# 55G tank 1/4" off level



## plaakapong (Feb 28, 2008)

The real issue is whether or not the top of the stand is completely flat. If it's slightly off level, but flat, the only issue will be the obvious difference in the water level around the tank. If you do shim the stand, don't just shim the corner. I'd shim it every 6 in or so for support. Otherwise the weight of the full tank will likely tweak the stand and may cause problems.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

My 55 gallon is 1/8 inch off. I had an aquarium off by 1/2 inch and when I moved it after a year to a level floor, it sprung a leak. However, I have had this aquarium off as much of 1/4 inch with no problems. Old houses are sometimes impossible to level. However, a smaller aquarium would be more likely to be damaged (say a ten gallon) by not leveling even a small amount. 

Here is a great article. http://www.oscarfishlover.com/index.php/Levelling-aquarium/Leveling-your-aquarium.html


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## BlueLagoon (Jan 2, 2009)

sewingalot said:


> However, a smaller aquarium would be more likely to be damaged (say a ten gallon) by not leveling even a small amount.
> 
> http://www.oscarfishlover.com/index.php/Levelling-aquarium/Leveling-your-aquarium.html


You've got that backwards. a 10gal tank would be more forgiving than a 100gal would be. The more weight of water in the tank, the more it need to be level ( corners to corners ). If you have a tank ( let say a 55gal ) that is 1/4 inch off level at one end, but the level is perfect front to back, it will be fine. It is the twisting of one corner that pops the seal. I had a 110gal set up almost 2 years, and it was lower on one end by about 3/8". Perfect front to back ( meaning the lowered end, water line was 3/8" lower, both front and back and the other end was perfectly lined up with the top tank trim ).


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## Riiz (Apr 30, 2008)

I've had a 60gallon setup for 5years+ with an end 1/8-1/4" lower, but perfectly flat front to back. No problems, but with evaportation you always see one end before the other which is amusing.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

BlueLagoon said:


> You've got that backwards. a 10gal tank would be more forgiving than a 100gal would be. The more weight of water in the tank, the more it need to be level ( corners to corners ). If you have a tank ( let say a 55gal ) that is 1/4 inch off level at one end, but the level is perfect front to back, it will be fine. It is the twisting of one corner that pops the seal. I had a 110gal set up almost 2 years, and it was lower on one end by about 3/8". Perfect front to back ( meaning the lowered end, water line was 3/8" lower, both front and back and the other end was perfectly lined up with the top tank trim ).


BlueLagoon, I could be wrong. I was told by the local petstore that the most important aspect is being plumb. Of course, I was considering whether or not to go ahead and buy a 55 versus a 10 when I was told this pressure being more on a 10 gallon. :confused1: Perhaps I had sucker written on my forehead (of course they would recommend the larger of the two tanks). Anyway, FWIW, my 55 is off 1/4 of an inch lengthways but perfectly plumb and I haven't had any issues. At least so far.....


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## BlueLagoon (Jan 2, 2009)

sewingalot said:


> I was considering whether or not to go ahead and buy a 55 versus a 10 when I was told this pressure being more on a 10 gallon. ....


Think of it this way. a 10 gal will have 80 lbs of water in it and a 100 gal will have 800 lbs. Which would have more pressure if it's corner is stressed?


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## zzyzx85 (Feb 13, 2008)

Okay, so from my understanding, as long as the edges are supported and the tank is sitting evenly on a surface, relatively flat, the tank is okay?

I also have a 55gal. The edges of the tank are sitting on closed cell foam strips (kind of like body board material), but using a level at the top and visually inspecting it, the tank is leaning a bit forward. If the water in front is even, the back is lower.


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## Harry Muscle (Mar 13, 2007)

Thanks for everyone's comments. There seems to be some conflicting ideas (ie: fix it vs. I left it and have no problems) on unlevel tanks, so I got thinking about the actual physics involved.

So I was wondering if there are any physics buffs out there that might help me figure something out ... does an unlevel tank (that is perfectly supported from below) actually encounter any extra stresses than a level tank. I know it's generally assumed that a tank that is not level has a greater chance of cracking, but is that really the case. It's obvious that a tank that's not supported well from below has a greater chance of cracking since the weight is not being distributed properly and that put's pressure points on the glass and/or seals. However, what if the tank is supported perfectly (ie: the surface it sits on is perfectly flat), but it's slightly unlevel. Does that in reality place any extra pressure on it? If it does, how much? Physics should be able to answer this for us. 

I'm good with math and was good with physics years ago in school, but the problem I'm having is trying to figure out exactly what the logic is behind an "unlevel tank is more likely to crack". The best logic that I can come up with is that since the tank is unlevel that means that the glass panes are not vertical, so instead of just holding water in the tank (pressure along the x and y axis), there will also be a certain amount of water sitting on top of the glass (on the side of the tank that is lower) (pressure along the z axis). You might have to draw a picture to follow the previous explanation. But the amount of water is very small, for example, if a 4 foot tank (48" x 12" x 24" for example) is 1/4" unlevel from left to right, the glass panes on the sides will be off from vertical by about 1/8". That means that that there will be about 18 cubic inches of water resting on the glass pane. That's 0.65 pounds of weight. I highly doubt that 0.65 pounds of water is able to increase the risk of a tank failing, or can it?

The 18 square inches of extra water adds 0.65 pounds of weight or pressure in the z direction. However, in the x direction, that same piece of glass (12" by 24" side) is already experiencing 114.37 pounds of pressure. So it's obvious that a slight unlevelness of the tank adds only a very small amount of pressure to one side. About 0.56%.

So far, what I'm seeing is that if the stand that the tank is on has any chance of warping due to being shimmed it might actually be better to leave a tank unlevel instead of risking an non flat surface developing for the tank to sit on. However, I am looking for more feedback and comments from others if possible.

So if anyone has any better ideas of why an unlevel tank is at a greater risk of failure let us know ... or maybe that's just a myth. 

Thanks,
Harry


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