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Recently my mother-in-law had to get a new tank because the middle brace on the top of her 55 gallon actually deteriorated and cracked. (Apparently the plastic was defective, but the tank is long past any warranty period ) Clearly, no good. Anyway she got a new bigger tank and offered the old 55 gallon and stand to me for free. I know that you can get a replacement braces for these tanks (All-Glass). I would like to try and fix it but I have never tried anything like that before.

Has anyone here replaced the top plastic brace of a tank before? Is it hard? Is it worth it?

Thanks!

- Meow -

I would reccomend replacing the tank, as it's probably old and not stable... especially if the tank had water in it and the brace wasn't on there, the glass is probably weakened from the bowing out...

It is possible to take a razorblade and go around the inside and outside edges of the trim and cut out the silicone that was used to stick it to the tank. Then you can possibly order another one from somewhere if you can find them, I guess...

Once you get your new top piece, you just put a bead of silicone (GE Silicone I...NOT II... is what All-Glass uses, and it's really good stuff) all around the top of the tank, and then stick yer new top on it an' push it down so the silicone gets stuck on it an' stuff. If any silicone comes out below the top piece, wipe it up with a paper towel the best you can, and when it dries, scrape the rest off with a razorblade.

If you really wanted to do this whole project really cheap, and don't really care if your tank busts or not, grab yourself a drill and a couple pieces of wire. Drill holes across from eachother in the middle of each side of the tank, and at each 1/4th of the tank. So every 12" you've got a hole on each side of the tank (other than the very ends) Then take your wire (try some heavy duty steel wire) and string it across the tank from one hole to the coresponding hole on the other side of the tank, and use a needle nosed pliers to bend the wire around and twist it at each end. Repeat on each set of holes. When yer done, you should have 3 strong wires running across the tank, from front to back. They should hold the tank together and keep it from bowing. If you don't use strong enough wire or you don't have them twisted well enough on the ends, the wires can come loose or break and the tank will suddenly bow out and probably break/shatter/go all over the place... so be sure you use thick enough wire and fasten them well enough. I have seen this done on 55's before, and it worked fine... altho it rather was a bit ghetto-ish...

Take yer pick... either one of those ideas will probably work, but I highly reccomend the first (replacing the tank altogether). Don't come crying to me if you use the wire idea and it doesn't work and your tank busts tho

HTH

I've replaced the tank top & bottoms on 55 gallon tanks and have good success with doing so. The last time I contact All-Glass they wouldn't sell the tops and bottoms as they said then you could make your own tank instead of purchasing one of theirs.

I was able to get mine from

http://www.thatpetplace.com/Products/KW/aquarium%2cframe/Class//T1/F38BC+0302+0152/EDP/2991/Itemdy00.aspx

They're manufactured by "Perfecto", but they fit my All-Glass tank without any problems.

And again, if you repair your tank and it still leaks or bursts, remember you do so at your own risk.

Jim

---

Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

Do you actually think it is worth all the trouble for an old tank. If and when it breaks think of all the problems that will happen with 50+ Gal of water on the floor plus the posible loss of all what is inside the tank.

If you want to use the tank for another purpose other than holding water not a problem at all.

You can get a piece of glass cut for the brace and just silicon it in.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

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Actually, the tank is only seven years old. The only thing wrong with it is the plastic that the brace was made out of was defective. Believe it or not, this is the second tank that she had made by All-Glass that did this. The first one cracked after only four years. The dealer that they got it from called All-Glass and they said that there had been a batch of bad plastic. She was sent a replacement tank free of charge. Then seven years later the replacement tank did the exact same thing. The plastic at the center of the brace towards the front actually looked as if it was being eaten away and it cracked where the plastic had gotten thin.

The trim is the brown with the fake oak trim. I don't know if that has anything to do with it or not. I kind of think that when they sent the replacement tank, they grabbed one out of a warehouse that was from the same plastic lot. You would think that if they knew there was a problem, all the tanks made in that time frame still in storage would be rounded up.

If I do fix the tank, I will probably be replacing the top and the bottom pieces just to be safe. Seeing how they are made of the same plastic. I would also put it through a trial period, outside. The only reason that I'm even considering it is that I think it's a shame to scrap it if the only problem is with the plastic pieces that can be replaced. I don't think the glass was compromised. When they noticed the plastic had cracked, my father-in-law braced the tank at the broken point with some wood and a strong clamp. The glass never got a chance to bow out that much. Then again, maybe after all the problems this tank is bad news.

I don't know. I have been known to be hopelessly optimistic.

- Meow -

Just roll to your LFS and order a frame up. I've got plenty of frames in for customers looking to do the exact same thing. Go about it like scott has advised (razor blade and some elbow grease) and let it cure for a few days, and you've got a fixed tank.

Aye, timmy

<---Scott, BTW