Rebuild or Upgrade?

[BlazinNano]

Well my tank crashed last night so now it is time to rebuild and start over. So now I have choices. Do I rebuild my 46 gallon bowfront or upgrade to the 90 just sitting in the garage? I have everything for my 46 gallon. 6*39 watt Tek light, 150 gallon skimmer, mag 7 return pump. Don't have the extra cash to replace anything or add bigger stuff right now. I will have to build a stand for the 90 if I use it. If I upgraded to the 90 I would have to use the light and skimmer I already have. So that would be a 3' light over a 4' tank. Now the 90 is missing the center brace from the top trim. The glass is thick and it use to be up and running at a friends hoise wothout the center brace but i think it shoukd have one. Is there a way to sdd onem will it help if i did? Trying to figure out what tank to build because I have to rebuild one. What tank should I build? Would it be worth it to build the 90 with that light fixture. Would like to be able to keep SPS again. Would that much light be enough?

 

[Troylee]

The light is fine IMHO I like to run 5ft fixtures on 6ft tanks or your case a 36" light on a 48" tank.... It's nice having a little room on the ends of the tank and being able to place lower light corals etc.... The skimmer could get you buy for awhile just gonna be emptying it very often..... Live stock I think the people of r2r got cha covered... let's figure out that brace real quick I know a simple reapir just need to find some pics.... Brb lol..:xd:

 

[gar732]

I had a tank where the center brace broke on me and I didn't feel comfortable with the way it the glass bowed without. I figured it was there for a reason so I picked up a whole new top trim piece for it for like $30 at an LFS. I had to cut it off, clean off all the old silicone and silicone the new trim piece on. I did this while the tank was 3/4 of the way filled. Worth it for peace of mind IMO.

I've seen people using 36" fixture over 48" tanks. Just place the lower light corals on the ends until you can up grade your lighting. As for the sps you should be fine if you place it under the light in the upper half of the tank. I grew my sps in my 75gal with a 4 bulb ebay fixture with ATI bulbs and got pretty decent growth. Now would be a good time for the upgrade.

 

[Troylee]

Couple options you have is silicone a new glass piece in there or bolt a acrylic piece like my first picture but the last one with the stainless cable is the one I like the most... I was trying to explain this to skinz78 the other day but here is a pic if you swing by skinz.... Just buy that coated aircraft cable from home depot and the crimps and make a cable to replace the center brace it blocks zero light and won't go anywhere... I would use nylon bolts or find a high grade stainless... Prolly even use stainless and put a coat of silicone over them or something just a thin layer to keep water from messing them up... Anyways this is the ticket in my book....

 

[mnat]

You can also contact that manufacturer of the tank (or any of the major companies if it is a standard 90g) and buy the top trim piece with the brace. Someone on my local board did it and it was relatively easy and cheap. I would probably go bigger but that is just my opinion.

 

[Boostable]

Do you really want me to answer this question? .............................. Just tell me when to come over to help you move the 90 in...

 

[BlazinNano]

Do you really want me to answer this question? .............................. Just tell me when to come over to help you move the 90 in...

Well I just got a genius idea! Now if I can find a decent price on a 60" fixture............

 

[Boostable]

Now if I can find a decent price on a 60" fixture............

Thats all relative isnt it.. Anything specific your looking for?

 

[BlazinNano]

What a 3' fixture right in the middle of a 6' tank for a couple months till I could get a 5' fixture?

 

[xmetalfan99]

What a 3' fixture right in the middle of a 6' tank for a couple months till I could get a 5' fixture?

With proper coral placement, I don't see why not.

 

[steamer51]

+1 on the piece of mind you will have replacing the brace. When I first set up my 55 the center brace had been broken by a previous owner. I didn't think it was important (I was wrong!) and the first day put in all the new sand and live rock from a fellow club member but only had enough saltwater to fill it up about halfway. Everything was just fine so I made and mixed some more water. The next day after work I added the rest of the water and everything still looked great. A half hour later I checked the tank and there was a steady drip coming from under the tank down the front of the stand.

I quickly moved everything back into the 100 gallon stock tank that had been storing it before set up and cleaned out my daughter's 55 Ball Python tank to put everything back in again. I gave her the broken brace tank since it wasn't necessary for it to hold water. I do not recommend using a snake tank for a reef setup but it was all I had when I needed it and everything worked out fine in the long term.