removing center brace from tank stand...danger? (1 Viewer)

[bevoboy]

My 75G has been up and running for a while now. I just picked up a fuge from another member that I want to swap out with my existing sump. Easy, right? Here's the problem.

The new sump is too large to get into my stand without removing the center brace from the front of the stand. I would need to remove the brace, put in the new fuge, and remount the brace. Maybe 20-30 mins to complete this segment of the project.

Anyone want to talk me out of this? My tank is full and I don't plan to drain any of the water. Am I courting disaster? Should I apply some temporary corner bracing? This is a standard two-door AGA pine stand.

 

[tmgrash]

A pic ccould help to see what your talking about. I flirted with disaester about 1 1/2 years ago when I took a circular saw to my 125g stand to fit my sump in, all went well 8)

 

[Reefaddict79]

did the same thing when my 90 was up no problems

 

[tnguyen]

Too risky on an existing setup. Increasing your change of a leak.

 

[jamesw]

You can add some "props" by using 2x4's at an angle to keep the center braced up if you're nervous about it. Pound them in nice and tight though.

Cheers
James

 

[jdeveaux]

Good article for adding a large sump.

Melev's Reef installing a sump in an existing setup

Marc will be down here on the 12th to discuss tank photography with the club if you have any questions for him.

 

[bevoboy]

Thanks for the responses all.

John, the article you linked is quite instructive. But my tank is sandwiched in between a wall and a massive armoire. The author mentioned that the front-center piece of that stand could not be removed. I assume that would have been an option, if removal was possible, and that side entry was the only other solution.

Sound right?

Jim

 

[bevoboy]

Any more comments? I'm making the swap tomorrow. Last chance to nudge me one direction or the other. I'm planning to brace the middle with one 2x4 when I remove the center support.

 

[Reefaddict79]

Dont sweat it. Its like taking off a band aid, deep breath and one swift tug and its all over

 

[jdeveaux]

Sorry this is the article I was thinking of.

http://www.melevsreef.com/55g/55g_sump.html

 

[Guest]

i said dont do it but after reading what you really wanted to do go for it i did it on my 110g no problem be sure to brace it and go as fast as you can.

 

[txaggies07]

Did the rear brace on a 72g and a 120g with absolutely no problems. The weight of a tank is wholly supported by the corners.

 

[bevoboy]

Well, this didn't work out quite as well as I hoped. No, catastrophy, but the new fuge is so deep front to back that I can't remount the center brace and ended up just leaving the existing sump in place. Sooo...I'm back on the hunt for a new fuge.

I knew it would be a tight fit. Guess I don't know how to read a tape measure too well. Or maybe I'm just overly optimistic.

Thanks for all the feedback.

 

[bevoboy]

Update:

After mulling this over for several weeks I decided to be Tim the Toolman and "make it fit". Removed all my equipment from existing sump, popped out both the front AND back center braces and slid the big a** fuge in. I added a RK Lite, re-routed all my wiring, made some small changes to my drain plumbing, installed an under cabinet flourescent light, and remounted the front center brace. The new fuge fits like a champ but I only had room to remount the front center brace. Not really concerned about the missing brace because I'm convinced it was not weight-bearing. This took longer to do than it took to setup the tank the first time but am very pleased with results. I now have an additional15 gallons of volume and a fuge compartment. Will post pics tomorrow.

Now I just need to find some chaeto for my new fuge 8)