DIY brace?

[Karlsbad]

Hi,

I have a 90 g that I just got that doesn't have a center brace, so full hoods are hard to come by. Is there any reason I can't get some metallic barstock or angle iron and cut it to fit and file a couple of notches in it so it sits flush with the top of the frame?


What kind of metal would be most/least harmful? Would all metals be dangerous to my fish?

[Karlsbad]

Actually it seems like a Perfect-A-Lite will work, but that's like $130.00! Geez, a pine canopy at Petco is $119. Maybe I'll buy the hinge stuff at my LFS and hit a glass store.

[AquaVelva]

When I re-sealed my 75 gallon tank a few years ago, I added a center brace. I went to a glass company and had a 6 inch wide by 1/4 inch thick piece of glass cut just slightly shorter than width of my tank, just so that it sat inside the frame of the tank. Then I siliconed it on each end to the frame. It has worked fine for me, with no worries about corrosion, etc.

Just at thought....

[slipknottin]

Thats what I would do too. You wouldnt be able to find any metal that could withstand constant water for less than the price of the glass.

[Karlsbad]

Originally posted by AquaVelva
When I re-sealed my 75 gallon tank a few years ago, I added a center brace. I went to a glass company and had a 6 inch wide by 1/4 inch thick piece of glass cut just slightly shorter than width of my tank, just so that it sat inside the frame of the tank. Then I siliconed it on each end to the frame. It has worked fine for me, with no worries about corrosion, etc.

Just at thought....

Hmmm OK thanks. So what kind of hood setup do you have? It sounds like you have that glass center brace sitting on the lip of the frame. If that's true wouldn't it make your hood slightly cockeyed? Not that that's necessarily very bad, that was one of the ways I was thinking about going...

[AquaVelva]

You are correct that the glass brace sits just inside the lip of the frame, but it doesn't stick up above the frame on my tank....in fact, the top of the glass brace is just about exactly flush with the top of the frame, so it doesn't interfere at all with the hood.

BTW, my hood is a DIY job equipped with two 96 watt compact fluorescent lights. The hood was there before I added the center brace. But I can't see any reason why the brace would interfere with any hood, including DIY or factory made jobs.

Seems like I have also seen glass braces placed under the lip of the top frame in siliconed into place, which might be an option if you were worried about the brace interfering with your canopy.

Actually, I think that the brace I installed is pretty much what you see on a lot of tanks these days. My tank is VERY old and I have no idea who the manufacturer was. It has very thick glass and may not even need the center brace, but it makes me feel better!

...AV

[Karlsbad]

Aah hmmm. I'm having a hard time picturing your hood setup. If it sits on the lip(inside the tank) like glass ones do, then I would think your brace would interfere with the hood operation. So then does your hood sit on top of the tank?

[AquaVelva]

The hood sits on top of the frame. No glass top. Works for me. :) I guess I just don't know how the commercial jobs work.