Tank Bracing - Lighting Question

[tikireefer]

I am working on setting up a used 135 Gallon Tank. 72"X18"X24"
I believe that this is an old Oceanic Tank.

It has a large glass brace in the center of the tank with a thin plastic strip going down the center of the brace.

1st Question:

I was planning on running 3 250W metal halides on this tank as it is 6 feet long.
Will this glass brace be a problem for me? I am concerned that the heat from the bulb will melt the small thin plastic strip that runs down the center of the glass brace.

The glass brace is 1/4" thick glass and is not very clear. Will this prevent the light from penetrating enough to give me problems growing SPS?

2nd Question:

Do you think that I can remove the thin plastic strip on the glass brace so that I don't have to worry about it melting? Does this strip serve an important function? The glass brace is one solid piece of glass. I am not sure what this plastic strip does.

Thanks for any help or experience you can offer.

 

[ostrow]

I had an Oceanic before my fire. Hated the glass center. They said NOT to remove the plastic. I had a 5' tank with 250watt MH centered on the two openings. That glass and the plastic got hot, very, but in 5 years never melted or cracked.

I see no point in centering a light above the glass. Center themin the openings. Maybe use 2x400. Good reflectors will give you a spread that will light the whole tank.

The glass itself, with a good scraping (very, very hard to do) will get clear. You will need to scrape coralline off regularly, a major strike against Oceanic tanks.

 

[Timber77]

I have the same tank, had 4 400's over it for years never even thought about it melting. Leds seem to punch thru the glass a little brighter. now im running 5 ai sol's no issues at all with the brace.

 

[tikireefer]

Thanks for the tips guys. I am going to work on getting the glass on the middle brace cleaned up a little bit better. I have a canopy that will house the metal halides. I am worried that I might have some problems with heat, so I think that this will require some experimenting.

 

[tikireefer]

I have the same tank, had 4 400's over it for years never even thought about it melting. Leds seem to punch thru the glass a little brighter. now im running 5 ai sol's no issues at all with the brace.

Did you have a canopy with 4 400's? Did you have issues with the glass brace getting massively hot?

 

[fng_71]

another option might be to get the exact dimensions of the length and width and see if they match up with the perfecto 72x18 brace. you can order a new brace through a lfs i cracked the top brace on a perfecto 125 and ordered a new one. getting the old one off can be a pain but being an older tank the plastic is probably brittle and will come off easier. the perfecto brace has 2 center braces which would allow you to evenly space 3 mh without obstruction.

 

[Timber77]

yes same canopy...its stainless steel and 11 inches high by 18 inches wide by 7 feet long
had 2 fans one blowing in one blowing out. i had 5 4 inch holes drilled into the top to vent, Didnt need a heater lol
glass brace never got extremely hot, I had same thoughts on lighting and problems when I started setting it up, your welcome to come check it out anytime...Im in lemont.

in some ways the big center brace is good, makes a handy place to put things when working on the tank and the water drains back to the tank not on the floor. Also easy to put an object on the glass when introducing new coral as to not overpower it with light from day 1.

when i replace this tank will opt for one thats eurobraced, but I wouldnt let the brace stop you for a minute.

 

[tikireefer]

yes same canopy...its stainless steel and 11 inches high by 18 inches wide by 7 feet long
had 2 fans one blowing in one blowing out. i had 5 4 inch holes drilled into the top to vent, Didnt need a heater lol
glass brace never got extremely hot, I had same thoughts on lighting and problems when I started setting it up, your welcome to come check it out anytime...Im in lemont.

in some ways the big center brace is good, makes a handy place to put things when working on the tank and the water drains back to the tank not on the floor. Also easy to put an object on the glass when introducing new coral as to not overpower it with light from day 1.

when i replace this tank will opt for one thats eurobraced, but I wouldnt let the brace stop you for a minute.

I am guessing you ran a chiller?

 

[Timber77]

No chiller just fans and evaporation. I had big sump in basement on concrete floor so that helped keep water temp down.
3 250's your good on the sps lighting..get flow and the fun chemistry parts right