Two Questions?

[beapeams]

I have a glass tank 120 gallons 5ft long 2feet deep. It has a plastic brace where the glass covers sit. Is there any issues with removing or cutting that down, one of my Metal Halides is being blocked by the brace. Also, I have a 3 x 250 + 2 x 150 MH fixture, and it is positioned 9 inches above the tank, should they be higher or lower.

Thx

 

[capncapo]

My first answer is to always leave it the way that the manufacturer made it. That being said, I have seen some that have been narrowed down a bit and they worked just fine. I would be a bit leery about removing it all together.

There is no hard and fast rule about how high your lights should be from the water. Feel free to experiment with the height of your lights. Placing them too close to the water could result in needing a chiller though.

 

[Mr.Firemouth]

The 5' 120g are nice and from AGA. If you modify the brace the tank warranty is gone. The purpose of the brace is to stop the upper part of the center glass front/back from bowing under pressure and cracking/shattering. I have broken tanks from draining/filling water too fast. I would not remove the brace for safety reasons. Many people do though and it works out.

Is your lamp 48" or 60". If it is 48" you can move it off center. If it is 60" you may want to switch fixtures and go with pendants.
Just some suggestions.
Rich

 

[earlnewt]

Hi, I am not into halides, VHO's for me, so I can't help you their. But, I would not remove the brace. If the tank is still under warranty it wll be voided if it is removed. Also, that brace helps keep the glass from bowing out. I took the brace out from my 37 gallon seahorse tank and once the final cut was made the stress was so great that the middle is now 1/4" bigger. Thats just a 37g tank. It shows no sign of glass bow, but the tank is not 125g either. 125g of water is a lot of pressure. It's better to be safe than be wondering if something will go wrong. Once it's gone, it's gone.

 

[latazyo]

1. the tank warranty is void anyways if you dont have it on the manufacturer's brand of stand...so if you have a DIY stand, your warranty is not good anyways

2. are your lights in a canopy or suspended from the ceiling...if theyre in a canopy, the canopy may act as good enough support against bowing

 

[beapeams]

No Canopy it is extended from the ceiling, and it is built in the wall so no Manufacturer's stand. I thought that maybe there was a way to ad two pieces of acrylic on each side of the brace to provide the support and then remove the brace. That way I would not loose stability. I just noticed that there is a good shadow in the center of the tank when the 150's are not on. I was thinking about having periods when the 150's would not be on to help keep heat in check in the room, I already have a chiller so heat in the tank is not a major issue.

 

[latazyo]

if you were only having the 150s off for a small amount of time, is the shadow that big of a concern?

 

[Mr.Firemouth]

If you add 2 support braces that are epoxyed in with 5,000+lbs tensile strength and then remove the brace you will be fine. That will be ok. I have done this in the past with 300g bracing so that I could have larger spacing in the center to add a special decoration for a guy. Worked like a charm.

 

[beapeams]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8925293#post8925293 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by latazyo
if you were only having the 150s off for a small amount of time, is the shadow that big of a concern?

The shadow is very noticable with them off. I am more worried about my SPS in that area than about the look. I have the timer set so that all 5 lights are on we are home during the daylight cycle, so the look is not that big of a deal.

 

[beapeams]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8925522#post8925522 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mr.Firemouth
If you add 2 support braces that are epoxyed in with 5,000+lbs tensile strength and then remove the brace you will be fine. That will be ok. I have done this in the past with 300g bracing so that I could have larger spacing in the center to add a special decoration for a guy. Worked like a charm.

Can you PM me more info on the process. Thanks