Brace Blocker (1 Viewer)

[Guest]

Over the weekend I had a trajegy that I was expecting sooner or later. I have fixed every other possible way for a fish to jump out of the tank and stay out, but this one has stymied me... The Center Brace on my 180 gallon Oceanic. Even though fish cannot do a true carpet dive any more, one jumped out of the tank on Saturday and landed on the center brace. By the time I got home from helping Wildfire unload his new monster tank, I had a mostly dry Dispar Anthias on the center brace.

I have been pondering solutions all weekend, and I think I have come up with a good and easy solution, but it requires two pieces of scrap acrylic with the following dimensions:

5.75" tall
23" bottom length
19.5" top length

It would also need two pieces of scrap acrylic 23" long and about 2" - 3" wide.

The thin strips would be attached at right angles to the tall piece such that when placed on the center brace, they would stand to block any fishies that attempted the leap of doom.

My light fixture is exactly 5.75" above the center brace and therefore hood would brace these walls from above, and the thin strips would provide stability at the bottom.

I know that there are a couple of people that work with acrylic in MARSH, and I was hoping that one of you would have some pieces of scrap that could be made into the dimensions that I am looking for. I really don't want to go out and buy a sheet myself if I don't have to.

Thanks,
Jim 8)

 

[Guest]

What about taking a piece of acrylic the same length as your centerbrace but make it 3-4" wider. Then roll it into dome, then set it on the center brace. So when a fish land on it, it will slide off or easily flick it's self back into the water. (hope that makes sense)-just an idea.

 

[Guest]

I had actually thought about that, but some fish (including the one that I just lost) could probably make it to the center of the arch, and therefore could still get stuck.

With the plan that I am looking at, it should prevent this from ever happening.

 

[Guest]

Instead of treating the symptom, I think you should go to the root cause of the problem. Why are your fish so depressed that they feel the need to jump? Maybe some counseling is in order - help them get in touch with their inner-fry.

 

[Guest]

i'd like to see a sketch of what you are proposing. i cannot visualize it. i also lost one saturday, but he went out the back not onto the center brace. i need to make things a little more secure. i had not lost one in a long time, so i guess i got lax.

 

[Trey]

You might check with Nicko5. I suspect he has the acrylic and would be willing to cut it to size for a small fee. He is also on your side of town.

Trey

 

[Guest]

I went out and did this myself the other day. Instead of acrylic, I used glass from Lowes. I had them cut it to size, and I built the blockers. I think they will work well to keep fish from jumping onto the center brace and becoming fish jerky.

Jim 8)

 

[Guest]

another option???

I know you're finished with your problem but if anyone else has this same problem, it might be cheaper to use egg crate. The same liquid used to join acrylic can be used to join pieces of egg crate.

 

[Guest]

The problem with egg crate is that it will also block out some of the light. Combine that with the light that is blocked by the brace and you will have significant light loss to the center of your tank. That is why I was going with acrylic or glass.

The glass pieces that I have used work great. There is minimal light loss and most of the brace is protected from fish jumping.

Jim 8)