Mayday, centerbrace broke.

[biohazardcustomz]

here is a great way to fix that. what i do for people all the time. this is permanent and chemical free solution for any center brace. i took 1/4 inch plexi glass. a pop rivet gun and a drill with the 1/4 drill bit the same size as the rivet. check your rivet size to be sure the bit is the same. drill at least four holes preferably 8. near the glass on both sides about an inch or so in. and then on either side of the break in the brace. as the holes are drilled put the rivets in or the holes wont stay lined up. use washers on both sides for extra security and also you can put the plexi glass on the bottom side of the trim so it isn't visible. if the rivets bug you you can paint them with black nail polish. eliminates all bowing in the glass and makes it more sturdy than before.

these new tanks are made of very thin glass. the older ones really didn't need the brace as much but they were made much better. i don't know how old/thick your tank is but because of that i would not trust it with the bow. you can keep the fish in the tank if you take the water level down untill about halfway and that will make it safer. also if you are careful not to get the plastic shavings in the tank from the drill you can repair a brace with the fish still in it. but you have to lower the water level more than 60% to eliminate the bow in the tank. possibly more. enough to where the center brace is touching where it was broken. i used a cookie sheet propped up on tank decorations to catch the shavings.

besides, you know you want to keep the 55 and still get the 125. lol

 

[dysfunctionaljd]

I had that happen to my 55, i glued a piece of plastic in there and that help for about a month before it gave. When that gave i went for something stronger. I got a thin piece of metal and drilled holes in it, then drilled matching holes in the broken brace (used a large clamp to get rid of the bowing while doing this. then bolted the metal to the broken plastic brace. havent had a problem since.

 

[WestTex]

I'm liking the idea of bolting it back together. I removed all the water and the tank is back to its original shape. I glued the brace back with some gorilla glue and it feels secure...but I think I'm going to make a trip to lowes and buy the supplies I need to bolt the brace. My fish are still chillin in my 50 quart ice chest and seem to be fine.

As much as I would like to go off and start working on a new tank I don't think its the right time right now. My buddy with the 125 will let me know when his wife has had enough of it sitting in the garage and at that point I will go get it.

My only other thought with the current tank was to play it safe and keep the water level down. I could get some indian mudskippers, and do a species brackish tank. I would have to buy a filter that could stay in the tank instead of my HOB.

I think that the most prudent thing is to use the bolt method. I trust that. Besides, I have an interesting combo of critters in there right now and it would be a shame to take them back to the LFS for no good reason.

 

[kallmond]

I repaired my 150g, which has held water for about 4 months now. Here's the thread http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=354618

 

[WestTex]

I really appreciate the suggestions. Thanks for the help ;]

 

[WestTex]

I fixed the brace today and the tank is back up to speed again. I used the gorilla glue in combination with a metal bracket and some screws similar to kallmond's fix. We'll see how it goes. It was nice to have a good excuse to rearrange the tank and add a little bit of halloween to it ;] Thanks again for all the help folks. I appreciate it alot.

I hope to buy that 125 gallon in the next month. I'll start a thread on it in the brackish forum when I do. I'm sure I'll have some questions and need a bit of input for the set up.