Likoma Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 I have just taken delivery of my new tank measuring 1200mm x 600mm (W) x 510mm. Its made of 10mm glass with three braces along the top of the tank running the width. Any thoughts as to whether it would be possible to remove one of the end braces to allow for an internal compartment filter. The center braces measures 220mm wide and the two outer ones measure 150mm. Any help and advice will be well appreciated. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oO SKIPPY Oo Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 you might be able to get away with the centre one but i dont think it would be wise to remove the end bracing :dunno: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 Centre one would be the worst one to remove because that is where your tank will bow.. I would be inclined to maybe get the end brace cut back as much as possible to allow the internal filter, mind you if your internal filter is going inside the tank it may add some strength back to the tank as well.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 i have a tank of similar dimension the end brace is about 8 cm away from end to allow pipes for external filter been like that for 3 years you could remove and replace with triangle shaped braces across the corners Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oO SKIPPY Oo Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 Centre one would be the worst one to remove because that is where your tank will bow.. I would be inclined to maybe get the end brace cut back as much as possible to allow the internal filter, mind you if your internal filter is going inside the tank it may add some strength back to the tank as well.. right you are - didnt think about the bowing aspect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 Centre one would be the worst one to remove because that is where your tank will bow.. And the ends area already braced by...Well...The ends of the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzy Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 is it 510mm high from top to bottom? i have a 1200x600x500high and i have no bracing at all and its fine so removing one brace should be fine heres a old pic of it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted January 29, 2011 Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 i am confident that 10mm glass will be fine "un-braced" at that length & height, my 300L 4 footer (1200x500x500)has 10mm panels & no centre bracing & it has no bowing at all. There must be some definitive answers somewhere of what is safe & what isn't, people opinions vary a lot on this subject & i don't think any of us know for sure what the facts are technically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted January 29, 2011 Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 the term safe is dependant on many variables give any filled glass tank a good whack with a sharp, hard object and it will break best definition might be acceptable risk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted January 29, 2011 Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 the term safe is dependant on many variables give any filled glass tank a good whack with a sharp, hard object and it will break best definition might be acceptable risk maybe i should have said "safe under normal or intended use" rather than "safe as a chopping board". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted January 29, 2011 Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 i am confident that 10mm glass will be fine "un-braced" at that length & height, my 300L 4 footer (1200x500x500)has 10mm panels & no centre bracing & it has no bowing at all. There must be some definitive answers somewhere of what is safe & what isn't, people opinions vary a lot on this subject & i don't think any of us know for sure what the facts are technically. Does your 4fter have any euro bracing on it at all? Because that makes a huge difference.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted January 29, 2011 Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 my 1200*600*600 in 10mm tank doesn't have a centre brace, I've always wondered how safe it is. It only has 300 odd lt of water in atm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted January 29, 2011 Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 Without any top bracing at all this tank would have a safety factor of 3.3 which is considerably higher that many currently available tanks (thanks to 10mm glass). With Euro barcing the tank would have a safety factor of 4.14 so about 25% stronger. With the bracing style it currently has it will be somewhere in between. If an end brace is removed the front to back panel of 600mm x 510mm will have a safety factor of 4 so will be fine. My only concern with removing an end brace would be the parallelogram stiffness of the tank. An earthquake would cause the top of the tank to try to twist itself off the base creating huge forces in the silicone. Euro bracing seriously stiffens the top of the tank and creates strong resistance to the parallelogram forces. Taking off the end brace and drilling a hole (or holes) for the filter pipes/wires then sticking it back on would be the best option in this case. The edge of the hole will need to be at least 20mm from the edge of the glass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted January 29, 2011 Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 Does your 4fter have any euro bracing on it at all? Because that makes a huge difference.. it has bracing along the long edges on the base to front panel connection & braces on the ends on top. nothing in the middle on top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Likoma Posted February 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2011 Cheers for that guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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