I Trimmed the Center Brace, now my tank's bowing!!

woody189

woody189

Member
So I made a dumb mistake.
I cut the center brace a little bit (actually a lot a bit). 1st pic
I realized after I cut it that I shouldn't have. My tank is now begining to bow further (it's already a bowfront)
The following pics are the glass against the plastic border. As you can see, the left and right sides are flush against the plastic, but there is a huge gap in everywhere but the edges.
What should I do?
I was thinking about buying a thick piece of acrylic and screwing it on. I saw a pic somewhere. Do you think that's a good idea??
If so, how would I do that??


 
jayking232003

jayking232003

Member
I would suggest going to home depot and start looking for a way to make a new brace! Maybe two on either side since you didn't want a middle! But that thing could explode anytime! could! I'm not sure what u could use, but I wouldn't use metal 90 degree hedges! Pad them really good if u do!
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Two pcs. of Acrylic as wide as the original and some nylon screws and nuts. You are probably going to need to remove water from the tank, my guess would be abou 1/2 of the water into some nice new clean tubs, or buckets, or brute containers. They measure the distance from front to back at both ends. This will be what you want to achieve in the center also. Use the acrylice and what is left of the brace close to the front and back to drill some holes and put the nylon fastners in.
 
woody189

woody189

Member
Originally Posted by jayking232003
http:///forum/post/3014117
I would suggest going to home depot and start looking for a way to make a new brace! Maybe two on either side since you didn't want a middle! But that thing could explode anytime! could! I'm not sure what u could use, but I wouldn't use metal 90 degree hedges! Pad them really good if u do!
Yea, I'm gonna do that, real soon actually.
Originally Posted by roberteb
http:///forum/post/3014155
Why would you cut the center brace?? It's there for a reason.
I had moon lights on my fixture, and the center 9 lights were being blocked by the brace. I THOUGHT the brace was just to support the glass top. It's so flimsy that I couldn't see it having any use in holding it together, but boy was I wrong.
Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/3014163
Two pcs. of Acrylic as wide as the original and some nylon screws and nuts. You are probably going to need to remove water from the tank, my guess would be abou 1/2 of the water into some nice new clean tubs, or buckets, or brute containers. They measure the distance from front to back at both ends. This will be what you want to achieve in the center also. Use the acrylice and what is left of the brace close to the front and back to drill some holes and put the nylon fastners in.
Thanks for the detailed description. But one thing, my tank is a bowfront. I wouldn't be able to measure the 2 sides and make the center the same size. I think I'm just gonna push up on the glass a little bit so that the black border is flush against the glass top ( since the top is obvoiusly the original shape the tank was in).
Any other suggestions?
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Nope, that should be okay. You could also lay a straight edge along the back to make sure the back is straight since I would guess that is where it is bowing now and shouldn't be.
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
The only suggestion I would make..is go to the store QUICK

Especially with the bowing that is happening so quickly
 
ryancw01

ryancw01

Member
I would just cut your losses and get a new tank to replace it. My old tank was a 46 bow and the front started leaking after about 2 years. I tried all types of different glue and nothing stopped the leak. My life turned into trying to fix it every night. It is not worth sleepless nights worrying about that thing busting wide open. I took advantage of the situation and upgraded to a 65 and built my own stand. I don't think those little bows are made for reefs anyway because little critters eventually dig into the glue and that is where the leak came from. The economy can use a boost so get out there and spend some money.
 
renogaw

renogaw

Active Member
that's whacked! you'd think that the small amount of the brace in the middle would be enough, since it's still complete...
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
Originally Posted by TunaSpooner
http:///forum/post/3014466
I certainly will...but i'll need your name, number, address and the first 4 digits of your sort code
Dream on......just let me know what floor of the psycho ward you are on
 
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