i am wanting to remove my center brace in my 110 gal

btwk12

btwk12

Member
i really don't know if this is possible but i wanna remove the center brace and replace it with a glass center brace or maybe even 2 glass braces,and split the tank in three seperate spaces. the reason i am wanting to do this, is i am getting some aqua illumination led's in the middle of august sometime. my only problem is if i go with 2 of them i'm afraid i wont get coverage like i need. and if i go with 3 and have one in the middle there would obviously be a shadow and wasted lighting. so my plan is to drain the tank far enough that i can scrape the spot's clean and clean them for a good spot to silicone. and then i will cut out the center brace, and then i'm there. hang the lights!!!! lol i know there is more to it than that but thats my basic plan. and i will be using a good aquarium sealant, or should i use something different? any input would help a lot, thanks in advance!!!!!
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
It's almost never a good idea to remove a brace. I have a tank with a cracked brace and if I don't keep the canopy on it, it starts to bow, and this is with a divider/brace that was added inside the tank.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
+1 it's not a good idea to bother that center brace, and you don't need to cover all area with light. the shadows actually look pretty awesome. Stark bright light is unattractive and glaring.
 
saltwaterdud3

saltwaterdud3

Member
+2, I would never remove a center brace. It's there for a reason! plus, you shouldn't even be able to see a shadow at all with the lights on. I've never had a problem with that.
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
You could remove the center brace and replace it with the glass cross bracing as you had mentioned. There is a thread in this section where another members brace broke and Corey posted a link about how the tank was fixed doing exactly as your suggesting. Really it's no different than what would be done on a custom glass build. Now keep in mine a 1" wide 1/4" thick piece isn't going to cut it though. The bracing piece needs to be able to handle the load. How big is the tank???
 
btwk12

btwk12

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by acrylic51 http:///forum/thread/386919/i-am-wanting-to-remove-my-center-brace-in-my-110-gal#post_3400887
You could remove the center brace and replace it with the glass cross bracing as you had mentioned. There is a thread in this section where another members brace broke and Corey posted a link about how the tank was fixed doing exactly as your suggesting. Really it's no different than what would be done on a custom glass build. Now keep in mine a 1" wide 1/4" thick piece isn't going to cut it though. The bracing piece needs to be able to handle the load. How big is the tank???
it's a 110 gal 72''x18''x18'' i figured i would put 2 braces one on each side and cut the tank into 3- 2 foot section's i was going to use 1/2'' glass and maybe 3-4'' wide for the braces, i figured that would be more than enough. but the thing is that i would only be able to drain 4-5'' of water out because i have a couple corals that high in my tank that are not moveable unless i wanna tear something up. i am just worried with that much room to work with that i might not get the area clean enough or dry enough to get a good seal. i am going to try to find the thread you are talking about where corey fixed that brace it might help me.
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
I would rather see the tank down more than 4"-5", but I would think as long as it was clamped/blocked before the removal and during the while silicone cure process you'd be fine. Not sure on full cure time on silicone, but wiping everything down with alcohol should give you a good clean silicone surface!!!!
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by btwk12 http:///forum/thread/386919/i-am-wanting-to-remove-my-center-brace-in-my-110-gal#post_3401013
it's a 110 gal 72''x18''x18'' i figured i would put 2 braces one on each side and cut the tank into 3- 2 foot section's i was going to use 1/2'' glass and maybe 3-4'' wide for the braces, i figured that would be more than enough. but the thing is that i would only be able to drain 4-5'' of water out because i have a couple corals that high in my tank that are not moveable unless i wanna tear something up. i am just worried with that much room to work with that i might not get the area clean enough or dry enough to get a good seal. i am going to try to find the thread you are talking about where corey fixed that brace it might help me.
It wasn't my fix I just came across a thread where someone had intentionally removed their center brace and used aluminum bars to re support the tank by drilling holes and using stainless nuts and bolts as well as epoxy adhesive. There's a picture of it here, second to last post. https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/forum/thread/386751/broken-center-brace
 
