Reefs.com - Saltwater Aquarium - Reef Aquarium
  • Why not take a moment to introduce yourself to our members?

Clear braces for top of tank..

Bob 1000

Bob 1000

Advanced Reefer
Manhattan Reefs
Location
Staten Island
Rating - 100%
122   0   0
Okay, so I went to the glass shop today and got some 1/2in glass that I had laying around cut to take the place of the plastic rim on the top of my AGA 180 aquarium...The glass has 2 1/2" holes for bolts and is 4 wide...
I need to know if this would be a good idea to bolt the glass to the existing braces on the tank and cut out a 16" chunk from the plastic braces that go across in 2 places on my tank so that I can have the light pass through the brace...
I will be leaving a 3" area from the stock rim to drill the 1/2" hole for plastic bolts...

What do you people with experience with tank building and/or brace building with glass?????
Here are the pics of the top of the tank...
 

Attachments

  • 100_2230.jpg
    100_2230.jpg
    111.5 KB · Views: 146
  • 100_2231.jpg
    100_2231.jpg
    113.5 KB · Views: 146
  • 100_2232.jpg
    100_2232.jpg
    119.3 KB · Views: 144
  • 100_2233.jpg
    100_2233.jpg
    81.7 KB · Views: 146
T

tosiek

Senior Member
Manhattan Reefs
Location
Greenpoint Brooklyn, NY
Rating - 100%
48   0   0
Why not find someone with some plexy or buy a piece that thick and use that? Stress of the bolt in the glass will cause it to crack, usually glass eurobraces are siliconed in. Also, try not to mess with the spacing the braces already provide. They are made a certain lenth for a reason, even 1/8" can cause a different stress on the front pane of glass.
 
Psycho graphic

Psycho graphic

Trouble Maker!
Location
Somewhere on the East Coast
Rating - 100%
9   0   0
This could work IF you use spacers to take up the gap that you have between the top of the factory brace and the bottom of the glass. You would be better off IMO if the glass fit inside the frame and layed flat on the brace. You don't really want the plastic twisting to reach the glass the way it is now. I would also leave about 1" of the brace beyond the mounting holes.

Did that make sense?
 
cali_reef

cali_reef

Fish and Coral Killer
Location
On the waste coast, again.
Rating - 97.3%
36   1   0
tosiek said:
Why not find someone with some plexy or buy a piece that thick and use that? Stress of the bolt in the glass will cause it to crack, usually glass eurobraces are siliconed in. Also, try not to mess with the spacing the braces already provide. They are made a certain lenth for a reason, even 1/8" can cause a different stress on the front pane of glass.
Click to expand...

And the back pane too..
 
cali_reef

cali_reef

Fish and Coral Killer
Location
On the waste coast, again.
Rating - 97.3%
36   1   0
Has any one of you done what he is trying to achieve?? People use the "doubler" method to repair a crack brace, I have not seen people purposely cut their stock brace and put a new brace to gain more light.

Bob, seriously, put that piece of glass you have over the tank for few weeks and see if it will let through as much light as you think it will.
 
Bob 1000

Bob 1000

Advanced Reefer
Manhattan Reefs
Location
Staten Island
Rating - 100%
122   0   0
Psycho graphic said:
This could work IF you use spacers to take up the gap that you have between the top of the factory brace and the bottom of the glass. You would be better off IMO if the glass fit inside the frame and layed flat on the brace. You don't really want the plastic twisting to reach the glass the way it is now. I would also leave about 1" of the brace beyond the mounting holes.

Did that make sense?
Click to expand...

What do you mean twisting??? I'm putting a bolt though the plastic and the glass with washers on the bottom and the top... The glass will be flush with the brace then a 16" gap will be cut after 2 days of curing of silicone in between the brace and glass...
 
Psycho graphic

Psycho graphic

Trouble Maker!
Location
Somewhere on the East Coast
Rating - 100%
9   0   0
Bob 1000 said:
What do you mean twisting??? I'm putting a bolt though the plastic and the glass with washers on the bottom and the top... The glass will be flush with the brace then a 16" gap will be cut after 2 days of curing of silicone in between the brace and glass...
Click to expand...
The glass is sitting on top of the frames right now, there is a gap between the glass and the brace right now, no? When you tighten your bolt this will pull the plastic of the brace upward, an upward twist in the plastic. Also, silicone will NOT bond PROPERLY to the plastic brace.

