135g glass lid?

[BvH]

Hello all,

I just bought a used 135g tank yesterday and had a question about the glass lid cover. It came with 2 sets of 2 glass pieces held together by a plastic flex hinge and then another square-ish glass piece, supposedly for the middle of the tank cover. I'm not sure how to get it set up correctly.

I am currently running a 75g setup and the glass lid is just 2 pieces of glass 48" wide held together with a plastic flex hinge. I can see that it is well supported because each glass piece is supported by 3 sides of the tank (front/side/side or back/side/side)

It looks like I can fit the square-ish glass piece on the tank rim just fine, but I don't see how I can fit the hinged glass on either side of the square-ish glass without it being unbalanced. The side of the hinged glass sitting on top of the square-ish glass will be 1/8" to 1/4" higher than the other side sitting on the side rim of the tank so the front and back rims will not be supporting the glass well.

Does this make sense? Am I missing a piece that should go in the middle of the tank top somewhere? There is no other bracing in the middle of the tank attached or that I received.

Any ideas?

 

[deeda]

You actually described your problem very well.

First, welcome to the forum!!!

What are the dimensions of the tank, eg. L x W x H and please measure the thickness of the glass also.

I am assuming your tank top has the plastic trim with a lip for lids, correct? If it does, check if there was ever a plastic brace (or two) running from front to back. Some people remove this brace to make it easier to put large decor in the tank. You can usually see some marks where it was cut out.

It is possible the previous owner bought the wrong lids and used the 'extra' piece of glass to support the canopy lids.

 

[BvH]

Hi deeda, thanks for the welcome. I'm glad to be a part of MFK!

Dimensions are 72" x 18" x 24". I'll have to measure the thickness of the glass when I get home but can tell you it was HEAVY to move with 2 ppl.

I do have plastic trim with lip for lids. When I get home I'll take a look to see if I can see evidence of a plastic brace. Also, I just did a google search and found that Foster's and Smith's has a sale on 72" x 18" All-Glass versa tops.

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=3790

I guess this would work, but after taxes and shipping, it'll cost me more than half of what I paid for the whole setup! Also, I hope that that 6ft piece of glass is sturdy enough.

I'll get you the info when I get home. Thanks again.

 

[deeda]

Wait on purchasing any brand glass canopies until you check your specific tank. The All-Glass versa tops will fit their tanks and Perfecto/Marineland tops will fit their tanks. The two brands are not normally interchangeable.

Most 72" long tanks made currently by Aqueon/AG and Perfecto/Marineland have two braces so there will be three separate glass canopies. I don't know of any commercially made glass canopies that are six foot long.

That is why I asked how thick the glass tank is because it is very possible the tank trim was manufactured without integral braces. On an older tank (with thicker glass) there may not have been any integral braces.

There are some options for making the existing glass lids work properly though. You could just add 2 additional narrow pieces to the left & right ends of the tank and use the middle one. These would then support the lids you have and the lids would then sit properly flat though they would be a bit higher than normal.

 

[BvH]

I measured the glass thickness at 3/8".

I also checked the center lip again and saw some indentations that looked like an upside-down "U" shape.

I also saw that there was silicone on the glass right under the lip so I guess something used to be there. The lip did not look like it had any plastic broken off from it.

After checking the square-ish center glass again, it looks either DIY or fixed. The glass edge feel like 2 thinner pieces of glass stuck together with that piece of wood siliconed down the middle.

Man... I wish I would've done a more thorough job and assessing the tank, you know, now in hind sight and all...

 

[deeda]

It's very possible that the squarish piece of glass was siliconed between the front and rear glass panes, under the tank trim, with the 'wood' piece facing up. Does it line up with the silicone between your 2 circled indentations in the tank trim? I find it odd though that it is made of two thinner pieces laminated together but it's possible it is original.

Is that piece actually wood or is it the same material as the tank trim?

 

[BvH]

I think you might be right deeda. I think I can see how it's supposed to be set up. The lip on this separate trim piece probably lines up when the glass part is siliconed right under the tank trim lip.

The material looks to be the same material as the tank triim.

Here is a closer look of the 2 pieces of glass stuck together.

Based on the clarity of the glass, it probably wasn't DIY as I first thought, however, the silicone on the separate piece of glass seems real rough.

I think what I'll do is scrap off the silicone currently on the tank in this area so I can re-silicone this piece into place. I just hope the edge is flat enough to adhere securely.

 

[deeda]

Definitely remove the old silicone from both the tank & center piece thoroughly using a few single edge razor blades then clean the glass with denatured alcohol to remove any fingerprints or residue. You might as well thoroughly clean the entire center brace as it will be easier before it is reattached.

Doublecheck the glass fits properly before proceeding with reattaching the glass center brace. Measure the inside tank dimensions at left end, center and right end of tank to see if you may need to add a clamp, from front to back, to secure the glass brace at the proper tank width.

I would cut some wood sticks to length by measuring from the inside tank floor to underside of brace and wedge them in place to support the glass brace while the silicone is curing. They wouldn't have to be super tight, just enough to hold the brace up firmly.

How does the rest of the silicone look on the tank? Firmly attached and no bubbles or peeling? If you are considering removing the old interior silicone and applying new, you may want to do that before installing the center brace as it will be much easier.

 

[BvH]

I will start by cleaning the entire center brace. My plan is to to remove the old interior silicone and apply with GE Silicone I Doors/Windows. I'm thinking of just doing the side where the leak is first and testing how well my repair job is.

Whatever I do, I'm definitely going to let the tank sit filled with water at least a week to ensure no leaking. I'd do longer, but because the tank is being stored in the backyard patio, I think the summer/spring sun is gonna wreck havoc with algae if I leave it too long.

 

[deeda]

I let my 125G sit for 3 days full of water after doing a complete interior silicone repair. I also let the silicone cure for 1 full week before adding any water.

What kind of fish were you planning on stocking?