Removing plastic centre brace on my 45 gallon tank

[apepper]

I have a 45 gallon tank (36Lx12Dx24H) that has a plastic centre brace. I want to remove the brace to eliminate the shadowing (I don't want to get a second MH light). I have seen a modification described on reef central where the plastic brace was replaced by a clear acrylic brace.

(http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=289473 ).

As Steve pointed out in another thread the MH may heat the acrylic enough to cause it to weaken and stretch (could also happen to the existing plastic brace) so this is probably a flawed approach.

Since I will not be buying a new tank right now I have two choices:

1) Install glass euro-bracing along the edges, but this may interfere with my HOB skimmer.

2) Install a glass cross brace. What size joint will provide enough strength under tension?

Any thoughts?