Remove center brace?

[RobbAdams]

I have a 28 gallon bowfront,and would like to remove the black center brace.

There appears to be no tension on the brace, as is is quite flexible.

Most of the bracing appears to be accomplished by the solid one piece trim running around the top of the tank

Obvoiously this would void any warrenty on the tank, but I bought it used anyway!

any one think this is a bad idea? I want to pull it as it really is interfearing with my new halide setup!

If I DONT remove the brace, which type of reflector would BEST help with the shadow caused by the brace (It is currently a bell type pendant)

Robb

[Chin_Lee]

I have doubts because its a bowfront. if it was a regular flat glass panels, i would say yes. but considering the number of incidents of leaking bowfronts, removing the center brace may only contribute to and increase the possibility of a leak.


I have a 28 gallon bowfront,and would like to remove the black center brace.

There appears to be no tension on the brace, as is is quite flexible.

Most of the bracing appears to be accomplished by the solid one piece trim running around the top of the tank

Obvoiously this would void any warrenty on the tank, but I bought it used anyway!

any one think this is a bad idea? I want to pull it as it really is interfearing with my new halide setup!

If I DONT remove the brace, which type of reflector would BEST help with the shadow caused by the brace (It is currently a bell type pendant)

Robb

[muck]

I also would be leary of removing the brace for the exact same reason Chin stated.
I would instead go with 2 175W halides myself and the brace wouldn't be a factor.

[danny zubot]

I've never seen a 28 gallon bowfront with a center brace before. My first Salt tank was in fact one of them. Is it about the size of a 20 gallon only a bit taller and with a bowed front? If so you can remove the brace IMO. Those tanks aren't big enough to hold the amount of water needed seriously damage the seals with pressure.

Just my opinion.

[RobbAdams]

Danny,

It is indeed a 24" tank, with a curved front probably about 16-18" high.

just to be clear, the brace is designed to support the seams, not the glass?

What about cutting it out and then replacing with say a piece of plexie, or lexan?

And what about a reflector any suggestions for something locally? I treid quickgrow, but all they have is premade stuff for "questionable" agrcultual use:mrgreen:
I was looking for material I could cut and shape myself to fit in the canopy I am building.

[AndyL]

Depending on the thickness of glass, certain manufacturers tanks (including AGA) have changed over time. A tank that may not have had a center brace 5 years ago, might be 3/16" instead of the 1/4" it used to be. This is more common amongst the bowfronts as the manufacturers have now largely mastered the construction of them, where 5 years ago, bent glass was a relatively new thing.

If it was my tank, I'd get a piece of glass (1/4" 24x16 would be 20$ or less) then cut it to shape with a dremel, silicone it into place. The center brace would still be there - but at least it would be transparent.

For DIY canopy, flat white paint - yes mylar and some of the fancier materials could be better, but it's not significantly more reflective than good old tremclad flat white.

[danny zubot]

In the case of smaller tanks, the brace is there for the seams, not the glass. IE: When have you ever seem a 10 or 20 gallon tank bow.

I replaced the center brace in my 65 gallon with a 6 inch wide piece of half inch glass that bow valley cut for me for like 10 bucks. If you want to use plexi, double it up because you want it to be pretty thick so as to
have lots of surface area for the silicon to grab.

Also, Quick grow can make a custom reflector for you, but you will pay a bit more. Since you will be using real reflector material it will still beat any tin or reflective material you'll find at Rona etc. Well worth the extra bucks IMO.

[RobbAdams]

I was at Quickgrow South on Tuesday, and he said that their bending shop got "shut down" :rolleyes: the best thing I saw was a perpendicular shade for $50, that I should be able to make fit with some tin snips.:mrgreen:

I think if I remove the brace a pependicular type should work OK, just not sure what I will do for Actintic supplimentation?

Any thoughts on how far away a PC bulb should be from a 175 watt SE Bulb?

Has anyone ever gutted a coralife fixture and "retrofitted" it into a canopy?

[danny zubot]

Man, I had the same idea with my old coralife fixture before I dunked it. I was going to use the bulb clamps and remote wire the bulbs into the reflector. I think it should work if you mount them closer to the bottom ends of the hood. PC bulbs can handle a fair bit of heat IMO, but I would also get a small fan to blow into the fixture for heat dissapation. A fan would be a good idea either way.

