Shimming aquarium

So i had my 80 gallon tank setup and it developed a crack overnight. it just started leaking the next morning only about an inch of water was gone.

i'm not sure if the crack was caused by rock on the glass or the stand not being leveled? i got egg-crate for the inside and i bought a piece of thick vinyl (3mm) for the outside. It's the stuff used on floors for the faux wood finish.

Would this be sufficient?
What about a piece of carpet under the vinyl?

 

Sorry to hear about your misfortune.

While vinyl would stop the leaking for a short period of time, the pressure from the water in the tank will cause the crack to get larger. This will then turn in to an explosion of glass and water out of the tank. Empty the tank and either remove the panel of glass and put new panel in or purchase a new tank.

 

sorry, forgot to mention i already had the tank repaired. The vinyl is for preventing any pressure points. so to prevent the glass from cracking again.

the stand looks perfectly level actually and when the tank was filled there was no noticeable slant at all. This is just a preventative measure as i'm not really sure what caused the crack.

i really don't want a repeat of this incident.

 

I have seen vinyl keep the back of a 20 gallon tank that had a crack form the top left corner to the lower corner from leaking.

 

Weird stuff can happen from time to time.


As long as the stand is level, you should not have any more issues once you replace/ fix the tank.

If you have to level a tank, the only way you should do it is by leveling the stand.

 

So how level does it have to be. My 90 is only say 2 years old. I set it up to be sure it was not on the carpet tack strip...but my tank is not level and leans TOWARDS the wall. It is in the lower level so it is on concrete.

Anyway.... using a level... the bubble is touching the line. It is noticable to my eye. I figured no big deal.... but many people say it is...

So.... is this something I need to keep an eye on....or do I need to break down my tank this week and level it

 

When the tank leans it would cause increased stress on some of the sides and seams. every material, joint etc can tolerate different levels of stress. i can't say whether your tank is within the acceptable limit or not, but maybe it's ok since it's been up for 2 years. i'm not sure though maybe someone with experience with this could help.

 

Here it is. I set the tank up last Oct. Don't know if it was level the year before.

 

Personally, I would leave it alone. It is not that far out of level. Since it was set up for more than a year without a problem I think you'll be fine. The OP's tank may have had a defect. I think you risk doing more harm by breaking it down and leveling it. Just my $.02.