Stand brace remove or not?

[mav3rick478]

I have a standard 75 gallon LFS stand that I'm trying to get my Triton 34 sump into but the hole through the top is about 0.25" too small and the rear see pics has a center brace. Can I remove the center brace, put my sump in and leave it off or should I put it back on? I'd rather not cut the side of the stand.

 

[motortrendz]

If you remove it, definitely put it back in. It will 100% bow under the weight if you dont.

 

[Kingsley_Reef]

Agreed take the rear brace off and replace it

 

[mav3rick478]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

 

[Sleepydoc]

Ditto what the others said. You could also take out the top brace. From experience, I’d actually consider buying/building a different stand. Not being able to remove the sump without disassembling the stand can come back to bite you, and the center brace can make sump maintenance a PITA