Broken Cross-Member

uberlink

uberlink

Active Member
I woke up this morning to find that the plastic cross-member in my 75 gallon tank had broken in the middle. The tank is otherwise fine (aside from a hair algae outbreak). No leaks, not bowing in the middle, etc. (It may help that it has an oak hood all the way around, which probably provides some structural support.)
Suggestions? Can this piece be replaced easily? how serious a problem is this?
Thanks,
Mark aka uberlink
 
rotarygeek

rotarygeek

Member
That could be a very bad thing. Use a straight edge and lay it on the front rim of the tank to see if its bowing any. If it is, you can either replace the tank, or build a bracket that will do they same job. Just like a peice of steel that hangs over the edge on the front and back in the middle and won't allow the tank to bow. Hope that makes sense.
 
uberlink

uberlink

Active Member
Makes sense. I found a piece of acrylic and cut it to two inches wide and 17 inches long. I attached that to the tank this afternoon, with a small bolt on either side dropping through the good part of the plastic. Seems to be working. No detectable bowing.
 
valgae

valgae

Member
is ur tank level? assuming that ur tank hasn't bowed any. drain as much water out of ur tank as u can. use a big rubbermaid tote or something. get a piece of acrylic from lowes or where ever. you can either cut or keep ur existing center brace. about 2" away from the glass on both sides you need to drill 2 holes, also in ur acrylic piece. put some silicon between the two pieces. use nylon s c r e w s & n uts to hold it all together. some pics for reference. mine was done on purpose. it is really important to make sure that ur tank is level. center braces don't just crack. there is some major stress somewhere.
 
mr_x

mr_x

Active Member
also, contact the manufacturer. they sell replacements, and they are fairly easy to swap out.
 
kube

kube

Member
On My 55 gallon tank that was used as a freshwater before has had the broken brace in the center for about 5 years now and no harm yet. 75 might put some more pressure on that mine don't have, but who knows just thought i would let you know my experience.
 
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