125 Gallon glass without middle support

[LOK]

Hey all,
so still working on my 125 I picked up,
I got the bulkheads sorted out, Got the stand built and ready, resealed the tank and filled it half way in the garage to test for leaks.

Now.. the guy i got it from had cut out the center support. He said for ease of cleaning etc.

I'm leary of filling the tank without a center support. Now this tank was made in '98 and has some THICK glass. Still, do you guys think I should rig up some sort of bracing?

One of the guys at the LFS suggested using a piece of acrylic cut to size and epoxying in place.

Here is a pic of the tank you guys can see..

http://imgur.com/a/BcDSb51

thank you for your suggestions/help!

 

[dudley]

It's a shame the previous owner did such a crappy job cutting out the brace. My guess is it got damaged over the years since the tank was made in 1998.

How thick is the glass? Measure it as carefully as you can.

You could measure the width of the tank at both ends and the middle as you fill the tank further to see how much it may or may not get wider at the middle.

Personally, I would have a glass brace cut to fit the middle of the tank the same thickness, maybe slightly less, as the tank glass panels and silicone it in place using wood supports to position it correctly until fully cured. This would allow you to still use glass canopies and place light fixtures on top of the tank as normal.

If your lucky, you may be able to order a replacement top frame if you know the mfg. and your local store can still get the exact same brand and color.

I would not use acrylic as a brace as the moisture from the tank will cause it to flex downward toward the water surface.

 

[LOK]

Thank you, I was thinking about getting a piece of glass as well for support.

 

[dougall]

If you are feeling like cutting and then replacing whole bunch of silicone you can likely swap top and bottom frames.

Personally I would brace with metal over the top and then work on adding a canopy to cover it just for aesthetics..

But I really would not use without replacing that brace with *something*

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I bought a pair of 6 foot tanks a bunch of years ago. They both had an All Glass logo pieceaffixed to the long glass on one side and placed on the lower lef . They also have thick glass. Both tanks have two braces on the frame and use three lids. I cannot imagine using these tanks without the bracing.

You can buy replacement frames. I did a quick Google and found this site which I cannot vouch for
https://aquariumframeswholesale.com/custom-frames

Despite the name they sell retail and you may also be interested in this page on the site re the frame you would want
https://aquariumframeswholesale.com/custom-frame-faq

 

[FJB]

There are at least two reasons to have a good center brace, or two (modern glass tanks) to span the 6 feet:
- minimizing bowing, and - serving as rest for covers (i.e., Versa-tops) for the tank. Without braces it becomes difficult to have good resting places.

"It's a shame the previous owner did such a crappy job cutting out the brace. My guess is it got damaged over the years since the tank was made in 1998." - Absolutely! a shame, but more likely it just broke.

Many possibilities:
1) Buying new frames - Although one can indeed do that, some aquaria are not standard sizes, making difficult to find suitable replacements. One can always glue (silicone) a piece of glass on top, or even a plastic piece (using epoxy). While these solve the resting place for top problems, often they are not strong enough to eliminate the bowing and often end breaking some time after.

2) Another possibility is to make some sort of Eurobrace, which can be glued over or under the existing frame

3) Yet another possibility is something like I did with a SeaClear acrylic 6-footer I got for free. Previous owner had cut part of the Eurobracing, resulting in too much bowing for my comfort, and a lack of resting places for my tank's cover.
So, I happened to have an odd-shaped piece of 8+mm acrylic I had previously found being discarded and which I had kept (Photo1). I cut a piece of it (the exact shape of the piece I took is visible in photo), and modified one end, so that each end would have a 90 degree angle "wing"; the two "wings" hold the front and back of the tank, completely eliminating bowing (I took needed measurements from the empty tank, thus no bowing). The flat part on top, serves as rest for my Versa-tops. Both of my problems were solved! (Photo2)
The aquarium has been setup for now close to a year with no problems, and Photo3 shows it current look.

One could make something similar for your tank, using either acrylic or glass. Just a possibility.
Cheers and good luck!

 

[LOK]

I ordered a top frame online that has the middle supports, i'll wait a week or so before bringing the tank in and transferring fish.
thanks all

 

[LOK]

I ended up making a frame out of Aluminum angle iron and modified a plastic frame i bought that didn't quite fit to go on it. Turned out pretty awesome