Center Brace Removal

[BigEasyReef]

I have an Oceanic 250g 8 foot tank that has two center braces that I wish to remove & replace with smaller stainless steel cross braces. I am looking for suggestions on the best & easyest way to cut out the existing braces ? Tank is up & running, and it has a custom canopy installed that is almost impossible to remove without a tremendous effort, so the braces will need to be cut out while the canopy is in place.

any thoughts will be helpful.......

Thanks, Creighton

[not_sponsored]

I would not cut the center braces while the tank is filled. Just my opinion.

[netboy]

Dont do it, there is a thread I think in the socal forum where a guy tried to do the same thing and ended up with a busted tank.

[BigEasyReef]

NetBoy, what forum are you referring to ? I would like to read that. I have known several people who have done this with water in the tank, with no prob, but they all say that cutting out all that silicone was hard & time consuming, I was just looking to see if anyone on RC knew some working shortcuts.

[sk8rreefgeek]

sounds like an accident waiting to happen

[Nicholas89]

Wait, why do you want to swap them?

[BigEasyReef]

I want to change them because the existing braces are about 18" wide X 1/2" thick, and they not only limit access into the tank, but block alot of light transmission into the water. The replacement SS braces I am making will only be 1" wide.

[tkeracer619]

Sounds scary. I love my eurobraces on my 360. Would be almost impossible to do it with the tank full though. I would never attempt it.

[webbstock]

I wouldn't try it personally, but if you do there are a few things to consider.

The first is that your current brace is 18" wide, which distributes the load across the 18" (i.e. less pinpoint pressure on the tank). With a 1" SS brace the same load will now be focused on only 1" of glass, putting about 18 times the pressure on that point of glass. I would suspect that the glass will fail under that load. The strength of the cross brace is most important where and how it attaches to the pane of glass.


Then second is you need to devise a system to temporarily brace the tank while you remove the old brace and install the new braces, also something that will distribute the load and protect the glass.

[sk8rreefgeek]

webbstock: good point. it's like...weight distribution man

however, if u used the 1" strip idea, you COULD tack on an 18" x 1" Perpendicular strip on both sides to regain that area...

just don't do it

[webbstock]

however, if u used the 1" strip idea, you COULD tack on an 18" x 1" Perpendicular strip on both sides to regain that area...

That is true, but you would need to make sure that the load was distributed across the 18" pretty evenly (I was thinking like the brace fans out into a Y type shape)

[CleveYank]

Hmmm Oceanic. Very nice tank to just up and ruin like that.
Since they are one of the best built...well and built like a tank...(the abrams or tiger panther type if you will)
I would not mess with a very solid and very well built design.

And most in the know would probably not give you much for it down the road if you ended up trying to sell it.

Stainless should work if the stress issue at the attachment area will hold. But I wouldn't.
Good Luck with that.

[BigEasyReef]

I guess I didn't explain my plan completely. The 1" SS strap is only to bridge the water from the front to back glass. That strap will be welded to 3/4" SS angle on each end, and that weld will be in a simi "Y" shape to give strength to each end of the angle as it sits on the top of the tanks edges. I was probably not going to make the angle pieces 18" long since I will be replacing the 2- 18" glass braces with 3 SS braces. But at this point based on the fact that I have not gotten a single positive response I think I will have to abandon my plans for this modification, I am not looking to destroy my system, I have way too much money tied up in there.