Jump to content

Shimming help


Recommended Posts

Filled up my new 180 and realized its a not 100% level after settling on the carpet. Left to right is off by about 1/8th of an inch and doesnt really bother me. But the back to front is off by about 1/4 inch. Anyways I am in the process of draining it down and leaving the sand plus enough water to cover it and use as a leveling reference. I have composite shims and a crowbar to try to give myself some space maybe to put the shims? But not really sure if I am going to need some type of floor jack or something or just need to get a bunch of people together to lift this thing again? I am able to slide the shims under the stand but ill need to double stack them across the front to make up for that 1/4 inch and have no idea the best way to go about this without lifting the tank off as well. Any advice is appreciated. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had a similar problem with a 90 well over 10 years ago. I used a plastic putty knife, Wonder Bar and a small square of plywood to lift the tank enough to place shims for leveling. Work the putty knife under the stand to protect the bottom edge of the stand. Lift it a little and work the WB under the stand and under a piece of reinforcing frame if there is any. Use the plywood square as a solid surface and lever the stand up enough to place your shim. If I recall correctly, I used free paint sticks that I got from HD as shim material. The tank stayed that way for 7 or 8 years.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I made it work those crowbars are incredible. I was careful not to destroy my stand lol. But was able to leave probably 20% of the water and the rock. I originally wanted to make it "better" but my ocd kicked in and now somehow its like perfect all around. But I have a feeling itll settle a little bit once its full but thats no where near as bad as it was. Now I am debating if I need to put more than like 8 spots across the front and start of the sides. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, smokythemattman@gmail.com said:

I made it work those crowbars are incredible. I was careful not to destroy my stand lol. But was able to leave probably 20% of the water and the rock. I originally wanted to make it "better" but my ocd kicked in and now somehow its like perfect all around. But I have a feeling itll settle a little bit once its full but thats no where near as bad as it was. Now I am debating if I need to put more than like 8 spots across the front and start of the sides. 

They are, aren't they? Simply designed, and you'll find a lot of use for them over many years.

 

I'm glad that you've got it leveled. You'll be surprised how stable it'll be and how fast it'll settle (nearly immediately). As I recall, I only shimmed where I needed it. I didn't put much effort into putting a lot of shims in at intermediate locations. If you've shimmed 8x across the front & sides, my guess is that you've got it covered well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...