[engotski]

Hey everyone,

Recently bought a 125 gallon standard 6ft footprint made by Oceanic. It's 3/8th thick glass with center cross brace. After hrs of cleaning, finally filled it with water to the top and noticed the center brace is disconnected from the front glass. It bowed approx 1/2-3/4" at the front (has a 3d back ground siliconed 2" from the back glass). I saw the tank up and running full of water before I bought it. I didn't notice the bowing because it comes with a wooden hood.

Previous owner is a solid guy, not faulting him for not disclosing as he didn't notice it. Before he set it up 5 yrs ago, Paul at Paul's Aquarium said that the top glass wasn't ment as a "brace". The tank itself is maybe 7-10+ yrs old. Algae has built where the disconnect was so I'm guessing it's been this way for quite some time.

Anyone know of Oceanic tanks to confirm this? And is it safe that I don't have to worry about the glass bursting at some point in time? Main concern is its 3/8th thick...read a lot of threads about bowing but it's 1/2-5/8th thick glass. Didnt think about pictures when it was full of water, I panicked and drained right away. Tank had about 3/4 full of water when I took the photos. Please help!

 

[Plumberboy]

Not that it's any help, but my 5' 110 gal Hagen tank bows about 1/2" when full. No brace when purchased, and haven't had any issues. I always thought those braces were more for holding up the glass tops than keeping the tank together!

 

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Most of the tanks I've owned had no braces of any kind. If you're really worried, and it sounds like you are, I would drain completely, take a razor to clean up the connection site as thoroughly as possible, then resilicone the brace in place and clamp it for several days to let the silicone cure. Then remove clamp and test fill again. Since you've already spent so much time cleaning this tank, another few minutes with a sharp razor and paper towel should be a small price to pay for piece of mind.

Anthony

 

[cpat83]

I don't think you have anything to really worry about, but like Anthony said if you want peace of mind just re adhere the brace to the tank

 

[engotski]

I got my buddy to fab me aluminum 2x2x4 "T" braces x3 lol. I know its over kill but my wife already wants me to get rid of anything bigger than a 55gal so I had to haha.

Thank you for all your input! I was quick to post and ask ppl before I really thought it through

 

[mikebike]

Me 3 on the re siliconing of the brace.
you can buy silicone remover at hardware stores if you are not comforatible with just scraping.

I use acetone to clean glass before siliconing

Another method of bracing if you have access to powe tools is a piece of PVC/plastic 1 X 4 lumber from Building supply
2 inches longer than the tank width.
cut a 1/2" deep 3/8" notch across each end to push onto the top edge of the glass to act as a spreader/brace
it never rots<G>

 

[tony1928]

I've always wondered about those braces and the plastic top trim you see on tanks. I can't imagine those things really helping holding in the hundreds of pounds of water. I wonder if anyone with experience can comment on that. I've see so many people take off the top trim to create home made "rimless" tanks, and other's with similar broken top braces.

 

[engotski]

My buddy is a metal fabricator and is doin something similar but will be clean and flush, welded and smooth not screwed. 3" wide, 1.25" to where it grabs on to the tank, and 9" long T section, 1/10th of an inch thick, x2 every 2ft. Again, overkill!