Broken support beam

[jmg416]

The support beam across the top of my 46 gallon bow front snapped tonight. I recall reading that even though it's a thin piece of plastic that they are important for supporting a tanks weight. Is this something I need to worry about? I'm mainly concerned as I am going away for a week tomorrow. ANy advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[bang guy]

I would immediately lower the water level in the tank. The brace can be fixed using plexiglass or by ordering a new support top.

 

[jmg416]

The tank needs to be topped off. So i'll just leave it for now. Or should I lower it significantly? More importantly, should I do anything drastic before I go away?

 

[acrylic51]

Originally Posted by Bang Guy
http:///forum/post/3298214
I would immediately lower the water level in the tank. The brace can be fixed using plexiglass or by ordering a new support top.
Agree

 

[flower]

My .02
Did you break the support brace by accident or did it snap on its own? If it snapped on its own then the tank is bowing out and that is what broke it...I would not trust that tank enough to leave it for a week. If I were home to keep an eye on it..MAYBE ..but certainly not to just leave and hope it holds.

 

[jmg416]

Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/3298273

My .02
Did you break the support brace by accident or did it snap on its own? If it snapped on its own then the tank is bowing out and that is what broke it...I would not trust that tank enough to leave it for a week. If I were home to keep an eye on it..MAYBE ..but certainly not to just leave and hope it holds.
Thank you for all the advice. I greatly appreciate it.
I did break it by pushing on it. But I'm still a bit concerned by the fact that it broke relatively easily. The tank has always been on a very slight tilt forward is another concern.
But what exactly do I do if I cant find a replacement before I leave? How much water should I remove? I have soft corals that would end up above the water line if I take more than more than 5 gallons out.

 

[gill again68]

Go to your local Home Depot or Lowes and get a piece of plexi and have them cut you a strip approx the size of the brace you broke. Then with aquarium safe silicone attach the brace to the back and front of the tank. You could simply stick it on top of the brace that is already there and silicone it to that as well. Dont make a mess with the silicone and get it all in the tank just lay down some nice beads. Let it dry and that should do it. If the tank is not level that should be fixed as well. My .02

 

[deejeff442]

silicone doesnt stick to plexi very well.that is why plexi tanks are welded together.you need to get a piece of glass. silicone sticks to it alot better.my mh bulb snapped my support on my 250 gallon.i just put a wood clamp across it.but the tank is 6 foot tall with the stand so you dont see it up there.

 

[jmg416]

I hope I wasn't being confusing. This is actually a glass tank. the support piece that broke is a plastic piece that went across the center of the tank. Here is the tank. you can see the piece that is broken across the middle.

 

[deejeff442]

personally i would just cut the support out and leave it.my 45 mixing tank and 55 qt bot have broken braces.the 45 dont bow at all and the 55 just a little and they have been like that for years.or you could fix it right and look up the brand of tank and find the origional replacement piece from the company.just razor off the old and silicone on the new.those things break way too easy.

 

[spanko]

Pexiglas pc. like others have said plus some nylon screws and nuts to attach the new pc to the old.
Or order a new top from the tank manufacturer. I would not risk leaving it without the brace.
JMO

 

[gill again68]

Good point on the silicone may not hold. You could superglue the 2 pieces. I for sure would not trust it without some kind of fix. If they intended for it to work without one they wouldnt have put one on to begin with. Just saying.

 

[bang guy]

The silver lining to this is if you do it right you'll now have a center support brace that can transmit light.

 

[ernestpolska]

Originally Posted by Gill again68
http:///forum/post/3298321
Good point on the silicone may not hold. You could superglue the 2 pieces. I for sure would not trust it without some kind of fix. If they intended for it to work without one they wouldnt have put one on to begin with. Just saying.
i agree if it wasnt important then they would of never made and the factory would of saved on the costs of plastic, and oh yah just because the tank is tilting a little doesnt mean that you could leave it like that , i learned that with a 25 gallon tank, tilting a little in the mornig the next
thing i now when i come back from school water was flowing down the stairs

you should put those wood chip things that they put under cabinets so that they dont tilt, under the aqarium in front of the stand just dont use a hammer when your gonna put the wood chips in because if you knock the stand then the aquarium could possibly split because the plastic is broken

 

[deejeff442]

i have seen some people put a small piece of acrylic across then rivit it together.

 

[bmkj02]

whether you are using glass or plexglass the silicone WONT work. It will pull it apart. What I did on mine was used a piece of acrylic and used WELD-ON 4 and that worked perfect.WELD-ON will work on plastic. I have used WELD ON to adhere acrylic to plastic many times to make the top of sumps among other things. If you can find an acrylic place around you I am sure they will sell you some WELD ON-4 or buy a new trim piece or like deejeff442 said you can rivit/plastic bolts it together

 

[ernestpolska]

you could also get a plastic welder for 30$ in harbor freaights...... if you have one close to you

 

[bang guy]

+1 for the Weld-on. It will make a permanent bond.
For added comfort you could drill & use a couple of plastic screws after the weld-on.
Don't do this with a full tank. I'd take it down 1/2 way. The leathers will do fine out of the water for a few hours.

 

[ernestpolska]

or you could also get two pieces of plastic, drill two whole on each side like this
0¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯0
0_____________0 do this to both sides of the broken plastic to
and do this to both and then put one plastic on top of the broken plastic and then one on the bottom and put a bolt though and screw it with a nut in each whole(ehhh cant explain it that well) hope you get the picture......

 

[jmg416]

Thank you so much for all your help. I've lowered the water level and am working on some way to reconnect the beam. I'm going to use the next week to decide the future of the tank. I'm thinking after 5 years it might be time to move on. I'll search for a good home for my pets when I return. Thanks again.