Tropical Fish Forums

[mustbekarma]

I am setting up a 30 gallon aquarium and using a wrought iron stand. Even with some creative use of floor protectors (those little rubber cups you put under furniture legs to protect the floor) under the legs of the stand, I can't get the stand perfectly level. I thought about using concrete patio blocks (2" by 8" by 16"), one block under each set of legs. That way I could shim the patio blocks and get the stand perfectly level. It would also raise the height of the tank a bit, too.

My question is, would the concrete patio blocks hold up under the weight? I'm worried about the pressure points from the legs cracking the concrete patio blocks. I could still put a floor protector under each leg, too, if that would help alleviate the problem.

I want to do this for two reasons: 1) Level the tank better. 2) Distribute the weight over a larger surface area.

What do you think, and if this is a bad idea, what would you suggest as an alternative?
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The preschoolers like to call me the fish lady. Everybody else laughs.

[diademhill]

There are small metal discs that make good leveling shims if dropped inside the floor protectors - I know them as coins.
Concrete blocks would be OK but beware of lighter weight blocks.

How far out of level is the floor?

[mustbekarma]

As it currently stands, after filling the tank with water for a trial run and leak test, it's perfectly level horizontally, from side to side. From front to back, it's off level by an 1/8 of a bubble. It's not awful, but I'm aiming for perfect. If you remembered in one of my intro posts, I described the 55 gallon aquarium disaster. The center brace broke, and then I found out after resetting a new tank that it was way off level. I'm not surprised the tank brace broke.

I'd rather be safe than sorry. I was aiming for the bubble to be perfectly between the lines on the level.

I already placed one rubber floor protector inside a second one to raise the back legs higher. I could try a metal spacer or coin. Heck, I work at a vocational school, so getting any kind of metal scraps from the welding shop wouldn't be an issue.

The patio paving stones I got are two inches thick, and made for outdoor use.
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The preschoolers like to call me the fish lady. Everybody else laughs.

[katienaha]

*cough* hockey pucks *cough*

*walks away whistling canadian anthem..*