Cali Kid Corals

Just found sand in the seal of my RSR250...

Though my tank is as big as the overflows in some of y'all's tanks, I've been lurking in this thread for a few days now.
One thing that crossed my mind is that most people level the tank right after it is filled, and that's it. With the sheer weight of the filled tank+sump+stand+equipment, the surface the system is on, settles over time. Not to mention any shims, if used, will deform from their original thicknesses with all the humidity and accidental spills/splashes.
I'm not sure if this is indeed the case, if it is, I believe tank levelling shouldn't be a one and done situation, but a part of the periodic maintenance.
 
thesassyindian said:
Though my tank is as big as the overflows in some of y'all's tanks, I've been lurking in this thread for a few days now.
One thing that crossed my mind is that most people level the tank right after it is filled, and that's it. With the sheer weight of the filled tank+sump+stand+equipment, the surface the system is on, settles over time. Not to mention any shims, if used, will deform from their original thicknesses with all the humidity and accidental spills/splashes.
I'm not sure if this is indeed the case, if it is, I believe tank levelling shouldn't be a one and done situation, but a part of the periodic maintenance.
Click to expand...
That’s a great point you brought up.
 
thesassyindian said:
Though my tank is as big as the overflows in some of y'all's tanks, I've been lurking in this thread for a few days now.
One thing that crossed my mind is that most people level the tank right after it is filled, and that's it. With the sheer weight of the filled tank+sump+stand+equipment, the surface the system is on, settles over time. Not to mention any shims, if used, will deform from their original thicknesses with all the humidity and accidental spills/splashes.
I'm not sure if this is indeed the case, if it is, I believe tank levelling shouldn't be a one and done situation, but a part of the periodic maintenance.
Click to expand...
I set up a RedSea tank this year.
Great point and a good reminder for all.
As soon as I read this I grabbed a level and make sure my tank is the same as when I leveled it in the beginning. It’s been set up for 5 months and is still sitting perfectly level.

Definitely something to think about every so often.
 
thesassyindian said:
What about the floor its on? And shims? And deformation of the compliant under-tank-padding?
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Oh yeah, I did pour a 2-3 foot cube of concrete under my tank before I put it there.
No shims, just a piece of quality plywood under the tank. The compliant material came bonded to the underside of the tank.

Structural engineering for the win!

Also for the record, I don't trust rimless with more than 30ish gallons. I have a euro brace on all my big tanks, because it makes my mechanical gut feel uneasy when I look at large rimless tanks.
 
H2OPlayar said:
No shims, just a piece of quality plywood under the tank. The compliant material came bonded to the underside of the tank.

Structural engineering for the win!
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Hmm interesting! I would've thought otherwise!
Does the plywood retain its original dimensions even if it gets wet/damp? No deformation whatsoever even after imbibition?
 
H2OPlayar said:
Which direction would it deform? Flat steel on the bottom and a thousand pounds of water and glass on the top.
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I was thinking - if there is an undetected bulkhead leak/accidental spill on one side of the glass, the plywood would deform on that end, tilting the tank.

Maybe this is what overthinking looks like :p
 
thesassyindian said:
I was thinking - if there is an undetected bulkhead leak/accidental spill on one side of the glass, the plywood would deform on that end, tilting the tank.

Maybe this is what overthinking looks like :p
Click to expand...
My 69g has a custom welded steel stand. When I put it together I picked up a sheet of 1" Marine grade plywood to go between the stand and neoprene pad under the tank. I sanded, trimmed it, painted it, then sprayed multiple coats of exterior grade Spar Urethane to seal it. Regular plywood glue dissolves with water contact but marine grade does not. So there are 3 layers of protection against water. If the plywood isn't adequately protected then yes it can swell or degrade to cause issues.
 
PeetaJai said:
@robert4025
Hey Robert can you please provide some insight on what is consider improper leveling? My way is when tank is full and I just place a leveler on all four side of the glass try to get as close to the center as possible. I love to learn the correct way to avoid seam failure. TIA
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I’ve been led to believe by people smarter than me that level isn’t as important as the base it’s on being flat. Not sure if that’s accurate or not
 
thesassyindian said:
Though my tank is as big as the overflows in some of y'all's tanks, I've been lurking in this thread for a few days now.
One thing that crossed my mind is that most people level the tank right after it is filled, and that's it. With the sheer weight of the filled tank+sump+stand+equipment, the surface the system is on, settles over time. Not to mention any shims, if used, will deform from their original thicknesses with all the humidity and accidental spills/splashes.
I'm not sure if this is indeed the case, if it is, I believe tank levelling shouldn't be a one and done situation, but a part of the periodic maintenance.
Click to expand...
That’s not how you level an aquarium. That’s a recipe for disaster.
 
Coral reefer said:
I’ve been led to believe by people smarter than me that level isn’t as important as the base it’s on being flat. Not sure if that’s accurate or not
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That’s not true.

Surface flatness is not the same as leveling. But, both are equally important.

I don’t have time to make lengthy post. But, in a nutshell, glass aquariums when properly leveled and supported, should have equal pressure on key contact points and should be able to handle slight deformity on those points. Secondary contact points are equally important when the primary points are shifted.

Pressure amplification from the deviation of the surface flatness will also be an issue if your stand is torqued or twisted. Very common problem with “IKEA” type stand such as Red Sea. More so with older/used stand.
 
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robert4025 said:
That’s not true.

Surface flatness is not the same as leveling. But, both are equally important.

I don’t have time to make lengthy post. But, in a nutshell, glass aquariums when properly leveled and supported, should have equal pressure on key contact points and should be able to handle slight deformity on those points. Secondary contact points are equally important when the primary points are shifted.

Pressure amplification from the deviation of the surface flatness will also be an issue if your stand is torqued or twisted. Very common problem with “IKEA” type stand such as Red Sea. More so with older/used stand.
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When you do have more time, and if you want to, I think all of us would appreciate learning more about the theory and practice of how you approach this. Pretty much all of us have to do this and few if any of us have your level of experience. I would suggest making a separate thread so it isn’t buried here. Make it as detailed as you want, we love to geek out on details. If you make it really detailed and intimidating, it might even drive more business to your install crew :)
 
CaseyP said:
Past engineer life Robert, is that you? :p I would've just said pressure points
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LOL…in my past life as one before I became a reef geek, I did a lot of work in helping to design leveling systems for super huge semiconductor equipment. These equipment would look for semiconductor defects in the sub nanometer range so the leveling system has to be extremely accurate and reliable. So yeah, I know a little bit in how to level a reef tank…LOL
 
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