EURO BRACED TANK EXPERIENCES?!?!

[*HOVA*]

So I’m in the process of working on an upgrade from a Red Sea Reefer 525XL to a 180G+ tank. While I loved the look of my rimless tank the water splashing when cleaning the glass made it more tedious then the old school rimmed tanks. I also saw instances of people with failed seams which literally gave me nightmares that made me wonder how long term I could keep a rimless tank with tons of varying flow as I keep SPS.

This has lead me to either going back to an old school tank like an Aqueon RR or a euro braced tank. I’m leaning towards the euro braced tank as it gives me the piece of mind of added bracing and also creates a rim which would solve my glass cleaning annoyances. At the same time it seems that rim may create other annoyances like PH cords that will need to be routed around the bracing.

SO - I’m curious for people who’ve had euro braced tanks for a while what your long term thoughts are on owning one. Are you happy with the purchase? Do you wish you went with a rimless instead?

 

[fishnovice33]

Well I have eurobraced acrylic tanks and never had a glass eurobraced (just traditional) or a rimless tank glass or acrylic.

However I too like the look of rimless more than any other tank style. But the cons were not worth it to me. Rimless tanks have to be built right. Those cost of the materials is much greater. Otherwise like you said it puts so much pressure on the seems and for acrylic you really need very thick panels or it will bow eventually. This can be 2-3x the cost and you better find a good builder or hope your tank stock was built on a ‘good day’, and make sure the materials will sustain rimless over time.

The more overbuilt your panels are the smaller your eurobrace needs to be so essentially you could have a combo of wider openings and smaller bracing...

Rimless seem messier to clean as well. Really the only negative I’ve found from a euro brace other than the looks itself are added cleaning underneath/on the bottom of them where condensation and minerals can build up.

That said, the cost effectiveness and added support are the pros and to me personally outweigh the negatives. Water evaps slower. More water will get on lights (and floor/stand). Fish don’t end up on floors as much. Another small positive it being able to use a stronger filter and put the flow up against walls. I guess technically you could achieve this with a rimless if you didn’t want the outflow the top...but I prefer it there so I can also agitate the surface. The eurobracing keeps the water in. There are more options with equipment placement with a euro IMO.

Those are my main reasons but I won’t deny aesthetically rimless can’t be beat, but really that’s the only pro I can think of. Crazing, bowing, seam failure, to water on the floor....these things are uglier than a eurobrace IMO. Again I’ve never owned one but know a few hobbyist that do and they’d concur. A real nice rimless can be done and if I’d venture that route I would get a custom builder to overbuild the hell out of it. And it will be expensive.

Now if we’re talking <30 gallons I’d definitely go rimless.

 

[DSEKULA]

When I built my current dt I decided to go braced, I planed fish that jump and need a lid anyway. If the bracing on top is acrylic you can certainly plan gear and drill a small hole for a cord wherever you want. Of course this is possible with untempered glass as well but I'd think it's a bit more risky.

 

[*HOVA*]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Would love to see pics of your setups!!!

 

[Albertan22]

I love my 180g eurobraced tank. It hides a mesh top very well since from the top all you see is glass, you have a little ledge to set things like a shot glass of thawing Mysis cubes, no splash issues, etc. I use MP40s so don’t have any cords in the tank. If I was planning to have cords I would have asked the tank builder to drill holes in the corners I think.

 

[Albertan22]

 

[sreefs]

My tank is built in so you don't see the euro brace. It is 72" x 30" wide so I think I needed a euro brace,

 

[Kyl]

Rimless only make sense below a certain sizing imo. My new 6' shallow frag tank is rimless, I wouldn't go any larger than that for any long term longevity.

Should I ever get out of where I am, my next tank is going to be large and single piece eurobraced.

 

[LDog74]

I have both and really prefer Eurobraced over rimless. So much easier to clean no more splashing over the sides. I would only go Eurobraced in the future.

 

[*HOVA*]

You guys are making my decision a lot easier LOL

 

[LOVEROCK]

Rimless only make sense below a certain sizing imo. My new 6' shallow frag tank is rimless, I wouldn't go any larger than that for any long term longevity.

Should I ever get out of where I am, my next tank is going to be large and single piece eurobraced.

How tall

 

[Kyl]

How tall

72 x 22 x 14. If it was anything other than shallow, I would have gone eurobraced. Can ask @JoshH, I was kind of on the fence about rimless even that shallow and initially planned on a 3" eurobrace.