Euro bracing

JackoChang · May 2, 2011

I have a question about taking off my center brace and trim. I would like to replace it with some euro bracing. I don't have a holding tank for the coral, so I'd need to this while the tank is functional. Is this possible? What thickness bracing would I need?

I was hoping I could do it in stages. First take off the trim and silicone the side braces in. After the sides are fully cured, I would take off the center brace and silicone the two length braces in. I could put the length braces so that they would go over the over the center brace, but then I'd need to scrape silicone from the bottom. Which I think would be tough, and I don't have snorkel equipment. I've heard the center braces are tough to get off. Any ideas on if this would work or do I need to take off the center brace prior to putting in the length bracing in? Would the two side braces be enough to hold my tank together? Honestly I have no idea what I'm doing and worried about bowing with no center brace.

The reason for taking off the center brace is because it's blocking the light for my SPS, which are mainly under the brace. The tank is a 120 48x24x24. Glass is 3/8" thick.

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Jeepguy242 · May 2, 2011

i would not risk doing that in a tank that is filled!!! it would be easier to just move your acros, or redo your rockwork.

JackoChang · May 3, 2011

So need some more input, I've decided to it. An online glass thickness calc, I can lower my water level to 16" and do it. The only thing I'm worried about is corals and fish with only the LR and powerhead for filtration. The silicone would take 24 hours to cure, at least. I'll be using 3/4" glass. I have a few questions though
1. How wide do the braces need to be?
2. What would be the best design for this? Just 4 pieces of glass siliconed together right?

Any input would be much appreciated