Removing a center brace
- Thread starter Bratyboy2
- Start date
Yup. That breeder is made heavier.
I have a bow front and I looked in to this as a solution when switching to LEDs. No one recommended it, the best I found was people have done it and they haven't had problems. The best solution I found was taking most if not all the water out of the tank and cutting out the brace. Then you replace it with a piece of clear acrylic. This way you get light penetration and don't lose the support. Personally I just bought another AI Vega and put one on each half. 2 AI Vegas is a bit over kill for a 36g bow front but its working for me lol.
You've been lucky...so far. I've seen plenty of people do this, or have the brace crack and they've watched the tank bow out enough to be scary. BTW, are you going to clean up things and reimburse the OP if he follows your advice and his tank later lets go as a result?
I didn't actually do this which I stated in my last sentence. I also said I didn't find anyone that recommended it. However the people who have done it removed the brace and put in a piece of clear acrylic and haven't had any problems.
Now I understand they may not have problems YET and it may be just a matter of time before their acrylic brace cracks. I in no way intended to give bad advice, and I didn't go as far as recommending he do it. I was just simply passing the information along.
So I will end with this; When making modifications to the tanks support structure you are compromising the integrity of the tank.
Now I understand they may not have problems YET and it may be just a matter of time before their acrylic brace cracks. I in no way intended to give bad advice, and I didn't go as far as recommending he do it. I was just simply passing the information along.
So I will end with this; When making modifications to the tanks support structure you are compromising the integrity of the tank.
Silly clownfish
New member
I would think that replacing with clear acrylic would be fine if the structural member was in compression, but in the case of a tank support, it is in tension. So your new support is only as strong as the adhesive you used to install your new support. It might not give you a problem, just pointing it out. Its been over 20 years since my last structural engineering class.
I've wondered why the aquarium manufacturers don't make the support (and entire rim if that's what it takes) out of clear acrylic?
I have a 30g tall (36" long) aquarium that has been in continual use for 15 years. It does not have a center brace. The front glass is ever so slightly bowed. If I hold a metal straightedge against it I can see the bend. Hence "needing" to upgrade to a 75g
I've wondered why the aquarium manufacturers don't make the support (and entire rim if that's what it takes) out of clear acrylic?
I have a 30g tall (36" long) aquarium that has been in continual use for 15 years. It does not have a center brace. The front glass is ever so slightly bowed. If I hold a metal straightedge against it I can see the bend. Hence "needing" to upgrade to a 75g
dkeller_nc
New member
I've wondered why the aquarium manufacturers don't make the support (and entire rim if that's what it takes) out of clear acrylic?
I have a 30g tall (36" long) aquarium that has been in continual use for 15 years. It does not have a center brace. The front glass is ever so slightly bowed. If I hold a metal straightedge against it I can see the bend. Hence "needing" to upgrade to a 75g
At least one manufacturer offers clear plastic rims/braces as an extra-cost option to the normal black, though I can't remember the firm at the moment.
It is certainly possible to make large tanks without center braces. In fact, I don't remember seeing many tanks if any in the late 80's and early 90's with center braces.
What appears to have changed is design philosophy - it's cheaper to make a tank with thinner glass and center braces vs. thicker glass and no braces. But it's not entirely a "make it cheaper" thing - thinner glass translates to more transparency and lighter weight.
It may also be that manufacturers have changed their standard safety factors over the years to make tanks more robust, particularly when placed on knock-down stands that are inherently less stiff. Another factor may be the advent of extremely strong propeller pumps/wavemakers. These devices put tremendous stress on glass tank walls, so it may have been necessary to brace tanks more conservatively to prevent seam failures.
