Fish tank in unfinished bassment

[matttimms49]

Hey guys me again, looking for some more advice.

I'm hoping to set up a tank in my basement but it is unfinished and I'm wondering if there is/will be any problems with having it down there. It gets a bit cold in winter but our through air system is down there so it generally keeps it pretty warm. I have had my bass guitar down there over winter and there haven't been any problems with the wood warping or anything.

The main problem I can see is that the floor isn't perfectly level. Is there a way to cheat the area that the tank would be set up on?

I was thinking of using a skid and some spare wood to make the floor level for the area the tank will be on. Obviously I would make sure its super stable before putting anything on it.

Again any advice is welcome

[lucius]

Is the floor wavy?  My basement is slightly higher towards the walls so I had to place my fish tanks about a foot away from the wall.  I used shims to level it out.

[Mike L]

 As mentioned us shims to get your level. HD sells composite shims that are impervious to water.
I have 4 tanks in my basement and that's all I did. Been up for years.

[matttimms49]

Ah OK, that is a good idea. Shims are relatively cheap right??

[lucius]

Not sure about the composite ones but the cedar ones come in a 48 pack and are quite cheap.

[CC-Slider]

At Rona as low as 4.99

https://www.rona.ca/en/shingles---16-in-cedar-shim-shingles

[sippingtowel]

let's say hypothetically we had an earthquake, wouldn't this become a big problem if somehow the shims become unstable/wiggle with all that weight pressing down on it. We did have a decent size earthquake a few years ago.

[Vandruis]

If we have an earthquake that can cause shims to come loose or unstable with 500+ lbs of water and rocks holding it down, then you've probably got worse problems to deal with then "Are my shims good?"

[lucius]

With the cedar shims, the weight will sink into them slightly and there is no wiggle especially if you use a mallet to hammer them in.

[matttimms49]

OK great.. Thanks for the advice everyone. I think I already have some shims so I'm good to go on that. Now just to get a tank!

Thanks Ovas

[Kalinkacat]

You can get Earthquake insurance...seriously, I have it.  So if my tanks get damaged because of an Earthquake, I am covered.