Reef Central Online Community

Go Back   Reef Central Online Community > General Interest Forums > Do It Yourself
Blogs FAQ Calendar Mark Forums Read

Notices

User Tag List

Reply
Thread Tools
Unread 02/06/2019, 02:11 PM   #1
Rhett 1
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Dallas
Posts: 15
Can I remove this center brace ?

I have a DIY 55 gallon sump with four glass baffles. My question is as the title suggests can the center brace be removed? I know it is structural but can the load be put on the baffles rather then the center brace


Attached Images
File Type: jpg 20190206_132109.jpg (35.4 KB, 88 views)
__________________
You dont need a parchute to sky dive you olny need one to skydive twice.
Rhett 1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/06/2019, 02:41 PM   #2
FishAndPhysics
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: NY
Posts: 95
It probably depends on how full your sump will be, and a lot of other factors. IMO wouldn't risk it. If you really must have clear access, buy an acrylic sump or a tank without a brace.

Logic for not risking it: The baffles seem like the same idea as a eurobrace, BUT, a eurobrace generally covers the entire top of the tank, meaning there is a lot of surface area in contact with the walls glued with silicone. I've never seen a eurobrace which was just a flat strip of glass across the center of a tank. Plus, in a traditional eurobrace, the silicone is in shear load. In your case, the silicone would be in cleavage load, where one end has more stress (because the walls are going to want to tip of the, since the bottom is still holding them). This is going to tend to peel the sidewalls off the baffle. It's a failure mode that could kill your tank if it happened at an inopportune moment, and certainly cause a lot of damage in your house.


FishAndPhysics is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/06/2019, 03:07 PM   #3
sfsuphysics
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 9,103
it can, you just have to worry about the silicone you used for your baffles. Each baffle effectively makes the tank smaller, and looking at the picture smaller to the point of not needing a center brace.

That said the quality of of the silicone is what is key both in the material and the application of the material. If you simply ran a bead along the edges and smoothed it out with your finger I'd lean against it being terribly structural, however if there is silicone physically between the baffles and the glass on the sides (and not TOO much silicone) then sure it's perfectly strong.


__________________
Mike
sfsuphysics is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/06/2019, 04:56 PM   #4
mcgyvr
Registered Member
 
mcgyvr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 20,050
No.. leave it..


__________________
Who me?
mcgyvr is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/06/2019, 08:36 PM   #5
ajoe
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 297
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcgyvr View Post
No.. leave it..
plus one. it's called a brace for a reason.


ajoe is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/08/2019, 09:45 AM   #6
bluerrpilot
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Avondale, Arizona
Posts: 75
I personally would confidently remove the brace.

The brace is used to connect the front panel with the back to prevent deflection of either due to water pressure. In this case your baffles are essentially doing the same thing. As well as the water volume is going to be substantially less than 55 gallons.


bluerrpilot is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/09/2019, 04:18 PM   #7
Grantb76
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 14
I have a similar setup with a 75 gallon tank/sump and removed the center brace with no issues for 7+ years. I also run my sump quite high and on power down is only an inch from the top and has had no issues.


Grantb76 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/10/2019, 10:23 PM   #8
Rhett 1
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Dallas
Posts: 15
In my mind it makes complete since that the baffles would easily hold the load.


__________________
You dont need a parchute to sky dive you olny need one to skydive twice.
Rhett 1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/16/2019, 10:50 AM   #9
ca1ore
Grizzled & Cynical
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Stamford, CT
Posts: 17,319
Brace doesn’t seem like it’d be in the way; I’d leave it there. Probably removing it would be fine. Lots of tank failures based on ‘probably’ though.


__________________
Simon

Got back into the hobby ..... planned to keep it simple ..... yeah, right ..... clearly I need a new plan! Pet peeve: anemones host clowns; clowns do not host anemones!

Current Tank Info: 450 Reef; 120 refugium; 60 Frag Tank, 30 Introduction tank; multiple QTs
ca1ore is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/16/2019, 11:55 PM   #10
fishing guide
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 30
Remove it. There is no need with the baffles providing support.


fishing guide is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:22 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2024 Axivo Inc.
Use of this web site is subject to the terms and conditions described in the user agreement.
Reef CentralTM Reef Central, LLC. Copyright ©1999-2022
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging v3.3.0 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.