1/4" brace. Necessary?

[handbanana]

For some reason the previous owner cut the plastic brace off of the 60 gallon taank before i bought it. Now Just got my glass brace cut and they cut it the wrong size. about half an inch too long.
Is this brace really necessary? Im ready to get my tank started.

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by Handbanana
http:///forum/post/3192073
For some reason the previous owner cut the plastic brace off of the 60 gallon taank before i bought it. Now Just got my glass brace cut and they cut it the wrong size. about half an inch too long.
Is this brace really necessary? Im ready to get my tank started.

YES. Do not use this tank if the brace is removed. It is a support brace and necessary to prevent bowing and protecting the tank from bursting under pressure when filled..

 

[handbanana]

Darn..Ill try to sand down the glass somehow.Thanks for such a quick response. do you think it would be better to Attach the glass to the inside rim of the tank molding (the black plastic on top of the tank, dont know what its called) or the glass itself?
My rock wall comes to the top of my tank so i would have to trim it down in the space where the glass piece would be. Unless I epoxyed it to the black plastic. Im not sure about attaching it here. Not sure how to sand it either

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by Handbanana
http:///forum/post/3192286
Darn..Ill try to sand down the glass somehow.Thanks for such a quick response. do you think it would be better to Attach the glass to the inside rim of the tank molding (the black plastic on top of the tank, dont know what its called) or the glass itself?
My rock wall comes to the top of my tank so i would have to trim it down in the space where the glass piece would be. Unless I epoxyed it to the black plastic. Im not sure about attaching it here. Not sure how to sand it either

If possible attach it to the original rim, trying to get the same strength for support and in the same place. Keep a close eye on it. If it starts to pull away...time for quick action.
Personally, I wouldn’t trust it. The cheap could turn out expensive. That's just me.
It can be re-done. It is allot of scraping to get old glue off, but you can order another rim with the support. You might save yourself allot of grief and just spend a $150.00 on a new tank.

 

[scsinet]

Just buy a glass cutter and cut it down. They are less than $5 at hardware or home improvement stores.

 

[spanko]

Or take it back to the glass shop and have them cut it if you are a little anxious about doing it yourself.

 

[handbanana]

Would a glass cutter work on 1/4 inch glass? i just need to trim about an 8th of an inch. Not sure I can buy another tank. I already glued my rock wall in place and i dont want to loos it.

 

[scsinet]

1/8th of an inch might be difficult to trim with a glass cutter. I was under the impression that it was more like 1/2". Usually with thin pieces, you'll score a line, then use the little "notches" on the cutter to grab the strip and break it off. I'm not sure 1/8" is enough to grab with the cutter and cause a clean break.
Of course the other alternative is to just get a new piece of glass cut.
If the tank is full, make sure you measure what length you need with the tank empty. If you measure when it's full, the tank is already bowing, so if you measure and install a brace in that way, when you empty the tank it'll cause compression pressure on the brace and possibly hurt the tank even more.

 

[handbanana]

Thanks you SCSINET! I had always wondered the correct way to use a glass cutter. IS the 1/4 inch glass too thick to be cut in this meathod? The glass cutting store even had to outsource for anything a 1/4 inch or over, which I thought was kinda strange.

 

[scsinet]

Hmmm I'm not sure. I'd say "no problem" except there must be some reason why the glass company outsourced it...
the glass isn't tempered is it? If you didn't ask for tempering then there is almost no way it is because it has to be run through an oven after cutting if so, and no company will do that without special request (and charging extra).
Honestly I'd just look at the documentation that comes with the cutter. It'll say what it's recommended for.

