It has been a long time coming. And I'll probably always have at least the 5 gallon betta tank at work, and probably will hang onto the 10 gallon guppy tank in my bedroom, but I'm really not sure if I'll stay with the other tanks and fish that I've had for the last 10 years or so. I've just gotten so tired of it. And this tank has been a fiasco basically from day one. Maybe it's just time to cut my losses and be done with it.
In the meantime I am going to price out glass bracing for the sides of the tank. I'm not sure if this tank was a DIY build in the first place or if it was a purchased tank that someone messed up along the way, but I'm not 100% comfortable with only that center brace, if it is a brace. If it's not - what is keeping the tank together? And why did the center piece of glass come apart? It has to be bowing for that to happen, right? For it to be able to come apart and fall down like that has to mean the glass is not as close together when it's full as it is when it's not full.
If the glass pieces (I'm figuring 3" wide by 3/8" thick) are not terribly expensive, I may try that and keep the tank. If they are too expensive and I can't get comfortable with the center brace only, assuming I can even get it back on correctly, then I'm going to get rid of it and find homes for the fish. I can't have a tank in the house that I'm constantly afraid will come apart and fill my living room with water. That's the opposite of relaxing to me. I've had fish all these years because I found them relaxing and enjoyable, but they've not been that for a while now. They've been work and very little enjoyment. I went on this big tank journey to consolidate my tanks and make it less work and more fun. But this has been anything but more fun. In fact it's been nothing but frustration.
Anyhow, if anyone knows where I might be able to buy pieces of glass, please let me know. I've done a few google searches but not come up with anything. Locally all i can find is window-pane glass that is 1/8" thick and breaks very easily. That is not going to work (obviously), so I need to know where I can find glass that will work. And is it necessary or wise to even try that route? Is that center piece of glass even enough? Again, if it is actually bracing. I think that it is on the TOP of the glass, not the inside of the glass. But I won't know that for sure until I take it apart and get that front pane uncovered (it's loaded down with probably 3 tubes of silicone it looks like)...
I'm just really looking for some good advice here from those who are familiar with larger tanks like this. I definitely can't afford a 125 gallon disaster in my living room. So I have to make sure I do this right or sell it to someone else to worry about.