Central Brace fell off and cannot be re-attached

[Firham]

Hello Friends.......good evening.

I need an advice regarding the central brace of my 3 feet aquarium.

It has fallen off. When I tried to put it back using silicon sealant, I realised it cannot be attached again because it is too short.

However, it is of the same length as the two braces at each end of the tank.

Which begs the question - is this normal ? Is the middle part of the tank supposed to need a longer brace than the ones at the end ?

Or is this different length the result of bowing ? Though if it is bowing, I can't really tell.

It fell off only yesterday.

So what should I do please ?

Get a new brace corresponding to the length in the middle ? Or clamp the aquarium so that the middle part is now the same length as the ends ?

Right now, I'm winging it by duct taping across the tank & reducing the volume of the water.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Urban Aquaria]

Sounds like your aquarium tank's front and back glass has bowed enough to separate from the central brace. The central brace should be the same length as the side braces. Its possible that just a few millimeters of bowing, combined with maybe weak silicone workmanship, can sometimes result in these issues occurring. Perhaps you can pull a length of string or measuring tape across both sides of the tank and compare the alignment, see if you can detect how much the glass have bowed.

Anyways since the central brace has popped out, its an important brace that is not supporting the tank anymore, rendering it much less safe. So its better to err on the side of caution and get a tank maker to either visit your place to see if they can do a proper on-site repair, or just change to a new tank.

[Firham]

Hi Urban, thanks for your reply. I have a new brace made actually but I'm seriously considering your idea of just changing the tank.

At least I'll sleep easier at night.

Thanks again......much appreciated.

[Jimmy]

Change it, get a new one. To have a 3ft tank leak or crack is no joke.

[Cardinal Tetra]

Get a new tank immediately. Even if you managed to silicon the center brace back, the front/back glass is already bowed.
The price of a new tank is nothing compared to having your tank crack or even burst in your home!

[fireblade]

the glass panel has bowed... better lower your water fast and have your tank changed or repair by an expert.
changing the center piece is of no help at all..

first thing now is to lower the water
second step is to get a new tank.

[tetrakid]

One more point to add to the above recommendations - before disposal of the tank, it is important to ensure that it will not end up in somebody's home.

[peanut88]

Better and worry free to just get a brand new tank.

Even if you want to DIY or get someone to replace the center brace, you need to empty the entire tank, dry it and then replace the center brace for a proper repair job.