DIY bracing on Aqueon 60 gallon cube?

pygo1 · Oct 26, 2024

I'm looking to upgrade from my IM Nuvo 30long with a 24x24x24 cube. I'm also taking on a mortgage, so I'm looking to find the tank relatively cheap. So far, Aqueon has the best deal at $189, but also has a 3 star rating due to qc concerns. I'll inspect in person and make my decision there, but from what I've read, they can be missing the inner beads of silicone. Some people have just slapped an extra bead of silicone on the corners and have been totally fine. I'm thinking of doing this(if needed) and also adding a top brace with 2-4" wide glass panels(partly for stability, partly to have a platform to rest things on). I might also do bottom braces inside the tank for extra peace of mind.

All in all, does this sounds like enough of an insurance policy with a questionably built tank? Is 2 strips front and back sufficient? I've found a couple other options in the 5-700 range from brands I don't recognize. Or, there are the bougie options like RedSea that are$1000+ and I'm not trying to splurge that hard. Any advice would be appreciated on reinforcement. this tank seems like my best bet at the moment, but I want to make sure it's really secure.

Lbrdsoxfan · Oct 26, 2024

I did something similar with a marineland 90g cube some years back. I used 1/8 thick glass, 2" strip across all 4 sides on the top. Glass shop cut and polished @ and I laid the bead of silicone myself, after I test filled and didn't like what I saw (bowing).

Never had a issue and those tanks were notorious for blowing out. AFAIK it's still in service (it's been sold around a local reef group I was part of a few times), tank is 8-9 years old now, IIRC.

pygo1 · Oct 26, 2024

Lbrdsoxfan said:
I did something similar with a marineland 90g cube some years back. I used 1/8 thick glass, 2" strip across all 4 sides on the top. Glass shop cut and polished @ and I laid the bead of silicone myself, after I test filled and didn't like what I saw (bowing).

Never had a issue and those tanks were notorious for blowing out. AFAIK it's still in service (it's been sold around a local reef group I was part of a few times), tank is 8-9 years old now, IIRC.

Awesome! I'll need to do a little searching around for the glass. Did they cut at 45 deg angles for you or did you have two short sides?

I also just stumbled across a couple different seam brace options That might be worth adding. One type being an exterior L shaped piece of plastic to silicone in place and the other being a square or triangle shaped rod for the inner seam(doable if not already beaded w/ silicone). I'm not sure which adds more structural integrity though

Lbrdsoxfan · Oct 26, 2024

I went with the short side cut, figured it was easier to do my own silicone @ the time.

I just used my local glass shop the owner gave me a deal for the cuts since it was from imperfect scrap glass. I went 1/8 because I was cheap and didn't know better @ the time. I highly suggest 3/16 minimum or even 1/4 now that I've been around the block a few times with different tanks, lol.

pygo1 · Oct 26, 2024

sounds good! I don't recall what thickness the tank glass is, but I'll probably match it. Do you think it's worth bothering with the other seams or just stick with top/bottom?