[oldpunk78]

i just randomly noticed that the top of my 29g tank is bowed out pretty good. i've never noticed this before, but i suspect it's always been like that.

the middle(top plastic rim) is bowed out a good 3/16". is that normal for a 29? should i be worried?

 

[stpeteplanter]

I dun think the plastic rim is meant to hold water, just the hood. Maybe you have it filled up to high? Just as long as the water isn't over the acrylic/glass and that's not showing any visible stress you should be good. I think.

 

[lauraleellbp]

No, bowing isn't normal for a 29gal. You sure the tank is level?

 

[oldpunk78]

i just checked, and yes. the tank is level. there is some flex too (by this i mean i can flex the glass back to strait).

how far will a glass panel flex before it cracks?

 

[lauraleellbp]

Oh that doesn't sound good. I personally wouldn't risk it. I had a 10gal fail on me once (thank goodness I've never had worse than that!) and just 10gal of water was a HUGE mess! (on a dorm room floor, but we won't go into that...)

Sounds like you just ended up with a good tank for a riparium, though.

 

[Rivermud]

If it's a standard 29 tall they are all a little under built. Generally they are built with 1/4" glass which gives them an unsupported safety factor of 2.2. You can resolve the bowing by installing a DIY center brace. I made mine from 1/8" acrylic. I cut it 2 inches wide and used clear epoxy to attach it. It works quite well. If you choose to do this, make sure you use sand paper to rough up the acrylic as well as the plastic rim.

Glass should not have any more than .03 inches of deflection for safety sake. However many people run with a lot more bowing than that. The issue here is that with bowing you have an increased load on a very small part of the glass. Any change in pressure such as a wild cichlid fight or a decoration tipping over can spell disaster. A slammed door can even cause this disaster.