Replacing Center Brace

[valgae]

i got an mh fixture a while back. its awesome-aqualight pro 250w, built a new canopy for it. it sits about 9'' above the water. my only issue w/ it is the center brace on the tank. it casts the ugliest shadow down the middle of the tank. ive looked on the archives and ran a search and figure the best way to go is to cut a portion out and replace it with a piece of clear acrylic. ive read about using nylon screws to add strength but not sure where to put them. can anyone help me out? 50g tall tank dimen: 24hx30lx17d :notsure: or if any one has done this post a picture if its not too much trouble. thanks- valerie

 

[valgae]

bump anyone?

 

[oceana]

like this. do it right and with that tank you will have no problem at all. as i stated on another person tank IMO it is not even needed on a tank that short. but to be on the safe side you can do as seen below

 

[valgae]

thanks ur awesome oceana just had to make sure before i went to cutting things up. let u know how it goes. thanks again-val

 

[oceana]

rember not to cut the brance with the tank full. drain as much as you can. in this case it wont matter since i would bet there is no tension on it at all but if there is you dont want it to spring open. like i said this wont be the case but better safe then sorry.

 

[gtiguy]

I am doing the same thing eventually with my 65g tank...I just upgraded from PC's to an AquaMedic 250w HQI 20k and i have it offset to the left of the center brace now...I originally had it in the center but it literally was sitting ontop of the center brace and started to melt it away...

....nothing crazy thank god just some indentation...now its back to offset to the left and higher up about 4" ....
A buddy of mine is gonna mount to clear braces to the left and right of the center and remove the original center, also using the special screws (we had to order) hopefully it will work out but im still worried about the integrity of the tank after the brace removal... :thinking:

 

[valgae]

yeah i think its going down tomorrow morning bright and early. are plexiglass and acrylic the same thing? i would like to use two braces one on the left and one on the right and not have a center at all. but not to sure how to secure to plastic rim/lip around the tank.

 

[djm]

My canopy sits directly on my open tank, so I have no shadows. Of course I have constant condensation issues, but I am in no hurry to reposition my canopy- yet.
I do have a couple of questions for oceana. What tool do you recommend doing the cutting with? Supposing someone is going to make this modification on a fully stocked tank, how do you recommend they keep the cutting debris from falling into the tank?

 

[merredeth]

Originally Posted by djm
...Supposing someone is going to make this modification on a fully stocked tank, how do you recommend they keep the cutting debris from falling into the tank?
:thinking: What about taking a piece of cheesecloth and laying it over the rock and corals?
Since you have to drain the water as low as you can go, laying the cheesecloth (or flour sack) over the rocks with just a hair of water I would think it would be a fine enough mesh to keep the junk out of the water.
Of course, I would wash it in vinegar (no detergent) and rinse it VERY well before putting it in my tank. but once the drilling and screwing is done - just fold it together from corner to corner and pull it out a long with the rubble from the drilling.
Denise M.

 

[oceana]

i would not do anything. its platic shavings. no harm will come of it. if anything i might hold a bowl under it while i cut with the other hand using a hack saw

 

[djm]

N/M- I can't do it. Mine is 10 inches wide and 3/8" glass. (Yeah, it didn't sink in right away that we were talking about acrylic)
I am eventually going to build a stand for my lights to just get them off of my tank. I'm sure I'll just build it out of pvc and only raise it about 6 inches. Hanging them from the ceiling isn't something I'm comfortable with and I only really want to create enough room to access all areas of my tank by hand without having to worry about my canopy constantly being in the way.