btwk12

btwk12

Member
what do you think about using 1/4'' plexi glass so that the light will still be able to pass through? and also the lip on my tank is very small like 1/4'' but if i can get it to drill and be able to get enough meat to hold i will still put 2 braces, with 2 bolts on each side of brace, and use some kind of epoxy for extra insurance. i don't see this being much different than the brace thats in there now it might just make it stronger if any thing. so my only concern is if i can get something to hold to the lip now. tell me what you guys think about the plexi glass idea? and maybe a suggestion on epoxy or some kind of adhesive for plastics that works well.
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
NO!!!!! Plexiglas and glass for a structural support will never work. Silicone doesn't bond well enough with enough with plexiglas/acrylic for structural support. Glass on glass.
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
A side note..... Epoxy doesn't bond to plexiglas/acrylic. When pouring epoxy you can use plexiglas/acrylic as a form or dam, since it doesn't bond or stick very good. Also epoxy can generate quite a bit of heat, which could distort or harm the plexiglas.
 
btwk12

btwk12

Member
im now wanting to try tyhe brace with nuts and bolts instead of trying to silicone a brace in it just seems more safe. i'm not sure if siliconing a brace from glass to glass is 100% safe. i know it would look cleaner than using nuts and bolt's but i would rather sleep good at night knowing my tank isn't going to bust on me. so thats why i mentioned using plexi glass, and bolting it to the top rim and using some kind of adhesive for extra support.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by btwk12 http:///forum/thread/386919/i-am-wanting-to-remove-my-center-brace-in-my-110-gal#post_3401238
im now wanting to try tyhe brace with nuts and bolts instead of trying to silicone a brace in it just seems more safe. i'm not sure if siliconing a brace from glass to glass is 100% safe. i know it would look cleaner than using nuts and bolt's but i would rather sleep good at night knowing my tank isn't going to bust on me. so thats why i mentioned using plexi glass, and bolting it to the top rim and using some kind of adhesive for extra support.
All that because you don't want a little shadow in the center of the tank? Is it really worth the risk of breaking the tank, or having bow out and burst? Just get two satellite MHs and clip one over each opening. A shadow isn't that big a deal...I'm done, I have given my 2 cents for what it's worth.
One more thing...a clear brace won't make any difference in a shadow, it will get salt all over it underneath and create a shadow anyway.
 
saltwaterdud3

saltwaterdud3

Member
How do you think an aquarium stays together? The black rims don't hold a tank together - they just make the edges more presentable, it does nothing for the strength of the tank. Never seen a rimless glass tank?
 
btwk12

btwk12

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by acrylic51 http:///forum/thread/386919/i-am-wanting-to-remove-my-center-brace-in-my-110-gal#post_3401245
Glass to glass is safe!!! How do you think custom glass tanks are built???
so how wide do you think is good? 2-4'' braces? i think with the tank being so shallow that the braces probably aren't needed any way! but i want them there just to be sure.
and to flower the reason i am doing this is because i am getting led's, and the third one will be sitting right above the center brace. im not 100% sure i am going to do this. i might just go with 2 AI fixture's one on each side, and see how they do. but to me it is pointless to switch to led's, if i have to raise them so high to get the spread that i want, that i lose par doing so. or i could just find a way to quarter turn the fixtures and run them the length of the tank, that way i won't lose much light or create much shadow. so all in all i still haven't decided if the risk is worth it, or if i even need to do it at all. thats why im getting other people's opinion's about this.
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
Spread could be accomplished with lenses as well. Trust me your not going to loose any par!!!!
I would opt for 3"-4" cross bracing.
 
btwk12

btwk12

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by acrylic51 http:///forum/thread/386919/i-am-wanting-to-remove-my-center-brace-in-my-110-gal#post_3401504
Spread could be accomplished with lenses as well. Trust me your not going to loose any par!!!!
I would opt for 3"-4" cross bracing.
so you think 1 fixture (12''x6'') on each side will work? every where i have read it says to have 1 fixture for every 24''x24'' and if i just have 2 of them i could run them with the length of the tank and cover a 36'' x18''
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
What LED fixture are you planning on using? If your considering an AI unit definitely should work with 2. Even a DIY build unit I think 2 would work.
 
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