Center Brace Issue... Can I replace with Acrylic???

[Tswifty]

I recently purchased a used 120g (5') tank for dirt cheap. The tank was used for a snake, that died within two weeks of purchase. Needless to say it is in perfect condition.... well almost. There is a melt in the center brace plastic from a heat lamp (I will add a picture today after work). There is no crack or break in the brace, it is just melted a little.

Anyway, my point is, I thought I saw somewhere that people will sometimes replace their center braces with clear acrylic for additional support, and so no shadows are cast.

Is this true?

Can I add an acrylic brace underneath my current one to strenghten it?

If so, how would I attach it?


Thanks!

[wintercool97]

Tagging along. I just set up my 125, its full of salt water but now that the lights are on and I hate the shadow! I'm not sure if you could replace that brace when the tank is full, if not I will just live with it, but I would like to know just for knowing sake if that is replaceable. Also like you said adding a brace underneath it then maybe taking off the black.... Well I hope someone answers this .

[WaterKeeper]

I would add the brace. Often the center brace is to keep the long panes of glass from bowing and they bend over time if the brace is missing. Not all glass takes well to such bending.

[Rockhead21564]

if there is no center brace and it doesn't look like one was ever there, its a terrarium. It will slit due to the lack of support. Also, if you look, the corner pieces are not connected. The edge pieces are all individual, an aquarium has a single solid top and bottom. You can buy new plastic supports from glass cages or AGA. Don't leave it and no you can fix it with water in it. If top is seperate than bottom is also and it needs to be replaced also. About $15 per section - cheap.

[jeffhand]

I removed my brace and added acrilic because of shadow.Did have to remove half of the water.

[Tswifty]

Here's some pics of what I'm looking at. Sorry they are a little blurry. Took them during lunch break today.

Top View




Side View

[Tswifty]

Originally posted by jeffhand
I removed my brace and added acrilic because of shadow.Did have to remove half of the water.

What size tank did you do it on, and how did you replace it?

[sanababit]

just do it, replace it with clear acrylic, i did mine, heres a picture
very easy to do since theres no water in it, just cut pieces of acrylic to match width, make 2 or 3 holes on each side, get nylon bolts and screws and scew that sucker into placa and you are done, i did it with water still in my tank, as soon as i cut the center brace it scared the sshhhait out of me because i saw the thing bow a little, and it was half empty too.. good luck


sana

[wintercool97]

so maybe if you screwed the acrylic in place first the cut out the middle of the black that might work?

[Tswifty]

Originally posted by sanababit
just do it, replace it with clear acrylic, i did mine

Nice tank, and thanks for the information... I'm gonna try and do it this weekend if I can.

I'll post some pictures as I do it, if anyone cares to check up and see the process of how to do it.

Thanks for all the posts everyone!

[dadowd]

i have a 55 gal tank. how thick does the brace need to be? i hate the shadow, any advice helps.

[aquarius77]

Personally i would go with glass and silicone it into place.

[Tswifty]

My only concern with glass and silicone, would be strength of the support. Silicone has a good amount of elasticity to it, and would probably allow the tank to bow easier. I think I'm going to go with the nylon screw and bolts through acrylic. This way the divider will be anchored onto to outer support frame of the tank. I will probably look into some adhesive also to anchor the pieces of acrylic that touch the frame for additional support.

Thanks for the thought though. If you try it and have success let me know.

Best of luck!

Thanks again everyone for your pictures and posts.

[dadowd]

i have a 55 gal tank. how thick does the brace need to be? i hate the shadow, any advice helps.

[Tswifty]

I'm doing the replacement on my 120g tank, and am going to make it out of 1/4" acrylic, and probably a little wider than the original support for some added strength. If it works well with my 120g I also will be replacing the one on my 55 under the same sort of guidelines.

[sanababit]

good luck, dont forget to takle some water out, put a couple of vice tools to hold tank togheter, cut the brace, make holes on new brace and existing frame of aquarium, use nylon bolts, screw it in, put water back in and you are done

[Tswifty]

The nice thing about my 120g is... It's empty! So it should be a lot easier, not having to worry about the water.

Thanks everyone for the posts!

[Rockhead21564]

Man, this doesn't make sense too me. Why are you guys cutting these out? If you have a 5' or longer tank use two sets of lights over the openings. To intentionally weaken, and you are weakening your tank, is silly, no reckless, IMO. The nylon screws aren't going to give you the intergal strength a solid plastic piece does. The manuf. use the thinnest glass possible to make these tanks and use the tops and bottoms to make up the support. To take advice from soemone that has very little experience in the hobby as gospel, well I guess its your floor. Good luck.

P.S. sanabit is that a flower pot in the lower right?

[Tswifty]

I'm not removing my brace for asthetics. I am trying to reinforce the melt in the center brace (see pics above). How do you figure that a wider thicker piece of acrylic bolted through the front and back brace will be any weaker? It will serve the same exact purpose, and in my opinion work just as well if not better. It has been my understanding that the main goal of the center brace is not to hold all the force of the water, but to offload some of the stress from the outer supports and keep the front and back wall in tension (like a vice grip) to minimize bowing. I would imagine there is considerably less force on the top center brace, than the outer frame (similiar to a load bearing wall).

And no one's revising the bible here, just some friendly suggestions of what other people have heard/done in this situation before.

Hey if all else fails, I'll invest in a good shop vac!

[Rockhead21564]

When you drill holes in the exsisting plastic you'll weaken it. The center brace will also have movement that it didn't have prior. Yes the top and bottom bracket do hold the glass tightly together, but they also provide more, crucial, support for the center. I'm thinking that your 5' tank has 1/2" or 3/8" glass, it would show only a slight bow, hardly noticeable at first, then pull ta seam out. I see it 2 or 3 times a year. If I were repairing your tank, I'd leave the center brace attached and add the acrylic all the way around the top and use acrylic cement to attach it. I wouldn't do this for looks, only as a needed repair. Even then, for 15-20 bucks I'd do it right and safe. I was also not attacking everyone, only looking at the comments and the exp. attached to some of them. Not overly secure in some of them,lol. But good luck whatever you do