top bracing an acrylic tank

[bbortko]

Tossing around the idea of building an acrylic 72x30x24 tank that will have a 3d background. Never built a tank before but did some reading and YouTube watching and feel confident in the undertaking. Iam wondering if it would be ok to fill the tank before installing the top braces? It would be convenient to have an open top to install the bg but the bg would prevent me fixing a leak if there is one.

 

[houie925]

I'd build a lift-off brace out of wood. Might be a waste of a few 2x4s but for my own peace of mind I wouldn't try to test fill with no bracing.

 

[bbortko]

Thanks

 

[Pharaoh]

I would either make a temp brace or figure out a way to install the background in pieces so that it can be removed as necessary. I most definitely wouldn't fill it without some sort of bracing on the tank.