[Johnny Reefer]

Hi there,

Back to the removal of the centre brace, if I may...
It was explained to me, once upon a time, by someone I consider to be an aquarium guru that what holds a tank together is the silicone used to glue the main panels together (assuming we're talking glass here). Silicone is essentially liquid glass, if you will. It is made from the same stuff that glass is. Silica, if I'm not mistaken. Hence, the ideal glue for glass. As for the black trim...that's all it is. Trim. For finishing. It doesn't actually play a role in supporting the integrity of the tank. If you have a tank that is big enough that it needs reinforcing then the manufacturer would glue a glass brace in with silicone so that it supports the main front and back panels. Any brace that is incorporated with the black plastic trim is likely just there to support a glass top. I suppose, too, it would provide a sense of security to the aquarist as well.
To make a long story short...I say cut it out and if you still have concerns go with AndyL's suggestion to DIY a glass piece glued in yourself with silicone. JMO and HTH.

Cheers,:smile:

[RobbAdams]

Any suggestions for cutting said trim without emptying the tank?

I have a pretty extensive collection of tools etc.

[AndyL]

Dremel with one of those fiberglass (made out of - not designed for) cutting wheels. You want to do your cutting with something that isn't as strong as glass (ie steel) so that worst case you'll scratch the glass rather than breaking it.

It will be siliconed down about every 4-5" and at each corner, just section and remove.

However I disagree with the comment about the plastic not really reinforcing the tank. I've personally seen the flex on glass when a plastic trim/ center brace is removed, they do provide a lot more support to the tank than we might like to believe.

[RobbAdams]

I was planning to leave the trim intact, and just cut out the brace.

[Chin_Lee]

Hi there,

Back to the removal of the centre brace, if I may...
It was explained to me, once upon a time, by someone I consider to be an aquarium guru that what holds a tank together is the silicone used to glue the main panels together (assuming we're talking glass here). Silicone is essentially liquid glass, if you will. It is made from the same stuff that glass is. Silica, if I'm not mistaken. Hence, the ideal glue for glass. As for the black trim...that's all it is. Trim. For finishing. It doesn't actually play a role in supporting the integrity of the tank. If you have a tank that is big enough that it needs reinforcing then the manufacturer would glue a glass brace in with silicone so that it supports the main front and back panels. Any brace that is incorporated with the black plastic trim is likely just there to support a glass top. I suppose, too, it would provide a sense of security to the aquarist as well.
To make a long story short...I say cut it out and if you still have concerns go with AndyL's suggestion to DIY a glass piece glued in yourself with silicone. JMO and HTH.

Cheers,:smile:

Sorry Mark but I tend to disagree. If the black plastic is used to cover the glass edges only, then i would agree its for asthetics value ONLY. If they put a center brace across, it would more likely have some structural intergrity purpose. Having said that, if the tank was a normal flat front tank, I would still feel comfortable removing the brace but if its a bow-front, I definitely would not.

I disagree with the asthetic purpose of the center brace because I don't believe that any tank manufacturing company would increase their cost of putting in a one piece plastic trim with a center brace without a legitimate reason other than for looks and/or for a support to put glass tops on. I believe Sea-star (or all-glass) tanks actually have a large 8-12" glass center brace on most of their mid-sized tanks. Putting and glueing this piece in is extra money and time which I don't believe they would do so unless it has a practical purpose for doing so.

In addition from my experience, I had a 33 g tank that was only 30" long that bowed approximately 1 inch (1/2 inch each side) in total when filled. It freaked me out for years and I eventually glued in a center brace to calm myself. I am self-confessing that I'm not a physics guru but I compare this with an elastic band being pulled apart into a rectangle - if all the edges were flat and straight, then all the pressure will be evenly distributed to all four joints. However pull one of the sides and you will feel increasing pressure on the two nearest joints and eventually either the joint or the elastic will break, in which case of a fish tank that is when a leak occurs. Considering an elastic band is much less flexible than glass, a leak will occur when the flex of the glass exceeds the binding strength of the silicone holding the joints together and since the crystal structure of glass is stronger than silicone binding is to glass, the silicone will probably give before the glass will break.

Now puting my 1" flex on a 33 gallon into perspective with Robb Adam's 28 gallon bowfront, i can't imagine the additional bowing effect the water will have on an already-bowed glass.
I believe its been discussed extensively on other boards and I don't believe anybody has come forward with a definite answer as to why there are more reports of leaking bow-fronts than rectangular tanks. But there is a general consensus (or belief or theory or whatever you want to call it) that additional bowing pressure on an already-bowed glass puts more pressure on the joints.
SOOOOO.. in other words, limiting the flex of the glass is a good thing and in removing the center brace may (and very likely will) only contribute to additional bowing of a bow-front tank.