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Originally Posted by Johnny Reefer
Hi there,
Back to the removal of the centre brace, if I may...
It was explained to me, once upon a time, by someone I consider to be an aquarium guru that what holds a tank together is the silicone used to glue the main panels together (assuming we're talking glass here). Silicone is essentially liquid glass, if you will. It is made from the same stuff that glass is. Silica, if I'm not mistaken. Hence, the ideal glue for glass. As for the black trim...that's all it is. Trim. For finishing. It doesn't actually play a role in supporting the integrity of the tank. If you have a tank that is big enough that it needs reinforcing then the manufacturer would glue a glass brace in with silicone so that it supports the main front and back panels. Any brace that is incorporated with the black plastic trim is likely just there to support a glass top. I suppose, too, it would provide a sense of security to the aquarist as well.
To make a long story short...I say cut it out and if you still have concerns go with AndyL's suggestion to DIY a glass piece glued in yourself with silicone. JMO and HTH.
Cheers,  |
Sorry Mark but I tend to disagree. If the black plastic is used to cover the glass edges only, then i would agree its for asthetics value ONLY. If they put a center brace across, it would more likely have some structural intergrity purpose. Having said that, if the tank was a normal flat front tank, I would still feel comfortable removing the brace but if its a bow-front, I definitely would not.
I disagree with the asthetic purpose of the center brace because I don't believe that any tank manufacturing company would increase their cost of putting in a one piece plastic trim with a center brace without a legitimate reason other than for looks and/or for a support to put glass tops on. I believe Sea-star (or all-glass) tanks actually have a large 8-12" glass center brace on most of their mid-sized tanks. Putting and glueing this piece in is extra money and time which I don't believe they would do so unless it has a practical purpose for doing so.
In addition from my experience, I had a 33 g tank that was only 30" long that bowed approximately 1 inch (1/2 inch each side) in total when filled. It freaked me out for years and I eventually glued in a center brace to calm myself. I am self-confessing that I'm not a physics guru but I compare this with an elastic band being pulled apart into a rectangle - if all the edges were flat and straight, then all the pressure will be evenly distributed to all four joints. However pull one of the sides and you will feel increasing pressure on the two nearest joints and eventually either the joint or the elastic will break, in which case of a fish tank that is when a leak occurs. Considering an elastic band is much less flexible than glass, a leak will occur when the flex of the glass exceeds the binding strength of the silicone holding the joints together and since the crystal structure of glass is stronger than silicone binding is to glass, the silicone will probably give before the glass will break.
Now puting my 1" flex on a 33 gallon into perspective with Robb Adam's 28 gallon bowfront, i can't imagine the additional bowing effect the water will have on an already-bowed glass.
I believe its been discussed extensively on other boards and I don't believe anybody has come forward with a definite answer as to why there are more reports of leaking bow-fronts than rectangular tanks. But there is a general consensus (or belief or theory or whatever you want to call it) that additional bowing pressure on an already-bowed glass puts more pressure on the joints.
SOOOOO.. in other words, limiting the flex of the glass is a good thing and in removing the center brace may (and very likely will) only contribute to additional bowing of a bow-front tank.