replacing center brace?

[Entropy]

Has anyone replaced their center brace with something smaller? I have a 150g and my center brace is 1/2 inch glass, which is ok, but it is about 16 inches wide which makes tank access pretty inconvient. My tank is in wall, so I can pretty much modify it anyway I want since the rim if the tank is hidden by the wall. I would like to get it down to somthing a couple of inches wide, but it can be as thick as needed. The tank is 60x24x24 and made of 1/2" glass, with a one piece rim on the top and bottom.

 

[bassnman11]

It seems like with 1/2 inch glass, you could make the brace much narrower. Probably the limiting factor is the strength of the bond of the brace. My 125 is made like yours but the brace is about a foot wide on a 72 inch tank. The funny thing is, I have a 50 gal with a 6 inch wide glass brace, but 2 others that only have the 1 inch brace that is part of the top frame.

 

[AggieBrandon]

you could use a thinner strip of 1/2" glass and just use more than 1...

 

[hahnmeister]

Or perhaps something other than glass...perhaps a stainless steel bar, Aluminum, or a composite material?

 

[Bug_Power]

I've used 1/2 Acrylic cut into a box shape with a hole in the center. Works well on my 180 and my friends 150. AND YES THESE ARE GLASS TANKS.

 

[AggieBrandon]

how did you attach the acrylic to the tank

 

[Bug_Power]

Aquarium Silicone. Glass has to be clean and dry just as the acrylic.