Bottom brace Importance

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greaseball

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Jan 9, 2003
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I'm thinking about buying a 150 gallon tall. But the center brace on the bottom has been cracked.

How important is this brace, and how easy is it to fix/replace it.
If its better to replace it how would I go about doing that.
 
Most likely it is not of any structual importance. If you do pull the entire brace off, you need to put styrofoam under the tank. If you dont and the stand is slightly out of level or if there is any debris on it the glass will crack.
 
With all due respect to slipknottin, I will question his logic for my edification. I always thought that the brace is not there to support the glass but rather the keep the tank from inadvertantly becoming a bowfront. I other words, the greatest pressure is the tank water pushing out which the top and bottom braces resist. The bottom glass can probably support any weight demands because it only spans the 18" or whatever the front to back depth of the tank is.

I am ready to be corrected, but in my logic, the brace should be repaired or replaced.

ps - if these braces were optional, I doubt manufacturers would design them in.
 
I think the brace may be of more importance on the top of the tank as the bottom gets the benefit of the silicone joint to hold it in place. If it were the top brace I would definitely try to replace it but I'm not as sure if it is necessary on the bottom.
 
I'm w/Tom. If its broke, fix it (replace bottom frame). If you can't fix it, don't use it. I'd consider a 150 w/broken bottom brace a terrarium, not an aquarium. Manufacturers don't generally engineer unneeded supports/braces.
 
There's more pressure on the bottom than on the top...So I guess I would be really curious as to how it broke in the first place? People often try lifting aquariums with the top brace, but the bottom one...Well, I know what a pain it is to clean 20 gallons out of the carpet; I don't need to find out what that would be times 7.5!
 
Uh, the bottom brace is identical to the top brace, so its hardly engineering anything.

The bottom of the tank is held together with silicone, and the bottom brace is there to balance out the top brace and to allow the stand to be somewhat imperfect. Its easier to support the tank just along the outside than to make a perfectly flat 'seat' for the entire tank. Notice how AGA stands are just the outside, and they dont use plywood across the top?
 
two different threads here

Slipknottin seems to be focussed on the support value of the center brace for resisting gravity. This is not the primary purpose of the piece. The brace simply keeps the two long sides of the tank from separating with the outward force of water. The full weight of the water presses out as well as down. I agree that the silicon seal across the bottom helps resist this more than the air across the top, making the top brace indispensible, but that does not make the bottom one useless. Silicon has some adhesive properties, but without the top and bottom frames, we would quickly learn how much help it needs.

Remove the bottom brace and the center of the long sides at the bottom will want to push out. If successful only a little, a leak could happen and that nightmare that wakes you up with a cold sweat could be reality. It is simply a risk not worth taking. If you cannot replace the brace, securely nail or screw a stop block to the stand snugly on the center of the front and back of the tank stand to resist the force. Relying on silicone to do the job is like asking - sorry, excellent analogy escapes me - it is just the wrong material for the job.

I am willing to change risk water spillage when changing hoses etc, but total catatrophe is too much risk for your home and fish.
 
Never seen a glass tank without any braces? Ever hear of Euro-bracing?

Silicone alone holds the bottom of the tank together.

I never said anything about the brace 'resisting gravity'.
 
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