Leveling Stand? I Suspect The Carpet...

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Hi everyone!

I'm planning out a 29g for the living room and am running into snags already. The stand (prefab) is not level. I'm getting a level for better info, but right now I can tell you the bottom of the stand is 2.25" from the wall, the top is 4". The stand is 30" tall.

When I press down on the carpet, it seems to compress a good bit.. what I'm thinking is this building was built in 1989 (I live in a second floor condo) and it looks like the original carpet. I think that area might just be less worn and more springy.

I could shim the stand toward the front, but my concern is that over time the carpet in the back would sink in and it would be tilting to the back. On the other hand, it's not an extreme bulge so maybe the floor isn't level? I don't know what to do :hammerhea

Any opinion is appreciated.. I know nothing (or very little) about carpentry and all matters involving handiness

 

[steved13]

Have you tried it with water in the tank? If not you might want to fill the tank the extra 230lbs or so might compress the carpet and level it out for you. You certainly wouldn't want to go to all the trouble and find out you made it worse Even if it is still not level at least you'll know what your dealing with when the tank has the weight in it.

 

[PSU4ME]

If you put it on a board it would spread out the weight over the whole base thus lessening the difference in any one area......then you could use shim type things from there.

 

[Richard 1]

Have you tried it with water in the tank? If not you might want to fill the tank the extra 230lbs or so might compress the carpet and level it out for you. You certainly wouldn't want to go to all the trouble and find out you made it worse Even if it is still not level at least you'll know what your dealing with when the tank has the weight in it.

I agree, I set up my 29 gal this weekend and I put a level to it and it was off, but suspected the carpet and pad were causing it so I filled it and it leveled out.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

I did not put water in it yet, I have a Rubbermaid container that I filled with water to see if that would help and it didn't. Granted, that was only a 22 gallon container and I only filled it half way. I'll try to fill it when I get home and see what happens. I'm almost sure it's the carpet, when I step on it with all my weight on one foot, I get a good bit of sinkage to the point where it seems a flat as the other carpet. I'll get a level, try to fill the tank and see where we are from there. Thanks guys

 

[jedi82knight]

You may want to try moving the stand further from the wall (just an inch or two). Depending how your carpet was installed, under the carpet, there will either be a tac strip or the carpet may be folded over and stapled. Either of these scenarios will cause the carpet near the wall to feel more rigid and be unable to compress to the same degree as the carpet under the front of the stand. The tank will never settle evenly if placed too closely to the wall, at least in the stated situatuions.

Also keep in mind, the carpet will compress slowly over time. Breifly putting weight on the stand will not give an accurate visual of how the stand will sit; one, two or ten months from now.

Good luck!

 

[nickpomerantz]

try cutting out a piece of cardboard perfectly around the stand and lay it on the carpet and put the stand on top of it, this will level it out a lot

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

...there will either be a tac strip or the carpet may be folded over and stapled. Either of these scenarios will cause the carpet near the wall to feel more rigid and be unable to compress to the same degree as the carpet under the front of the stand.

I do feel what I believe is the tac strip near the wall and I think I got past this. It's about an inch and a half away from the wall, do you think I need to go further? I don't think it's on this.

Also, what you said about the carpet compressing over time is my main concern. If I level the stand with shims or whatnot now, over time it will probably just unlevel itself.. I'll see how it looks with water in it I suppose and go from there.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Well, I filled the tank and it's not sitting level. Not even close. There was a minor improvement, but only minor. With the tank full, it needs to come up a half inch in the front.

My next big question is the stand doesn't have 4 corner supports, it makes contact on the sides and there's a support beam in the middle as well, sort of forming an "I" shape. Would it be best to put the tank on a slab of plywood so as to ensure all areas are supported, then shim the plywood as necessary?

Pictures (don't worry, I've already drained and removed the tank from the stand ):

 

[WayneT]

I agree with moving the stand out about an inch away from the wall. Your stand may be sitting on the tack strip under the carpet. If that doesn't work try a solid wood board (not partial board) under the stand. Shim the board and get it level first then put the stand on and fill it with water.

 

[steved13]

+1 you may thank yourself later for the room behind the tank also.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Thanks for the input guys. The tank is currently set 2.25" away from the wall. Do you think it needs another inch?

Also, you say no particle board.. plywood's out? It is only a 29g tank.

 

[WayneT]

Plywood will work but use an exterior grade plywood and get a piece of 3/4 inch stock. Using exterior ply will be a little better because the glue used to make the ply is water resistant. As far as how far from the wall IMHO I would leave enough room to fit my hand back there to clean any possible messes.

 

[steved13]

You say the tank is 2.25" away fromt the wall but is the very bottom of the stand? It doesn't look like it from the pic, but it might be the lighting and the angle. Just making sure, so you only have to do it once.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Yup, that's the bottom that's 2.25" away from the wall. I tilted the stand and I can get my whole arm behind there, so I think that's where I'll put it. Thanks for all the input guys, I'll see if I have any plywood laying around.

 

[Richard 1]

Man...You weren't kidding...pictures say a thousand words, even if you were on a tack strip it would only offset your tank about 3/8".

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Yeah I wish I was kidding.. haha. Oh well, it is what it is. It should be easy enough to get a piece of plywood and shim to level. I'll deal with the carpet compacting if and when that day comes. I'm not sure it will though, but we'll see.

Thanks for all the replies, I'll keep everyone updated.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Alrighty so I haven't updated in a while, but I finally got the stand level.

I went to Home Depot and they had these nice piece of ply that looked to be purposed for building furniture. They had 3/4" 2'x4' boards. They do 2 cuts free, so I got them to trim it down to about an inch wider than my stand dimensions and was all set! A can of Walmart spray paint later, and a pack of shims and I was in business. I added shims til the stand was level. I filled the tank and everything was still level, so I haven't messed with it since.

Some pictures of my handiwork:

I put the stand on the board. I shimmed the board in the middle and on the left and right side, and in between each.

The left side needed the most...


All in all, I think the parts to level the stand cost around $18 after the spray paint. Looking forward to many happy years on this stand