 |
 |
|
|
55 gallons with no center brace
|
 |
| Author | Message |
|
LoiN Joined: 09/15/08 Posts: 57 Location: Omaha |
I have a 55 gallons with no center brace. Is it ok to use as a sump or refugiums or frag tank?
|
||
|
reefninja Joined: 10/31/08 Posts: 190 Location: CB IA |
make your own brace. i had a 55 i got from my father inlaw. the brace broke when he had it and he glued in a replacement peice of plastic and i used it for a year and sold it.
|
||
|
Hank NMS Member Joined: 02/07/08 Posts: 581 Location: O! |
As a sump, you would probably add baffles anyway. I have one that I have used like that for a long time.
|
||
|
elderfo NMS Member Joined: 06/23/08 Posts: 374 Location: Omaha |
I have a 55 w/o a center brace and used it as a display tank for around six months before upgrading to a 120. I noticed the pieces of glass pushed out when it was full but it held strong and had no problems. I tried to repair it, using multiple types of epoxy, tried siliconing in a large piece of glass to no avail. Eventually i just left it alone and it was just fine. I even got over my paranoia with it as well.
|
||
|
alanmorehead NMS Member Joined: 10/29/06 Posts: 1817 Location: Lincoln, NE |
The glass will bow out without a center brace. I'm not sure if or how much it weakens the rest of the tank, but I personally wouldn't risk running without a brace. You could do a eurobrace design if you want to avoid a divider, but a regular center brace should be simple to add. Hank makes a good point about the baffles if you were going to use it that way.
|
||
|
Mitchell Joined: 10/22/08 Posts: 5 Location: Hastings Ne |
I had the top brace on my 55 break once and the glass bowed so bad I thought it was going to bust, Scared the crap out of me. I upgraded tanks and I was in the fish store in lincoln 6 months later and they sell the whole top trim piece with the brace. I just had to empty the tank and ran some silicone around the top and pressed the new one on and let sit overnight to dry and never had a problem since. I think the whole thing was like less than 25$ I think. Might be able to also get locally?
|
|
