Noob with 150g tank missing center support bracket - need help!

[whizwit]

Hey guys,

My neighbor has had cichlids for years and I've always wanted a tank of my own but never really jumped in. Honestly I've wanted to go salt but will start with fresh for a while and make sure I can handle that. He upgraded recently and gave me his previous 150gallon tank. This was on his middle/1st floor and he did have concerns that it could bow and lose everything. Being his buddy was also upgrading he inherited his and put the 150 I have in the basement. He told me I would just need to create a brace for the center and it would be fine being his plastic brace broke.

I've been researching and I found a website called "Over the edge" which I've read good things about. I contacted them and they stated they couldn't supply me with a new bracket for the size I had. I measured the way their site requested from the outside walls and the tank was 72-1/4" x 18-7/16".

I've seen the glass and silicon bracing method but to me it doesn't seem like I could sleep at night knowing just some silicon is what is preventing the sides from bursting. I was considering welding up a metal bracket that just went over the sides in the center which would not allow the walls to flex but I'm not sure this is the best route. I'd obviously coat the metal in POF15 or paint it.

Anyone have experience with this? Any other products out there? Any tips/help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Rob

 

[mike550]

Hey @whizwit welcome to R2R. I’ve seen this question before and there tend to be two groups of answers. If the original brace is in place, some folks try to mend the break. Doesn’t sound like this is an option for you. Others will say to replace the tank because the strip was part of the mechanical design to hold the tank together.

I‘m not a structural engineer but water in a 150G tank weights about 1,200 pounds. Personally, I wouldn’t use the tank for the same risks you’re pointing out. Looking forward to seeing what other folks say.

 

[Timfish]

I would use 1/2" thick glass about 8" wide and maybe 1/16" narrower than the inside width of the tank. Standard silicone will work but if you want a little more piece of mind you can get high strenght silicone. Make sure the areas you will be siliconing are very clean, use a razer balsde to scrape everything then clean wiht alcohol. You will need to make a wood brace to hold the new cross piece in place while the silicone sets. Dry fit it first and see what the easiest way to set it in place and set the brace in place then go ahead and silicone it.

A metal brace will work also but you want it to be snug. You don't need to have any play in it and you can silicone it in place also after whatever rust preventive treatment you use.

 

[whizwit]

Thanks fellas!

Tim - I'm a bit apprehensive on the whole silicon/glass method. To me it seems it would be much stronger having something on the outside not allowing the sides to bow as opposed to pieces of glass being held only by silicon. Am I wrong?? Just seems like 1500lbs of water would pull it apart? But in hindsight I guess the whole thing is held together with silicon..

 

[Timfish]

I can bend metal with a pair of pliers but I can't pull or pry siliconed glass apart without breaking the glass. I'd go with glass and silicone since there's not the worry of metal eventually oxidizing over time. But eihter way works, do what gives you peice of mind or do both and cover all your bases.

 

[Tamberav]

I would remove the original plastic rim and euro brace it with glass, this is standard procedure for many tanks. Quality silicone forms a strong bond to glass. Probably be stronger then those plastic rims that somehow often end up with a broken brace.

I would not use metal, even metal you cover in something, saltwater environment is harsh and invertebrates are sensitive to such things.

If it is 6 feet I would do more then one brace... something like this (stolen from google image):

 

[I never finish anythi]

^^^^ euro brace for sure

 

[whizwit]

Thanks everyone for the input! Going to go with the glass brace. That being said where do I get the glass? Does a regular local replacement glass co. have the same glass or do I need a specific aquarium grade?

 

[whizwit]

Ok guys so I called around a few places today and got 2 quotes. $135 and $80 a piece! I requested tempered glass being that's what my tank is make of but does it matter? Is that making it more expensive? They said because it's a 1/2in thick was the reason for the cost. That and they had to order...thinking I just need to go directly to their source and cut out the middle man... suggestions? These were local glass companies btw.

 

[Tamberav]

@Joe Glass Cages may be able to help.

 

[nereefpat]

What brand is the tank,? You used to still be able to get replacement trims for All-Glass/Aqueon. They aren't that hard to replace.