Terrible Advice Tuesdays: What To Do With Pesky Cross Bracing On Your Saltwater Tank
Terrible Advice Tuesdays: If you don’t like having a brace across your tank, just cut it out. Most of them are made of plastic which doesn’t do much for holding the tank together anyways.
The rest of the story: While the bracing may be made of flimsy looking plastic, it is there for a reason – to hold your tank together. It shouldn’t be removed. The same holds true for glass bracing. The bracing is part of the structural integrity of the tank and was put there intentionally.
As always, there are likely people who have removed the bracing on their tank and haven’t had a problem. When their luck runs out, their tank will either start leaking (bad) or crack (also bad). Leave the brace where it is!
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I have taken the bracing out on a tank and had the whole front panel bust out. If the tank is even the slightest bit unlevel it will create uneven pressure on the glass and it’s only a matter of time till it goes. The brace gives you more structural integrity and a larger margin of error.
Some one did say that your kidding, right! We don’t need 5 lug nuts on a wheel one will do. Their are 4 too 8 lugs lol.
I actually replaced the center brace on my 90 gallon with a stainless steel brace that I had made by a friend who is a welder. It allows for easier access and better lighting in the center of the tank. I did see the glass on my tank bow from the pressure of the water after removing the glass brace and that was with nearly half of the water removed from the tank. I would never attempt a full tank without a brace and if you are going to replace the brace, use clamps to support the glass while removing the original brace. My brace is constructed with two stainless steel plates and two rods. The rods go across the top of the tank connecting to the plates at the front and back of the tank. works great.
Amen, the brace is there for a reason. In this world of excess litigation, tank manufactures live between the world of cost/margins and liability. if they ‘could’ they would make them as cheaply as possible and loose things like braces. But they know better ( or at least their lawyers and designers do).
Note that the manufacturers of all glass frameless mass produced aquaria, never build them too tall– there’s a reason for that shallow design– water weighs 8 plus pounds per gallon and ‘stacking it tall’ puts significant pressure on the seams. JasPR
I have a 75 gallon Ocean Blue rimless tank. The glass is 3/8″ thick. This tank does not have a brace. Is this something I should be worried about? It comes from the manufacturer that way.
Could you do a story on Pros and Cons of Ozone please
I have a tank like this. That I have never trusted. I needed a tank right now for a oscar that needed my help. What a pain that was. As fresh water tanks need to start with a cycle too. But that’s a another story. Back to the tank $10 for a 55. No brace and the plastic was breaking on the bottom. So I took the all the plastic off the bottom and made a make shift brace. It worked but I still got a another tank as fast as I could. I count my self lucky. My advice is not to get a tank like this in the first place.
James you will be fine . A rimless tank is designed to be made without a brave. He is just talking about tanks that come from the manufacturer with a brace.
Brace not brave.
I have a 30g tank that likes to bow out in the middle and this is a small tank that’s not designed to have a brace. I could only imagine someone removing a brace from a 120g tank!
Some bad advice is feasible to someone that doesn’t know much about the subject but this is just plain old common sense. Although I have a 75g reef tank that has an annoying center brace it’s not going anywhere!
I was planning to remove the brace on my tank, but after reading the comments I will leave then in place.
I removed both top and bottom rim on a 5g nano reef it looks awesome but I would never do this to my 36 or 75.
I have a 120gal with no brace. But it came manufactured that way and it’s made of 1/2″ thick glass. I feel the extra thick glass makes up for the brace. I’ve has the tank set up for about seven years now and through one move. No bowing, splitting of seams, or cracking.
I detest the bracing on my older Oceanic tanks but there’s no way I’d ever remove it. I have a 6′, 135g tank with THICK glass but no braces and it has a visible bow in it. Couldn’t bring myself to drill it, out of concern for its structural integrity. I eventually did add a Tunze 6215 wavebox to that tank but didn’t do so for the first couple of years, out of fear that the wave could put too much stress on the unbraced glass. Very good post, in case anyone ever heard and may have considered this dangerous advice!
No kidding. A long time ago I knew someone who removed the brace from the tank AND the center support of a cheap stand. It wasn’t long after that stupid move when the 150 burst. The salt water destroyed the hardwood floors and everything else nearby was soaked, ruined. Even though we have an appendix that doesn’t really do anything, it’s there for a reason. Same with a tank brace.
We need to remember if the manufacture did not put bracing on then the tank should not need it. All fish tanks should be as level as you can get them to make sure the water sits correctly. But if the manufacture has put bracing in then the tank needs it and you should not remove it. If you do not like bracing then change the tank.
Glass is not a solid is a viscous liquid and it might be normal to have a bow in the tank with that much water. Answer: call the manufacture of your tank and ask them if you are concerned.
Thanks, Adam. It’s an older tank and the bow is normal, I’m sure. I mentioned it primarily for those who think the bracing unnecessary. This tank was built without it and the glass is extremely thick, to handle that stress. I actually installed some homemade braces to it before filling it and the bow was enough that it tore them loose!
I think I am one of the lucky ones I have a 75 Gal. refugium in my garage that the brace was cut out .
so far two years and no problems.
This brace was not cut out intentionally it broke on a move so i use it as a refugium in my garage.
I have a glass 180g. Could I remove the two braces and replace with a wide acrylic (4-5 inches) and silicone on to the plastic frame?
Trying to avoid light block.
Cam…i wouldn’t try it.
Thanks!
Where do you get your shirts?
Cam…I get my shirts from this place