Center brace

[nazgul1979]

I got a used 35 gallon aquarium with the center brace cracked. It's not a huge aquarium and I've filled it with water and the brace held, but still I worry. I picked up a metal bar that I was going to use to help support the center. I thought it was aluminum but it turns out it's zinc plated steel. Is this OK to use? It shouldn't come into any direct contact with water but with salt creep and occasional splashing it may a little. Will this leech anything into the water?

[danderso]

I would not use steel or aluminum. Repair it with plastic if possible.

[syrinx]

a dealer for the aquarium can order a new rim for it. A little time with a razor knife to remove the old one, and a couple minutes to silicone the new one on- and you are 100% in business. You can repair it to a lesser percentage as well- but the key thing is- it was designed to have the brace. I have seen tanks a plenty fail from a missing brace.

[Dino]

I replaced the center brace on my 36 bow when I rebuilt it from scratch. In my case, I did it on purpose as I dreaded the shadow that was being cast by it. Chunk of 1/4" plexi cut to size, some nylon nuts and bolts and some all purpose PVC/CPVC/ABS cement. It should be noted I replaced it while the tank was empty.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v634/-Dino-/Tank2_zps88bea22c.jpg

[Coral Dilema]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v70/coraldilema/DSCN0243.jpg

Same here. This is on a 75 that I first set up about 8 years ago. Had it up for a little over 4 years and it never bowed even a little.

[billdogg]

What both Dino and Coral Dilema have shown you is the easiest way to repair a center brace. I had a 55 that I fixed that way and used for another 10 or 15 years. Not only would a metal brace (probably) corrode and leech something you don't want into the water, it will look like crap as well. Sure, you can replace the top trim, but that is a pia.

[risin]

I did this on a 150, and figured out the braces are made of a type of polycarbonate that will weld together with plexi glass or clear polycarbonate (lexan) using weld-on #16. I would recommend lexan as it will not developed cracks and crazing like plexi will.