Removing top center brace
- Thread starter chull13
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i would leave it alone its there for a reason
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What about replacing it with a clear acrylic support?
I've done it to my tank. Measure the thickness of your glass, if its an older tank with thicker glass, you may be able to do it Check sites like glassgages.com to see how thick their tanks are that are made without a center brace, see if you are anywhere close. I replaced the center brace in my tank with two thick glass strips. I siliconed the glass to the plastic rim after sanding and cleaning the plastic to get a good seal. That was back in September, maybe august. Theres a thread in the DIY forum detailing it I believe. Only go with glass braces, not acrylic.
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About 7 years ago I broke the center brace on a 55 while cleaning it out in the yard. I threw the tank away. It's a really risky move removing something structural like a centerbrace. Is the lack of the brace worth the damage a breaking tank can cause?
Danny brings up a valid point. For the first week that I pulled in the driveway, I wondered if I'd made a huge mistake and would water meet me at the door because of my bright idea to mod my tank. I gave it a lot of (drunken) forethought, and then 10 minutes later, rotozipped the brace out. It could have easily ruined my tank and house. But do remember, it didn't.
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Removing a plastic center brace on a 65 AGA. I have done some reading and it is possible to remove it safely by cutting the brace and using a acrylic piece and nylon screws to rebrace the center. There are many threads on different sites doing this with tanks form 36 bows to 90 gals. It can be done safely and easily.
The tank is like Mark just said a 65 AGA. I was planning on running a 250 watt MH retro in the center of the hood but because of the black brace I am now looking at running 2 175 watts retros on each side. I prefer the 250 option. That is why I am wondering if I can remove it.
Definately DON'T use acrylic. The MH light would cause it to blister over time. Re-brace it with glass of about the same thickness as the tank's glass. I used the old glass top off my 30gallon. I used a rotozip to cut it, which created a lot of smoke and sparks, but I'd had a sixpack, and the smoke and smell cleared out pretty quickly,.......... I think.
I attached the glass braces to the plastic rim and its been holding for 3 or 4 months now with no detectible bowing at all. that flimsey plastic brace serves less purpose than one would think, I was surprised out how easily it broke.
