I hate my plastic braces!!!!

Syntax1235 · Mar 7, 2017

I currently have a 125 gallon tank lighted by a Pacific Sun led/t5 hybrid. I like the fixture but hate that the cross braces on my tank block 2 of the 6 light clusters. I'll be upgrading to a 180 gallon with cross braces once again. Is there any way to cut them out and replace with some acrylic or polycarbonate clear substitute and still retain the integrity of the tank?

I'm sure cutting the braces out will void the warranty, but so will drilling the tank (which I'm doing already) so it really doesn't matter.

lion king · Mar 7, 2017

You can always get a different tank manufacturer. I know the visio tanks have the glass braces, which I hate. I have 3 aqueon tanks which all have the plastic braces. My lighting fixtures all fall between all the braces. I don't like how dirty and covered in salt creep and scum that the wide glass braces get. If you want to spend more money you could get your 180 with the eurobrace. No way would I mess with removing the braces.

cromag27 · Mar 8, 2017

Those braces are there for a reason. I would not remove them.

cameronh · Mar 8, 2017

cromag08 said:
Those braces are there for a reason. I would not remove them.

Have you ever seen the goonies?
The part where brant was moving the rock and the girl with glasses says to brant, "God put that rock there for a purpose and I'm not so sure you should move it"
Then boom! Bats come flying out.

If you mess with those braces it will hold for awhile......but one day, boom!! Water everywhere.
I would like others have recommended, try finding a manufacturer that has clear braces. Which I think would be an all acrylic tank.

Fin · Mar 8, 2017

If you don't like center / cross braces, then perhaps you should look into rimless or Euro-braced tanks. I would not remove a tank's center brace, even if it is plastic.

Having said that, I have seen a reefer that had a welding shop fabricate an aluminum center brace, made of two brackets that fit on the outside of the front and rear wall of the tank and the braces providing the support were made of aluminum rods. It worked on a 300+ gallon tank, but it was not really very pleasing to the eye.

Personally, I hate the braces also and opted to not get a rimless. I had mine made with perimeter Euro-bracing. Good luck with the new tank.

cromag27 · Mar 8, 2017

That's exactly what I was thinking about!

cameronh said:
Have you ever seen the goonies?
The part where brant was moving the rock and the girl with glasses says to brant, "God put that rock there for a purpose and I'm not so sure you should move it"
Then boom! Bats come flying out.

If you mess with those braces it will hold for awhile......but one day, boom!! Water everywhere.
I would like others have recommended, try finding a manufacturer that has clear braces. Which I think would be an all acrylic tank.

cameronh · Mar 8, 2017

cromag08 said:
That's exactly what I was thinking about!

I love the movie and I saw that as the ample opportunity to say that lol.
It makes sense.
If it's there, it's there for a reason.
My tank has the glass support and I really dislike them but not enough to have my tank possibly split.

There's definitely alternative routes out there.

jeff williams · Mar 8, 2017

One of the big draw backs to acrylic is it warps or bows even when it's bonded in place so if you did remove the plastic and build an acrylic brace the acrylic probably would bow. I have an acrylic tank with an acrylic top that covers the entire tank with access hole cut into it and it also is bowing

Syntax1235 · Mar 9, 2017

Thanks for the feedback. I thought it may be a viable option to replace the braces with a product that would keep the integrity of the tank while not blocking as much light, but it doesn't seem to be a good option.

Mass Reef · Mar 9, 2017

You could do this...

Taken from RC's Ghetto mod Thread.

rc1626 · Mar 9, 2017

I successfully did it for a few years on an old 75 gallon I had set up. I cut the center brace leaving enough on each end to attach a double stacked pieces of clear 1/4" plexiglass. Drilled a hole in each end of remaining brace and plexiglass and installed using nylon bolts and nuts. Worked great for me. I even did it with the tank full. Used a couple of clamps to keep the tank from bowing while cutting out and completing the work. Wish I had a picture to show. It can be done.

erk · Mar 9, 2017

Mass Reef said:
You could do this... Taken from RC's Ghetto mod Thread.

Hahaha, this makes me cringe. What's even worse is it looks like it already failed once before and they drilled another hole. Such a horrible idea.

From my own experiences, don't mess with the cross braces on tanks that have them. I had the cross brace snap in half on a 55 gallon tank once. Sounded like a gun going off. I came running into the room and saw the front bowing out about 2-3inches at the center. The glass is cheap and thin on these types of tanks and they make up for it with a cheap plastic brace that is pretty strong in tension as long as there are no defects/damage.

If I ever buy a tank large enough to need a center brace, I'm going euro brace.