The cross-brace is cracking!!

[jer77]

Why is my cross-brace for my 55 gallon cracking? I haven't noticed it until now and its in pretty bad shape. There is a crack going all the way through it in many spots. What can I do about this? It doesn't seem like its supporting anything anymore. Whats going to happen to my fish tank?? Here's a pic:

 

[jasonak]

Lame!
I had one do that now its going to be a sump for my 120 i used it for years with the brace being broken until i was told that it could potentially break so its been sitting dry since.One thing you can try,is to take a soldering iron and try and melt the plasitc back together,ive melted all kinds of broken plastic on various things with a soldering iron its pretty easy and usally works,some types of plastic just dont melt right but im sure the trim on tanks will.Also you should be able to buy a new trim for your tank from somwhere i would think.

 

[drummereef]

I would suspect if the center brace were to go it would seriously compromise the tank. I would get ready for an upgrade. Sucks for sure.

 

[jwd]

If its an AGA aquarium, u can order a new one...... I believe they run under $20.....

 

[jwd]

If its an AGA aquarium, u can order a new top rim w/ center brace...... I believe they run under $20..... I'm not sure tho.....

 

[jer77]

WOW... Like I have the extra money and time to upgrade now. What a bummer! I doubt its an AGA, I bought it at Petco years ago for $99 with the stand. Should have known... Well I do need to upgrade and was waiting for the right time. I wanted to start with nothing in the new tank, but I guess I'll have to transplant the 2 anemones, unless I put them into the 75 gallon I also have. I have 2 H. crispas, a clarkii clown, cardinalfish, and an anthias, along with a few, not many corals anymore. So it is possible. All I have in the 75 is a blue tang and a juvi emp angel which I was waiting to upgrade for anyways. And very little corals in the 75 too. All my corals are in my frag tank, mostly sps.

So I was thinking of getting at least a 180 gallon, I deserve it. What do ya'll think?

 

[r0bin]

Go for it!

 

[kevin2000]

Replacement of top bracing is no big deal ... chances are you can buy a replacement from the mfg .. if not its just a piece of glass or acrlyic that connects the front/back panels -- doesn't have to be fancy/complicated and is not that difficult to install.

 

[RickGemme]

Jer i had the same problem when setting up my tank, filled it about 2/3 of the way and heard a loud pop as the brace completely snapped...followed by several loud curses. Thankfully the front glass didnt break, but it did bow out almost a good inch which scared the crap out of me for the few days before i could fix it. Went to my lfs and had them order me a new top piece for the tank, it was litterly only like 10 dollars and now its brand new.... so that would be my suggestion

rick

 

[NeveSSL]

Yep... its no big deal to replace it. I think it can be a bit of a challenge, but you should be fine.

I saw a thread a while back that a guy used acrylic to fix it like Kevin mentioned.

I think the biggest thing the center brace does is help reduce bowing in the front and back. And, just about needless to say, you'll need to empty it before replacing it.

If you can't find the original, just contact glass cages. They may be able to sell you one as well. Also, I've heard that tanks from Pet Smart come with a lifetime warranty. That could be useful to look into.

Good luck!

Brandon

 

[wink1906]

Center brace is pretty essential to keep the tank from bowing/cracking.

Ever feel like there is too much info on this site? I swear less than 2 days ago I was reading about a member who was getting shadows from his center brace due to position of his lighting.

This member glued an acrylic sheet, maybe 1 1/2" wide x width of tank, using superglue glued it to the underside of the existing brace and waited for it to set. He then sliced through the center brace outside the area where it was glued leaving only clear acrylic as a new center brace - no more shadows.

Not sure what you could do to search for it but look around a bit, he had a few pics explaining exactly what to do.

Or you could just order a new top brace - from what I understand the AGA's arent attached real well, pop up a few bits of silicone, remove existing, add more slicone, BAM new tank