Michigan Cichlid Association
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: kuzco77 on February 24, 2015, 07:09:21 PM
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I have a 72 gallon bow front tank that the center support broke on. Im wondering if this is actually structure support or more just for lid support. It does seem like the gap from the front of the glass to the support is widening, but this could be my imagination out of fear of dumping a tank of water on my floor and losing all my fish.
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nn
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Is the bottom trim good? Switch them.
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Here's a video of a center brace repair I did on my 125 gallon tank 2 years ago ... and it's still holding.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBU3hpMpRlU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBU3hpMpRlU)
The basic process was:
• In my case the brace was broken, so I had to make a new one out of 1/4" glass
• I carefully removed the old brace and cleaned all the silicone off with a razor blade and acetone. This is important, since new aquarium sealant/silicone does not bond well with old silicone.
• Then I glued/siliconed the brace in
• Finally, I clamped from front to back for 48 hours to make certain the sealant fully cured, since in my case it's structural to keep the sides from bowing out.
BTW, this was the silicone/aquarium sealant I used, which worked great ... http://www.amazon.com/All-Glass-Aquariums-15905650106-Silicone/dp/B0002ASD34/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1424884573&sr=8-2&keywords=aquarium+sealant (http://www.amazon.com/All-Glass-Aquariums-15905650106-Silicone/dp/B0002ASD34/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1424884573&sr=8-2&keywords=aquarium+sealant)
I hope it's helpful :)
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Issue with putting a glass brace like that is its a bow front so its curved on the front.
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Pic of brace
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Is the bottom trim good? Switch them.
If it were structural at all, the water pressure is greater at the bottom than it is at the top.
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Is the bottom trim good? Switch them.
the bottom has a pane of glass siliconed to the sides.
If it were structural at all, the water pressure is greater at the bottom than it is at the top.
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Go rimless it is all the new rage.
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From the picture it doesn't look like there is a lot of surface area for a proper bond between the brace and the rim of the tank. Will adding material on top interfere with the canopy? If so you could brace it from underneath. With the rounded front you're right, i wouldn't use glass. I would use either acrylic or an aerospace scrap of carbon fiber. Both are easily machinable, just don't breath the dust or get it in the tank. I would clean everything very well with rubbing alcohol. If draining the tank is an option I would strongly consider that. If it were me I would not use silicone, I would use a polyurethane adhesive like gorilla glue or a suitable epoxy. Make sure to clamp the tank front to back after you glue the brace and rim. Add the reinforcement piece you have made, glue, clamp in place. Wipe off any excess adhesive. FYI polyurethane adhesives will expand up to 3 times their original volume so additional wiping may be necessary. I would let it cure for a solid week before filling. You don't want all of your hard work to be for naught.