lots easier to shim now then later. I had a contractor go under and brace all the joists under my home where tank is just to make sure I never had any sag in floor from weight. Also had electrician add two more independent lines with 20 amp breakers so I can have 2 gfci and one normal line for tank and move an outlet that was to close too tank. Also I added more bracing to my custom stand for overkill. Did a leak test. Checked plumping too then drained made adjustments before I was happy. My moral here is best time to find things that you want to change or problems that you have before there is livestock in tank with there forever homes and your scape the way you like then have to rip it out to level or fix later. Happy Reefing my friend

 

[BigRedReefer MT]

Hey there, looks like you new to group and must of missed it. So welcome unless your coming back for another round then welcome again. If it were me I would drain and level . Is it on carpet or hardwood or concrete ? As just mentioned above better to start 100 percent level don’t need any pressure points and as the tank gets completely full which correct me if I’m wrong it only had 20 gallons and wasn’t level may actually get worst as more water is put in. You will thank yourself later by correcting now lots easier to shim now then later. I had a contractor go under and brace all the joists under my home where tank is just to make sure I never had any sag in floor from weight. Also had electrician add two more independent lines with 20 amp breakers so I can have 2 gfci and one normal line for tank and move an outlet that was to close too tank. Also I added more bracing to my custom stand for overkill. Did a leak test. Checked plumping too then drained made adjustments before I was happy. My moral here is best time to find things that you want to change or problems that you have before there is livestock in tank with there forever homes and your scape the way you like then have to rip it out to level or fix later. Happy Reefing my friend

Ditto here. I went with good enough, just to have to net fish and add to temporary tank, drain water, rescape rock work, refill, stabilize and re add stock. Do it now for sake of ease and peace of mind. Take this extra step now or wake up to a busted seam and a bunch of expensive skeletons.

 

[ReefLab]

I thought leveling the tank, and adding floor-jacks was going to be the easiest part of my setup, but I ended up working on it for 2 days. I did it because once the water is in there, there is no turning back.

I’m not familiar with the stand you have, or type of floor it is on, but if you can shim it, as is, and make it level, you can probably get away with doing that, but it may screw up your floor.

Any rocks that aren’t secure you want to make sure one isn’t gonna take a tumble and scratch (or even worse) your new glass.

I would error on the side of caution. Quick job to lay out a bunch of towels, pump the water into. storage tote, put the rocks in, and make sure the tank and stand are nice and level. If I had to do it over there are still corners I cut that I wish I could undo, and now I am kinda stuck with “good enough”

If the stand is one inch closer or further away from the wall than you want, etc, now is the time to measure twice, and not regret later.

Edit: You can remove the tank from the stand with the sand in it probably, with help from someone....... not a total loss.....

I played with it a bit and was able to get the water level front to back within a 1/8”. I also was able to force some 1/4” wood I had laying around to support the places where feet were supposed to be... I think i’ll live with it..

 

[ReefLab]

Ditto here. I went with good enough, just to have to net fish and add to temporary tank, drain water, rescape rock work, refill, stabilize and re add stock. Do it now for sake of ease and peace of mind. Take this extra step now or wake up to a busted seam and a bunch of expensive skeletons.

What happened to your tank that you had to do this?

 

[BigRedReefer MT]

Moved to a new house and set up tank on a floor with carpet. It's almost level I said. Filled it, set it up and went to bed. Woke up and it had settled way off level. Since it's an old tank and a new house I had to scramble to fix the issue before it became a big issue

 

[AZMSGT]

Drain it down till you have 1” of water above your sub-straight. Use the water as your Level. Measure from bottom to water edge ( or top rim to water edge) in all for corners. Once you have all four corners measured right then refill.

Get it perfect or you’ll regret it. A tank that isn’t level could crack or fail do to twist.

The front bottom board can get removed and feet installed while the tanks is low on water. Since there are no feet on it presently. But if you have feet missing off the back... your up the creek. The back is a major part of the support.

On my 625, all my feet are installed and I ended up with 1 extra.

Could you use a prybar on a fulcrum to lift things high enough to get all the feet in? I wouldn’t.. the risk is to high for me.

 

[iko2thdk]

I would drain and level again. If the supplied feet are not adequate to level the stand first, you can buy composite shims at home centers or amazon. The wood shims will compress over time and de stabilize your aquarium. If you are 1/4” off with 20 gallons in the tank you will be off more than that geometrically as you fill it. Good luck!!

 

[S2G]

Yes drain then start over leveling. Most tank failures are from being unlevel. It's one of the most important things.

Use a level that can reach across the front to back. Start level and shim etc if necessary. I like to do it in increments. Fill 1/4 of the way check middle of the front/back then check from front to the back on each side and in the middle. Continue this in 1/4 increments until full. You want as close to perfect as you can get. Use composite shims if shimming

Buy some heavy duty totes or a couple of trash cans to preserve the mixed water you have.

 

[DeepSouth]

I don't want to pile on here, but that stand is designed for all the force to be going straight down. If you have a lean, ultimately you will have failure. Ditto on all the feet not being there.

 

[motortrendz]

It only takes a second for the tank to crack and dump 80 gallons of water, fish rock and sand all over your floor

 

[CheckeredPants]

Sorry to highjack. If jack posts are already installed, tank is filled, and the tank is 1/4 inch off, could I just raise/turn/adjust the jack post to raise that side of the tank?

 

[motortrendz]

Sorry to highjack. If jack posts are already installed, tank is filled, and the tank is 1/4 inch off, could I just raise/turn/adjust the jack post to raise that side of the tank?

I'd make all adjustments empty. Or atleast no water in the tank.

 

[CheckeredPants]

I'd make all adjustments empty. Or atleast no water in the tank.

Thanks for the reply. I guess the best time to do this would be once my tank is done cycling and I do a massive water change.

 

[Tom Stevens]

It’s a pain... but drain and level.

 

[Jon Fishman]

I have read rumblings (haven’t paid much attention, as my RSR is a Max Nano) of a LOT of Red Sea tanks leaking...... I may be wrong, but I feel like a lot of posts have been popping up recently.

I would take zero point zero chances.... 80g is a lot of water

My big tank was a custom job. I am nervous because how do you really know the fail rate from a local builder, but I am relieved that I don’t have to worry about googling and always running across “Marineland Failure”. or “My online-co tank broke a seam”

 

[ReefLab]

Thanks for the tips, everyone. I ended up taking 15 gallons out of the tank and using an air-shim to level it. 1/4 inch stock wood for the entire back row and standard wood shims for the side to make sure they had contact with the floor. This tool also allowed me to get the remaining feet under the tank. Level to +/- 1/16"confidence now!

Seriously, that air shim is awesome. Made everything so easy.