65g Center Brace Replacement

[jeff_mcphail]

So I set up a standard 65g a few months back for a good friend and now fellow reefer as well. Well as most of us know a standard 65g has an ugly black center brace in the center of the tank. This brace in conjunction with a single 250w metal halide light over the center of the tank just happens to cast the worst looking shadow I have ever seen in a reef tank. Until today that is....


The Setup

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The Shadow

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Objective #1
Pray for no disaster as this tank resides on the top floor of an apartment building.:whistling:

Objective #2
Go to home depot to pick up 3mm aluminum rivets, small aluminum washers, and rent two new 12-24" Irwin bar clamps. note: do not remove any decorative packaging as you will need it to return the rental.

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Objective #3
Very carefully position the bar clamps and lightly squeeze the trigger until you see the center brace bend slightly. This assures that the brace is no longer supporting the glass and the clamps are.

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Objective #4
Cut and remove the center brace leaving about one inch on each side for something to mount the "new and improved" transparent acrylic center brace.

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Objective #5
Trim pre-cut 17.5" x 3.5" to fit snug without bowing up or down and install by drilling four holes and installing four 3mm aluminum pop rivets with small aluminum backing washers. The washers prevent the rivet from cracking the acrylic.

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Remove clamps and we're done!

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No more ugly shadow casting down the center of the tank :yay:.

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I would like to thank home depot for having a great return... I mean rental policy and of course Eric H. for letting me experiment on his tank. you owe me a beer :cheers:

 

[steve]

Nice Jeff, if I ever need something like that, I'll let you know.

 

[enderg60]

Almost got it right. Drill out the rivets and get nylon nuts and bolts. The Al will corrode.

 

[jeff_mcphail]

It really depends on the alloy and if it is submerged. IMO as long as the rivets are out of the water they will hold up just fine. My orbit fixture is aluminum as well and shows no sign of corrosion.

 

[enderg60]

Jeff.mcphail;200186 wrote: It really depends on the alloy and if it is submerged. IMO as long as the rivets are out of the water they will hold up just fine. My orbit fixture is aluminum as well and shows no sign of corrosion.

True, I would at least cover the rivets in silicon though...

 

[ckwatson]

If you have a tank with no water in it can you do this then fill it, or does it have to have water in it for some reason?

 

[lorenk]

Nice job Jeff!

Maybe I'll do that on the 33g long I just got from you.

 

[jeff_mcphail]

Thanks Loren.

The only reason I did this with the tank full is because Eric and myself were both too lazy to break it down. It would have been a lot easier if the tank was empty.

 

[ckwatson]

If you dont have water in it do you still need to use the clamps or can you just cut out the old brace and put in the new one?

 

[jeep9783]

Really nice where did you get the acrylic...I need to do this to my 75 rr and mine would be the same as yours .... i will be using t5s buy that black bar will still some par so i need to remove it

 

[jeff_mcphail]

I just used some scrap acrylic that I had in my garage.

The clamps are only necessary if the tank is full.

 

[jeep9783]

That was a standard 18 inch wide tank?