Plastic Trim Cracking - How to fix

[BadgerFish1]

Hello all, hope somebody can give a little advice on what to do here. I got gifted a 72 gallon oceanic bow front tank. The old owner had DIY’d a fix when the center cross brace broke and fixed it by drilling a piece of metal to the trim on both sides. I’ve had the tank about a month and today noticed that the trim on the front where it’s bolted into is cracking. Is this a major issue? Can I just epoxy it? I can’t seem to find Oceanic website to order a new top frame. Any advice would help.

 

[jaylach]

I've never had such an issue but would think it best to replace the entire brace.

 

[Archerfish]

Your questions:
Is it a major issue? Yes. And it needs replacement.
Can I epoxy it? No, epoxy will not sufficiently repair the brace.
I have seen where people used a large clamp (front to back) to replace a broken center brace. It worked but was unsightly.
Here is what I would do: Not use the tank until the top frame is replaced. 72-gallons of water makes a real mess.

 

[Magnum Man]

I have one that the plastic broke free on the center support ( the tank is built in, so it has some other support ) but the front & back bow... this is on a standard 55 gallon... I've been at a loss as what to do... I'm thinking I'm going to get a piece of stainless threaded rod, just over the width of the tank long ( about 1/8 inch diameter ) and 2 small pieces of stainless cut into strips about an inch wide, by 2 inches high, & put an 1/8 inch hole about 1/2 inch from one end, then slip the longer part over the front & back, with the threaded rod resting on the top of the tank, & then snug it up, with stainless nyloc nuts, & trim the extra rod off, & smooth the ends...

 

[Archerfish]

The stainless rod sounds like it might work well. The stainless strips will need to be very substantial so they don't (can't) bend. Do you live near a marina or a marine supply store? They sell stainless stringer plates that are thick and should hold up against the pressure.

 

[Magnum Man]

I have a fabricator buddy that owns a steel shop, so I can get just what I need... only issue is the wall above the tank, on the front is tight against the tank, so that will be the limiting factor, as to how thick a piece I can use on the front... probably will drain the tank half way down, to take some of the pressure off, while installing

 

[Archerfish]

Oh yeah, invite your buddy over for refreshments and say, "By the way, since you are here, check out my aquarium issue!" A metal artisan with a steel shop is a gold mine.
You are wise to fix the problem. Back when I was writing an aquatic plant column for a mag, I had some guy actually want to remove the center brace from his huge tank because it blocked some of his high intensity light and emergent growth! Good grief. Anyway, let us know how this works out. I am sure there are other members of the forum who could use what you and your friend create.

 

[Magnum Man]

I have an old 60's to 70's, 55 gallon, that is heavy plate glass ( 1/2 inch or 7/16 inch thick glass... that one has no center brace, as the glass is so rigid... the one with the broken center support is thin tempered glass... you wouldn't think that thin plastic strap would be doing much, but when the tank is filled, there is a 1/4 inch gap, where it cracked, so there is at least an 1/8 inch bow on each side... or worse yet, the wall in front of the tank, is keeping that from bowing as much, & the back could be bowing as much as a 1/4 inch...
it's got to be a lot of added stress on the silicone seams...

on that 1st picture the OP posted, you can see how much bow is on the glass by the gap where its broken ( mine is similar )