broken bowfront brace.

[stonyreef]

the frame on my 80 gallon bowfront is cracked at the front of the middle brace... its about a 5 inch crack that is probably half a centimeter wide. will the tank bow out and break if this is not fixed a.s.a.p ? what are my options here?

 

[ricksconnected]

two part epoxy or a plastic welder is needed to repair this. IMHO of course.

 

[grouper therapy]

pics ?

 

[skriz]

If the brace is comprimised, then you can expect trouble from the tank. The brace was put there for a reason; fix it asap.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

Skriz;390746 wrote: If the brace is comprimised, then you can expect trouble from the tank. The brace was put there for a reason; fix it asap.

agreed. Especially on a bowfront. ASAP.

 

[jennm]

What brand of tank? Bows are usually 72 or 90g (other sizes too, but no 80 that I know of).

If it's an All-Glass, the part for a 72 is 91038 (72BF Frame). My distributor does not currently have it in stock.

And yes - fix ASAP with a bowfront...

Jenn

 

[oldschool52]

You can epoxy a piece of acrylic over or under existing cracked brace. Cut a piece to fit as much of the original brace as possible. Use a good 2 part epoxy and clamp the new piece to the old one and let it dry per epoxy instructions before removing clamps. he longer you leave it NOT repaired the wider your crack will get putting stress on the seams of your glass. Once repaired, since the crack is that small, you shouldn't have any trouble. You can get epoxy (2 part clear) at Lowes, Home Dept, Ace Hardware and even WalMart (if you must). Those that have a longer setting time usually offer you more tensile strength.

 

[grouper therapy]

oldschool52;390776 wrote: You can epoxy a piece of acrylic over or under existing cracked brace. Cut a piece to fit as much of the original brace as possible. Use a good 2 part epoxy and clamp the new piece to the old one and let it dry per epoxy instructions before removing clamps. he longer you leave it NOT repaired the wider your crack will get putting stress on the seams of your glass. Once repaired, since the crack is that small, you shouldn't have any trouble. You can get epoxy (2 part clear) at Lowes, Home Dept, Ace Hardware and even WalMart (if you must). Those that have a longer setting time usually offer you more tensile strength.

+1 good solution

 

[ricksconnected]

oldschool52;390776 wrote: Those that have a longer setting time usually offer you more tensile strength.

amen my friend. this is where a lot of people with projects fail.
the patients to allow for setting time.

 

[rockdog]

I would suggest replacing. I replaced the the frame on my 55 and it is easy... cut off the old and silicone on the new.

Jason

 

[strangepod]

You can also bend a piece of stainless about one inch wide and a couple of inches longer than were your brace is at, bend the ends so it fits over the old brace to the end of the tank (front to back) and you will never have to worry about that again.