Euro brace

[Frankie]

Hello everyone,
It's taken some time but im getting my tank done. I recently took apart my 120 and rebuilt it from the ground up, literally removing all the silicone. It all started because the front pane got scratched. I ended up removing all the glass, cleaning it and re-siliconing it. So now im finished. I put a starphire pane on the front and can really see the diference.
Now i need to put the braces back and dont want the center brace again. I have an idea for a euro brace but would like some feed back on how to do this right before i get busy. My plan is to silicone four 3"x1/2" strips around the top.
Thanks for you input i look forward to you advice. Frankie

 

[NaH2O]

I don't have any clue Frankie Glad to hear you have that starphire installed! Here's a bump for you.

You could also make what I'm wanting done to fix my cracked eurobrace....make a eurobrace cover out of angle iron. It will run completely around the top of the eurobrace, and come down a bit on the sides, so it helps to hold the tank together. Again - I don't know anything about glass tank eurobracing though.

 

[Frankie]

Wow Nikki i never thought of iron. I could get it to glue on np but im curious if you going to coat it with somthing?? paint or rubber to keep it from rusting and poluting the tank?
Thanks for the bump

 

[NaH2O]

Yeah....the same that was used for the iron frame on the stand, which was a marine topside paint.

 

[[addict]]

Heya FFrankie.

I've seen eurobraces done the way you're talking about, and they appear to work fine.

After having a eurobraced tank for almost two years now, there's no way I'd ever go to anything different... my 55g tank had a center brace, and i was constantly having to clean it, and I can't stand acrylic tanks with simple cutouts for access.

Sorry to hear about your tank Nikki... I just browsed through your photo gallery and I'm amazed that 1" acrylic cracked like that... knock on wood, my 3/4" eurobrace is still in one piece, but then my side panes are only 36"x24", so I probably don't have as much stress on my corner joints as you do with a longer tank... a real bummer though.

 

[Frankie]

Hey thanks for the input Addict been a long time, its good to hear from you yeah im sick of the brace too. BE GONE HEATHEN BRACE!
Wow Nikki i like the electrical set up sorry bout your break in the brace
I like the idea of the iron but am still thinking of glass for the brace with a walnut trim brace to match the cabinet im going to be building.
This tanks going to be open on top this time with pendant lighting, not a full canopy. Im geting into the open airy look ive been seeing in some books im reading. Theres a really cool tank in "Ultimate Marine Aquariums" on page 173. The reefs called "Poseidon's Paradise"
You can clearly see the glass euro brace that im trying to mimic. I can see that it is in 4 sections and after calling my glass girl im going to have to go that way too.
Actually i like that tank so much im going to copy a little of the idea there and run the walnut trim up the corners of the tank like that and build a frame work for my lighting kinda like it but with a different style of my own.
Im guessing 1/2" thick glass should do the trick.
I'll have some pictures up tomorrow after i get home from work. Im a bit lazy about pictures sorry

 

[NaH2O]

Be sure to show how you are doing the eurobrace! That should look very nice. I was always fearful of doing an open topped tank.....I could just see the little one accidentally launch something into the tank while playing.

Thanks for the words on my cracked eurobrace. It was a bummer to see, and I don't really have any kind of bow to the front of the tank. Oh well - all part of my growing experiences in this hobby .

 

[Frankie]

Ok the plans seem to be changing every day :/
after watching a video i have of starting up my close loop i have decided that im risking the front pane blowing off lol. So.... i have took nikki's first advice and am having a stainless steel 2" brace made. I should have it by next mid-week.
Nikki if you could be so kind i'd like the name of that marine paint your useing
The tank will still be an open top tank.

 

[[addict]]

Dang, that must be some closed loop!

 

[Frankie]

lol! well i saw a thread once that it happened just like that to someone so im not going to chance it addict. plus it cheeper to go with the stainless

 

[NaH2O]

Frankie - I can't remember the exact name of the paint, but I'm pretty sure it was ordered from here West Marine. If I get a chance to check the garage, I'll see if there is any left over and I can get the exact name.

 

[reefchaos]

Something even better than marine paint, would be to have the metal
Powder coated. This would hold up much better than paint, but might cost a bit more.

 

[Frankie]

awesome Nikki ty for your help
reefchaos, thats a good idea actually and i'll find out what it will run me. If not im pretty good at priming and painting. I do wood floors for a living and have a ton of experience in the painting field.
So far i put the bottom brace back on the tank and painted the rear pane with enamel black paint to match the coast to coast over flows. I should have the eruo brace by tomorrow or wendsday.
I'm sorry i havent taken any pictures yet. Moneys been tough since i moved and im trying to use what i can on the tank. But my friend kevin is going to lend me his so i should have them up this week.
I cant belive the cost of cameras these days! i dont just want to buy any camera i want a good one that will take good pic's of corals too. Well i'll just hold out till i get the stand going then shell it out :/

 

[Frankie]

Just an update:
after waiting two weeks i finally got the stainless steel euro brace. Dude did an awesome job!
Still haven't bought a camera sorry folks. ill get on top of that this weekend after i get a check im waiting on.

 

[Frankie]

Ok I finally went and bought a camera. here's the eruo brace I had made out of stainless steel. I painted it and now have the tank finished.
all I need to do now is get the framing done to hold the tank. Im close!

 

[Frankie]

heres the framing for the tank. im doing the TV section seperate so it can all be moved around easy but it will all match and be one in the end.
Im going to use the side area there for a surge tank on top, electricals under it, then some draws on the bottom half and on the very bottom the chiller. Above the tank i want to build a lighting system that can go up and down.

 

[NaH2O]

The top you made looks great! Can't wait to see the surge device you make....do you by chance have any plans/drawings for it you can post?

 

[Frankie]

Sorry Nikki I dont but i'll be sure to take pic's as i go
Thanks for the complements. You have been the biggest influence for me with this tank.
I'll be working on the sump today so i'll post some pictures of that when i get it all cleaned up.

 

[Scooterman]

Hey Frankie, kinda late but we had a guy here make a euro-brace out of glass just as your original plan, search under Detri's name to find his thread, he made the entire tank, stand everything. Anyways nice work, I like how your making the stand, mine is sorta like yours. How much height from the top cross brace to the top of the tank for the hood? I'm still trying to figure that part out some.

 

[Scooterman]

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11936&highlight=detri

Check it out!