I would suggest you get a piece of clear Lexan to use as a replacement brace, this way you can glue it as well as bolting it together.

The Glass strip you have is not wide enough for a good grip if you silicone it as is in my opinion.

I will edit one of your pics and show you what I would do and either post it or PM it to you later tonight.
 
Bob 1000

Bob 1000

Advanced Reefer
Manhattan Reefs
Location
Staten Island
Rating - 100%
122   0   0
Psycho graphic said:
The glass is sitting on top of the frames right now, there is a gap between the glass and the brace right now, no? When you tighten your bolt this will pull the plastic of the brace upward, an upward twist in the plastic. Also, silicone will NOT bond PROPERLY to the plastic brace.

I would suggest you get a piece of clear Lexan to use as a replacement brace, this way you can glue it as well as bolting it together.

The Glass strip you have is not wide enough for a good grip if you silicone it as is in my opinion.

I will edit one of your pics and show you what I would do and either post it or PM it to you later tonight.
Click to expand...

Thanks I know what you mean now about the space an upward pull.
 
Psycho graphic

Psycho graphic

Trouble Maker!
Location
Somewhere on the East Coast
Rating - 100%
9   0   0
OK, here is what I would do if it was mine.

The replacement brace should be 1/4" Clear Lexan. Measure the flat area of the factory brace. From green line to green line and from pink line to pink line, this is the dimension of the new brace. Clamp, tape or hold the new brace over the old one and drill 2 holes for nylon screws 1" from the ends of the new brace front to back on each end (the black circles), space them evenly left to right. Test fit all the bolts to make sure you have a good fit and mark the orientation of it.

Then I would get a bar clamp to hold the tank while the brace is being cut. I think if you run it parallel to the brace about 2-3" to the side you should be good (Red Line). You can get a clamp at Home Depot or maybe a rental center or preferably a friend (the cheapest route).

Tighten the clamp just until it is snug, you don't want too much pressure on the glass.

Now cut the old brace 1" in from the holes (the Yellow lines), this will give you 2" of gluing surface on each end.

Clean the factory brace and apply glue to it. You definatley want something under it to catch any glue that might drip. I think Weldon will work good for this. Bolt the new brace on to hold it tight while the glue dries. After it is dry remove the clamp and you should be done.

Bob1000edit.jpg


Bob, please get 2nd and 3rd opinions on this as I've never done this but feel very confident it will work. My main concern is the Weldon working with the material the factory plastic is made from.
 
Last edited:
Bob 1000

Bob 1000

Advanced Reefer
Manhattan Reefs
Location
Staten Island
Rating - 100%
122   0   0
Psycho graphic said:
OK, here is what I would do if it was mine.

The replacement brace should be 1/4" Clear Lexan. Measure the flat area of the factory brace. From green line to green line and from pink line to pink line, this is the dimension of the new brace. Clamp, tape or hold the new brace over the old one and drill 2 holes for nylon screws 1" from the ends of the new brace front to back on each end (the black circles), space them evenly left to right. Test fit all the bolts to make sure you have a good fit and mark the orientation of it.

Then I would get a bar clamp to hold the tank while the brace is being cut. I think if you run it parallel to the brace about 2-3" to the side you should be good (Red Line). You can get a clamp at Home Depot or maybe a rental center or preferably a friend (the cheapest route).

Tighten the clamp just until it is snug, you don't want too much pressure on the glass.

Now cut the old brace 1" in from the holes (the Yellow lines), this will give you 2" of gluing surface on each end.

Clean the factory brace and apply glue to it. You definatley want something under it to catch any glue that might drip. I think Weldon will work good for this. Bolt the new brace on to hold it tight while the glue dries. After it is dry remove the clamp and you should be done.

Bob1000edit.jpg


Bob, please get 2nd and 3rd opinions on this as I've never done this but feel very confident it will work. My main concern is the Weldon working with the material the factory plastic is made from.
Click to expand...
This exactly what I was doing but I was using glass because of the cleaning capabilities..
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Sponsor Reefs

We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.

Click here to sponsor $10:


Top