75G Oceanic, can I remove the center brace? (1 Viewer)

[Guest]

Am I insane? The center brace on my 75G Oceanic is absurd. It's a PITA to keep clean and it blocks a significant amount of light in the focal center of your tank. Can I remove/replace this? What are my options? I have seen the Euro bracing, but it makes no sense to me. Are the front and back under that much lateral pressure?

 

[Guest]

I wouldn't suggest it. It keeps the front and back panes from bowing out, which could eventually lead to leaks or break.

 

[Guest]

NO! It was put in there for a reason. You can remove it if you replace it with Euro bracing.

 

[Guest]

What is Euro bracing?
What does it look like?

 

[Guest]

Thats the strip of glass or plexi that runs around the top of a tank rather that across the middle. Makes it much eaiser to access the tank to more rockwork.

 

[fishcraze]

I hate the centerbrace on my 75gal sump too. I'm thinking about removing it, and replace w/ 2 smaller braces (~3" - 4") made of acrylic.. or just use a long clamp or a strong strap to secure the sides of the tank together? how bad are these ideas?

 

[AggieBrandon]

What about building a nice wooden frame that sits on the top edge of the tank and also wraps the top inch or so of the tank sides? You would have to make sure it is tightly screwed together to keep the glass from moving but i think in comparison it would be very similar to euro bracing.

Brandon

 

[Guest]

There is a thread going on about this on RC right now.

 

[Guest]

I have an Oceanic 75 and the center brace is a major pain. If I had known it was that bulky, I would have ordered the AGA tank instead.

I finally gave up trying to keep it clean and just keep less light-demanding corals in the center. My next tank will definitely be euro-braced.

 

[Guest]

Yeah, when "if's" and "but's" turn to candy and nuts... :-x

If I had to do it over, I'd go with Euro bracing AND pre-drilled with an overflow, BUT I have what I have, and I'm going to have to deal with it. The kid's dentist won't take frags for payment...or chickens and pies for that matter. :-x

What I think I am going to do is find a used 75 out there somewhere that I can maybe borrow or pick up for cheap. I want to take down my tank and move all the inhabitants to the other tank. Then, I want to take out the center brace, get it drilled and install an overflow and Euro-type bracing and then put it all back together again. What a giant PITA, but what else is this hobby for. Never satisfied. :-x

:idea: That would also give me an oppurtunity to build my 48" tall stand. I'm sick of leaning over or bending down to look at something in my tank. I want it to be closer to MY eye level. It IS mine, by the way, right?

 

[Guest]

I built my stand so that it would be comfortable to look at while I was sitting in front of it. I think my stand is 31" tall.

 

[Guest]

It is FOWLR right? Why don't you put everything in a big rubber maid tub while you fix up the 75G?

 

[fishcraze]

I wonder if there is a long clamp (26" long - at least) out there so I can use it to clamp my 75gal sump. . I'm sure the clamp would provide a stronger hold than the silicons on the center brace. Or maybe a heavy duty strap (the one for secure heavy stuffs on the back of the truck) would work too. These options would look ugly on the sump but i don't care about the look of the sump as long as it works.

 

[Guest]

fishcraze - how high do you keep the water level in your sump? If you are keeping it lower to allow for your lines to drain in a power outage - say only 2/3 full, I would think you could remove the center brace with no problems.

 

[Guest]

It is FOWLR right? Why don't you put everything in a big rubber maid tub while you fix up the 75G?

That's a thought, but when I start doing something, it typically takes at least 400% longer than I anticipate. :-x

I'm looking at

1. Emptying the tank and a complete cleaning job.

2. Hauling the tank to town to get it drilled, then back home.

3. Removing the center brace, preparing the glass for new bracing.

4. Affixing the new bracing with silicone, allowing 36 hours to cure.

5. While curing, affix new overflow box, and plumb new overflow and return.

6. Switch out the equipment from old stand to new.

7. Aquascaping, sandbed, water, fish.

Assuming nothing goes wrong, this is at least a 3 consecutive day project. Mind that I have two kids, so I can almost double that time. 5-6 days of Rubbermaid tubs in my breakfast room is just asking for disaster. 8O I can barely keep the kids out of the sump as it is. "Oh, look Daddy, tubs full of water!!"

I think the temp tank is a better idea.

Besides, once I get it torn down, I'll play with the idea of a closed loop system under substrate ala JR/Mrlimpet, that's pretty cool once you've seen it in person.

 

[Guest]

If you do the closed loop I would wait till the 1" threaded SCQWD comes out more flow much better connection.

 

[Guest]

If you do the closed loop I would wait till the 1" threaded SCQWD comes out more flow much better connection.

A GEN-X MAK4 has both a 3/4" input and output, and is rated at 1190gph. That won't change if you increase the output from 3/4" to 1". The only thing that will change is decreased pressure at output, and I'm not sure that's the effect we are looking for here. In fact, if you reduce the output out of the SCWD down to 1/2" at your delivery points, aren't you increasing flow pressure at those delivery points, giving you more water movement in the tank?

 

[Guest]

I'm using a 1200gph pump on my scwd. If you reduce the output out of the SCWD down to 1/2" it is very forceful. I'm leaving mine 3/4", it's strong and has good flow. Once I get sand and rocks in there I'll evaluate it again.

 

[fishcraze]

fishcraze - how high do you keep the water level in your sump? If you are keeping it lower to allow for your lines to drain in a power outage - say only 2/3 full, I would think you could remove the center brace with no problems.

That's probably right!
Some question: How do you cut your glass? does it require very special tool? just thinking about a split center brace (two smaller braces ~3" each) instead a big ********* center brace in the middle..

 

[Guest]

There is a maximum flow that the SCWD can take that was one of the big issues when they first came out.