[tediumsdream]

Alright so my 150G is in my basement on thin carpet and it is slightly out of balance (the bubble on the level is just touching a line).

So I leveled it out with a few pieces of folded cardboard under the stand and it is now level and stays level when full.

Is this a safe way to level it out or will this be a problem?

I'm having visions of stress cracks in the stand where the pieces of cardboard are and I don't want to take any chances.

Thanks!

 

[iceblue]

Cardboard will compress over time. I would recommend replacing them with hardwood cut to the proper thickness and shaped to the size of your leg bottom.

Why would you worry about stressing the stand? They are designed to sit flat when level.

 

[tediumsdream]

Well the stand does not have legs it runs flush with the floor for the whole footprint.

Maybe a thin book or something?

That's actually my concern - that once you start shimming it the stand would have a higher pressure near the shim and would warp and/or crack over time.

Is this possible even with very minimal shimming?

 

[iceblue]

Can you post a pic of the stand? It's difficult to say what you can do without seeing what your dealing with.

 

[DemasoniLover]

Go to the hardware store and buy a package of shims... they're super easy to use and will last! They use them in house cunstruction... they'll hold up! :thumb:

 

[iceblue]

Wedge shims are fine for a lot of things in construction. Door jams, setting a window, etc.... In fact, when I do door jambs the wedges are placed from both sides of the jamb to make a flat, even surface or sometimes doubled up to one side to make up differences if the trimmer stud is twisted. When the jam is finally nailed off they are square to the door.

One thing I don't use wedges for is leveling cabinets. I have had to go back on jobs done by other people and re-level the base cabinets because the wieght of the countertop pinched the "wedge" and stressed the granite. Think about it. How much of that wedge is actually in contact with the project you are leveling? A very small amount at the leading edge of your cabinet. Once weight is applied it will crush either the cabinet or your wedge untill enough surface area is attained to support the wieght.

All to often the term "wedge" and "shim" are thought of as the same thing. A wedge is exactly what is infered. A thin angled piece of material that does have its uses. A shim is is a piece of material of a specific thickness throughout and is used to fully and properly support a project at its load bearing points.

Sorry for the rant but I had to add my two cents.

 

[DemasoniLover]

Wedge shims are fine for a lot of things in construction. Door jams, setting a window, etc.... In fact, when I do door jambs the wedges are placed from both sides of the jamb to make a flat, even surface or sometimes doubled up to one side to make up differences if the trimmer stud is twisted. When the jam is finally nailed off they are square to the door.

One thing I don't use wedges for is leveling cabinets. I have had to go back on jobs done by other people and re-level the base cabinets because the wieght of the countertop pinched the "wedge" and stressed the granite. Think about it. How much of that wedge is actually in contact with the project you are leveling? A very small amount at the leading edge of your cabinet. Once weight is applied it will crush either the cabinet or your wedge untill enough surface area is attained to support the wieght.

All to often the term "wedge" and "shim" are thought of as the same thing. A wedge is exactly what is infered. A thin angled piece of material that does have its uses. A shim is is a piece of material of a specific thickness throughout and is used to fully and properly support a project at its load bearing points.

Sorry for the rant but I had to add my two cents.

Sorry I should've specified more here... What I've don in the past is to put a full row of them as needed... not just one or two! that way you still make contact with the ground in all the same places! Thanks for catching that though! As for the weight of a 150 gallon tank, I could see where that could possibly compress the wood over time!