[LondonDragon]

Hi guys,

I have a Juwel Rio 125 (about 29G) I just brought a new light unit for it the problem is that the juwel has a dark plastic brace in the middle of the tank which casts a nasty shadow down the middle.

I have spoken in my local shop and they said they got confirmation from Juwel that these braces can be removed without any problems, do you guys think its safe?

Tank Measurements: 81 x 36 x 50 cm

Some photos:

Many thanks

 

[rullypullyfishhead]

i would be neverse removing any brace from a aquarium.if the manufacture
put the brace onits for a reason.if you get a ok from the guy who built it then
maybe.
only thing i might do if it was mine would be to drill multiple half inch holes
to let light through.
but to be honest i really dont know

 

[rullypullyfishhead]

i meant to spell nervous but fingers get ahead of them selfs.
if you are really certian you want to do this i would drill the holes to see how
much of a difference it will make.if the holes are enough to let light through
then leave the brace in.but if your certian the aquarium will not come apart the go for it and take it out.

 

[LondonDragon]

What if I cut that one out and glue in a clear acrilic brace?

 

[rullypullyfishhead]

another idea would be to build a see through brace out of glass or plexiglass
and attach it to the top brace of the aquarium where that ledge is{or leave about a inch on ether side of the original brace and attache with stainless
steel bolts and glue.
that way the brace is still securing the aquarium and the light is getting through.

 

[rullypullyfishhead]

just dont cut the orginal brace until you have the new brace in.i see you where thinking that to.

 

[LondonDragon]

Would silicone do the job when glueing the new piece?

 

[Gatekeeper]

I don't think silicon is good against shear forces especially since it won't really have anything to hold onto. i would bolt it as suggested and use silicone as a backup.

 

[LondonDragon]

Don't think I can bolt the hood. guess I will have to leave it as it is, if its too risky to remove :|

 

[Gatekeeper]

No....don't bolt the hood, bolt a acrylic brace instead of the plastic one you have shown in the pic. Basically cut out the old brace, leaving a little of the old brace on both sides, like an inch or two. Get a piece of acrylic, and drill both the acrylic and the remaining portion of the brace and bolt the acrylic in place (use silicone if you want as additional support, but you don't need it). this will allow you to still have a brace, but allow the light to penetrate to the tank, eliminating the shadow.

this is not an "easy" DIY but very doable. I am about to do it on a 50 gal on found on the curb that had a broken brace.

 

[LondonDragon]

Thanks gmccreedy I think that is very doable, might have to get to work on that idea next weekend.

Never thought about that one many thanks

 

[Gatekeeper]

No problem. let us know how it works out and post some pics!!!

Best of Luck!

 

[tazcrash69]

I had to do this on a 55 gallon with a cracked center brace (Do not try to lift from that brace!!!)
I didn't remove the original brace, used a piece of 1/4 acrylic that was 2" X 10" strip, plastic auto body panel plugs (about 12 total). I fit the strip in, drilled the correct size holes through both the original brace, and the new one, put a nice player of silicone down, put down the Acrylic, and then used the body plugs.

HTH, and good luck
Walter

 

[Gatekeeper]

i guess I know who i am calling when i do mine...nudge nudge Walter...

 

[melbourne]

I did this on a 55g to replace the center brace because of the shadow. I did the same thing that mcgreedy did. I think I used around 6 nylon bolts in total. I used weld-on to weld the acrylic brace to the plastic. I did this when the tank was empty. Its been holding up fine now going on 2 years I used 1/4" acrylic for the brace.

 

[LondonDragon]

thanks guys that really helped
Now all I need is some 0.6cm acrilic and some nylon bolts!

Would something like this do for the bolts?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Plastic-Fixin...098504530QQcategoryZ56422QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Thanks

 

[melbourne]

Yup that should do the trick - looks close to what I used. Make sure you map out where you want to place the bolts and don't cut your old brace too short otherwise you will run out of space to place the bolts.

 

[LondonDragon]

Thanks melbourne, so if I understood correct, this is what I need to do:

Existing brace:

Cut brace and leave 3.5cm of old one:

Drill the holes, one already exists in the middle:

Attach new acrylic brace:

Thanks

 

[Gatekeeper]

thats it!! nice rendering. thats a keeper...

 

[LondonDragon]

thats it!! nice rendering. thats a keeper...

Thanks, I will post some photos when doing it, can be a reference for someone else trying to do the same thing!