Removing centre brace on tank?

[qwiksilver]

I have a 54g (36x18x20) with a litlle black centre brace down the middle that I want to remove cause I am installing a halide right above it. The side panels are 1/2" and front and back are 3/8" thick. Will the tank hold together or do I need to silicon a glass brace in place? Tank is full btw.

 

[Ben1]

Taking the center brace out will casue the tank to bow and break.

You can "EURO" brace it but probably not full.

 

[Baianotang]

Its there for a reason...
...Anyway people solve the problem using multiple MH fixtures. Good luck.

 

[ZooKeeper1]

You can clamp the tank remove the brace, and replace with an acrylic one and attach it with weld-on

 

[ADS]

You can do the same with a piece of 3/8" glass 1" wide.
Adam

 

[qwiksilver]

Thanks, I think I'll use a peice of 3/8"x1"w glass. Will silicon be enough to hold it (I can clamp it until the silicon dries of coarse)?

 

[qwiksilver]

Actually, I have another question: how come I have seen tanks 10 feet long by 3 feet wide and 24" deep with no bracing whatsoever? The glass on the tank was 7/8" thinck. If any tank should bow out and break it should be one so long and thick. My tank is waaaaay shorter and the glass pretty thick (IMO) compared to the cheap hagen and oceanic tanks. So 1/2" on the sides and 3/8" on the front and back wouldn't be strong enough to keep in the water? How can they do it with the 10 footer?

 

[ADS]

There is a formula for the height vs thickness(I don't know it). I've built glass tanks(not commercially). Up to 14" tall with 1/4" glass is supposed to be OK without bracing.
I know about a 55g that broke the center brace and began to bow badly. The guy made a new canopy and reinforced the edges-worked great.
I can't comment on the big tanks you mentioned.
Adam

 

[qwiksilver]

Anybody know that formula?

 

[ADS]

Check the garf site on building tanks or you can do a search on tank building.
Adam

 

[moosehead]

I have seen lots of tanks that high and long or longer that use 3/8 glass with no center brace. I once had a 30 x 12 x 20 made of 1/4 glass - it had a center brace and I'm sure it needed it.

The GARF plans use edge braces instead of center braces for tanks that size.

Jeff

 

[tikki50]

I have a 42 gal 36x12x22 and I plan on removing the brace. It can't possibly be doing anything since its bowed upward and not pulled tight. My glass is pretty thin maybe 3/8". I have heard you should have thicker glass to do this but then again I do plan on reinforcing it with a canopy.

 

[srbayless]

Howdy,

I think the larger tanks that go without a center brace are actually using a perimeter brace. Sometimes it is called European bracing, but it basically consists of a "ring" of glass attached to the top of the tank, which leaves a big opening in the middle. I assume that is what they did on the larger tanks you mentioned.

I would not remove a middle brace unless you plan on replacing it with some other form of bracing. I doubt on your size tank that it would make much difference, but you don't want to find out the hard way that the tank needed it.

Good luck,

Scott.

 

[qwiksilver]

Actually, the larger tanks I mentioned are sale tanks for all their corals at the store I work at and are opened top and like I said don't have ANY bracing whatsoever. I have seen ones with the Euro bracing, but I couldn't do that cause my overflow is in a corner, so I wouldn't be able to get to my standpipes and prefilters. It's crazy, it's ten feet long and 1" glass and barely bows at all.

 

[Fl_Seagull]

Anybody know that formula?

I use this excel work sheet I downloaded. I can't find the link anymore.

Hope this helps (not for the faint of heart).

 

[Fl_Seagull]

Found the link.

 

[qwiksilver]

Can't get either of the links above to work.

 

[Fl_Seagull]

Strange :? ???

Try typing in: www.fnzas.org.nz

Then use the left navigation to go to: Articles >Technical >Glass Thickness. It will give you a link to download the spread sheet (18k)

Be cautious with this calculator. It is tempting to drop the safety factor or to not verify the glass properties in order to get the answer you want .

 

[qwiksilver]

:evil: I keep trying to type it in, but everytime I type or click on the link it Kicks me of the net. Bizarre. I've never had this before. Is there any other link I can try. I have been searching and did find one site that said the safety margin was 9mm and my tank is 10mm, but I don't know if that means with or without bracing? Any other ideas. TIA :wink:

 

[Fl_Seagull]

The calculator requires some assumption. Depending on those assumption it works or you have water everywhere. I have found the calculator needs adjusting for the type of glass being used and the safety factor. Since I don't know anything about the your tank's glass property (and likely can't find out), I can't give you an clear cut answer.

Other factor also apply. If the tank is off level, even a little, this can eat into the safety margin. Even if 9mm required a brace and 10 mm did not need a brace, being off level would shift you back to needing a brace.