# The support brace on the top of my 55gal tank is broken!



## mazza2590 (Feb 28, 2011)

Hi Everyone,

I just bought a used tank today. It's 55gal (48x12).

When i bought the tank, i knew there was a small crack in the bridge that goes across teh top. I asusme this keeps the glass from bowing when full.

Well i tried fixing it and i ended up breaking it more. Half of it shattered off now. I'm holding the glass together with a 2foot C clamp, so it's ok for now, but i have no idea what to do.

Can i replace the plastic brace that goes around the whole tank?
Is the middle bridge actually used for support?

What should i do!

I went to Big Als and they said it will probably be $50 to replace the plastic. For an extra $50 i can buy a new tank 



Any suggestions?


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

The center brace is usually there for support to prevent the aquarium from bowing.

Some aquariums do not have a center brace because the glass is thicker, but unless you know for sure that the center brace is not for structural support, I would get it replaced (or at least fix it).

You can use a piece of plexiglass with some plastic screws, kind of like this:


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## mazza2590 (Feb 28, 2011)

Darkblade48 said:


> The center brace is usually there for support to prevent the aquarium from bowing.
> 
> Some aquariums do not have a center brace because the glass is thicker, but unless you know for sure that the center brace is not for structural support, I would get it replaced (or at least fix it).
> 
> You can use a piece of plexiglass with some plastic screws, kind of like this:


Yea my dad is trying to fabricate some sort of bridge that will hold it together, instead of this clamp that i got right now.

But the only problem is that now the glass covers have no where to sit!


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*tank brace*

if u want to measure out the tank inside dimension and go to a glass shop they will cut u a piece and u can lower the water and silione the piece into the tank where the piece broke off .that is one way maybe post a pic so we can see how bad it is .


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## mazza2590 (Feb 28, 2011)

tom g said:


> if u want to measure out the tank inside dimension and go to a glass shop they will cut u a piece and u can lower the water and silione the piece into the tank where the piece broke off .that is one way maybe post a pic so we can see how bad it is .


My dad just fixed it for me 

Please see attached.

The before, and the after!

So my dad saved some of the tracks for kitchen drawers. He took 1 of them and flattened out the edges in order to bend over the sides of the tank to keep it in place. Fits perfectly. Nice and snug
He then took another two and cut them down to size and bent one side of each so that they can hold onto the one that is now acting as the bridge. Each side is bent to hold the glass


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*tank*

thats awesome .just take a reference measurement to see if the tank is bowing after it gets filled , and just measure it periodically just in case the fix is not doing its job.but looks good to me ,id personally run a bead of silicone to the glass ,but looks good otherwise 
cheers 
tom


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## mazza2590 (Feb 28, 2011)

tom g said:


> thats awesome .just take a reference measurement to see if the tank is bowing after it gets filled , and just measure it periodically just in case the fix is not doing its job.but looks good to me ,id personally run a bead of silicone to the glass ,but looks good otherwise
> cheers
> tom


most definitely! thanks.

I've also never had a tank set up before, and i bought it used with the guy's 3 goldfish as well.

It's almost full now ~50gal and i've added about 9 teaspoons of some Big Als water conditioner about 2 hours ago.

I cant seem to get this fluval 404 working at all, so the water isn't being filtered yet. Any tips on this? Hoses are clear. I cleaned all the media. I just cant seem to get the primer to do any decent priming! I feel like no water is being pulled into the filter. Should the hoses have NO extra slack whatsoever?

Do i need to do a fishless cycle still? what will happen to the fish if i put them in the water? Right now they're standing around in a small 5 gal that i have. They're sitting in the old aquarium water, so they should be ok. But what about the new water?


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*filter*

priming , i think i have had the same issue with a fluvel before is this the type with the pluger on top and u keep pumping it and get no where with it .
ive tried to fill it with water then put th ehose adapter part on . try to hold your thump over the intake so the water doesnt come out try pumping and submersing the hose under the water so that it takes no air in .i have even taken the filter and turned it upside down so that it has les air in the body then slowly as it starts working ,try to put the filter the way it sits but do this slowly ,i hope this makes sense 
cheers 
tom


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## mazza2590 (Feb 28, 2011)

tom g said:


> priming , i think i have had the same issue with a fluvel before is this the type with the pluger on top and u keep pumping it and get no where with it .
> ive tried to fill it with water then put th ehose adapter part on . try to hold your thump over the intake so the water doesnt come out try pumping and submersing the hose under the water so that it takes no air in .i have even taken the filter and turned it upside down so that it has les air in the body then slowly as it starts working ,try to put the filter the way it sits but do this slowly ,i hope this makes sense
> cheers
> tom


what you said kinda made sense. And iv'e watched a few videos on how to do it as well.. Nothing!

I need to know how vital having no slack on the hosing is before i cut


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## mazza2590 (Feb 28, 2011)

Well i ended up cutting the line for the inflow pipe. Outflow pipe is still really long, but i pulled it to teh other end of the tank so it's ok now.

I ended up filling the filter with tap water. It was going to take way too long. Filled it until it was over flowing, put the motor back on and closed it up. When i plugged it back into the tank, it still wasnt working properly so i ended up siphoning the air out of the outflow hose manually. Yuck, but now it works!

Anyone know where i can get some suction cups so i can keep these stupid hoses against my tank? home depot or lowes i guess...


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## Explorer guy (Sep 12, 2011)

mazza2590 said:


> Anyone know where i can get some suction cups so i can keep these stupid hoses against my tank? home depot or lowes i guess...


Any aquarium store will have these. Petsmart/Big Al's- but you'll be shocked- like everything in this hobby, they are stupid expensive for what they are!


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