 

[handbanana]

Im not sure why they outsource it since they do inch thick bullet proof in house. No idea.
The glass inst temperd, didnt see the point. Ill just get a glass cutter or some belts for my sander. ( the company i got the glass from said i could just sand it down with "anything" (their words).
Its really frustrating how many people have told me to toss the tank and just buy a new one. That its not safe without this brace or with it installed by me.(thanks). since it took me a month and around a hundred bucks to make my rock wall im not just going to toss it and start over. Also the wall is a creation by myself and a good friend who moved away who never got to see it compleated. Im sure he would eventually like to see how it turned out. anyway Thank you for your help Everybody who read and added something. Hopefull ill get my tank going sometime in the next year

 

[handbanana]

Well heres my brace. held untill the water was about an inch from the top. then to my Horror I watched as it spread about a quarter of an inch from the rim of the tank.

 

[bmkj02]

On my 55g freshwater tank I got a 1/4" acrylic strip and used Weld-on and attached it. Never had a problem. Acrylic and plastic is easier to bond using Weld-on. Attaching a glass piece to plastis using silicone is not going to hold very well being that you are attaching glass to plastic and its under pressure. Glass to glass yes or plastic/acrylic to plastic/acrylic yes.

 

[scsinet]

Originally Posted by bmkj02
http:///forum/post/3202912
On my 55g freshwater tank I got a 1/4" acrylic strip and used Weld-on and attached it. Never had a problem. Acrylic and plastic is easier to bond using Weld-on. Attaching a glass piece to plastis using silicone is not going to hold very well being that you are attaching glass to plastic and its under pressure. Glass to glass yes or plastic/acrylic to plastic/acrylic yes.
Exactly. The silicon you've used to bond the glass to the plastic frame will have no strength.
IMO, your options are going to be to junk that brace and make a new one out of acrylic, using a plastic adhesive. I'm not sure weldon is the best choice here because weldon works best when bonding two identical materials. I'd use a glue that is rated for plastics.
Alternatively, you could try to mount the brace on the underside of that frame where you can use silicon to bond to the glass of the tank. That *may* work.
You could also order a whole new plastic trim from the tank's manufacturer.
Do you have a table saw at your disposal?

 

[handbanana]

sorry about the lack of info. thats actully a piece of 1/4 inch thick Lexon. It was the only piece like it at HD and I liked the thickness. Not so much the price...
No table saw sadly. have a Jigsaw witch I was always trying to cut my PVC( useally unsuccussfully) untill I got pipe cutters...
Anyway Im going to go to the Depot and get some sort of two part plasticweld and never have to worry about it again. Getting tired of draining my tank

BTW any idea if my lights will make the Lex brittle or hazy? I have 250 W MH. I installed my fans so heat shouldnt be too much of a problem.

 

[scsinet]

As long as the lights are not shining directly on the acrylic, it'll probably be okay.

 

[handbanana]

Well Im over it. The Loctite faild. it was 7 min epoxy. so Im just going to get another tank since this one is useless. So Ill be down for a while. Gotta order the glass hole cutters and make a new rock wall.

 

[king_neptune]

Why not use Acryilic?

this has been holding for over 4 months, and was less than $30 in acrylic/glue.
Bonded it right to the frame, and havent had a problem since.
You don't have to fold it over like I did, I just wanted the added strength, and didn't mind the ugly looks, since its not living room show quality anyways.

 

[handbanana]

Wow, how did you get the plexi to bend? Not the prettyest but a canopy wouldfix that

I glued as well as put small machine screws into the rim or the tank, when I woke up this morning the plastic rim had brokin off. So.... Im thinking about turning it into a turtle tank. Half full of water with land.

dont know what else to do with it

 

[bmkj02]

King looks like he put a torch on it to bend it

. You can use a heat gun to make the bend over it and then use some Weld On to glue it to the plastic trim. Weld On works pretty good and joining plastic and acrylic. Have someone heat it while you press slightly till you get the bend you want. Dont go to quick or you will crack the acrylic. If you make a canopy then you can cover the bends. I didnt do the bend cause it was only a 55g. I put the strip across evenly and glued it to the trim piece. King had to bend his cause I think his is a 125 or bigger.