# 135 gallon bowing



## BigHeadtheHoss (Mar 11, 2009)

I recently bought a used 6'X1.5'X2' tank. I have had it completely filled with water for 2 weeks and i just noticed it is bowing out in the middle. The tank has no bracing in the center like my 55 gallon does. The glass appears to be 1/2 inch thick and it does have the normal stripping around the top and bottom. It does not appear that there ever was a brace in the middle, but I would rather be safe than sorry. Do 6' tanks typically have a center brace? Is bowing of about 1/4" normal or acceptable?


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## planenut007 (Mar 21, 2009)

I have a 6' 180, it has 2 braces. Also had a 135, 6' it had 2 as well.
I believe you can buy the the plastic, just don't know where.
1/4" seems to be alot, not sure on that, I know some bowing is acceptable.


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## BigHeadtheHoss (Mar 11, 2009)

yeah the bow is pretty severe. i decided to drain most of the water out and notch out three 4x4's. They should serve the dual purpose of support and to hold some homemade lighting. (My wife thinks I spent too much money on my fish tanks already, lol) Hopefully it holds and i can avoid a disaster.


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## planenut007 (Mar 21, 2009)

Yes, my wife same, I try to get by as cheap as possible.
The wood should do the trick, but it needs to be sealed, maybe polyurathayne.


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## Vincent (May 7, 2004)

I would silicone a class center brace underneath the top tank frame as in this photo:

http://www.utahaquatics.com/viewtopic.php?t=9140&highlight=


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## BenHugs (Jan 13, 2007)

I would put in a glass brace too. That's a lot of water to end up on your floor.


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## pmcbar (Dec 12, 2006)

I have an old 135g with 1/2 inch glass and it does not have a center brace. Older tanks were built with thicker glass and did not have ceter braces. They were designed to bow. Mine bows out around 1-2 inches
I have tried to silicone glass as a center brace but i have not gotten the silicone to hold. When I fill the tank up it still bows out and the silicone is not strong enough to hold the glass in place and the tank together.
So I just gave up but I do have a piece of glass set in there to hold my glass tops and lights in place.
I've had it set up for almost a year with out any problems


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## BigHeadtheHoss (Mar 11, 2009)

thanks for the advice and info


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## mithesaint (Oct 31, 2006)

pmcbar said:


> I have an old 135g with 1/2 inch glass and it does not have a center brace. Older tanks were built with thicker glass and did not have ceter braces. They were designed to bow. Mine bows out around 1-2 inches
> I have tried to silicone glass as a center brace but i have not gotten the silicone to hold. When I fill the tank up it still bows out and the silicone is not strong enough to hold the glass in place and the tank together.
> So I just gave up but I do have a piece of glass set in there to hold my glass tops and lights in place.
> I've had it set up for almost a year with out any problems


I'll second what he said...except mine doesn't bow quite that far. Probably only a 1/2" or so. Whatever the case, I couldn't find a replacement top piece, and had the same luck with trying to silicone braces in. If I was truly concerned, I'd probably try to eurobrace it, but I like being able to use HOB filters.


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## theoryguru (Oct 11, 2011)

I completely resealed my 120g its older made with 1/2" thick glass. I didnt have any cross braces so i added 2 of them - 18" x 3" 2 ft apart. I filled the tank and 3/4 full no problems. Then a week later I filled it near the top as normal and a few hrs later noticed the xbraces came off on one side. I measured the bow in the middle and it was 1/4".

I put a lot of work into this tank - 3D bg, ugj,etc.- I'd hate to take it apart and buy a new one, but like everyone else I want to sleep good at night and not worry about it bursting.

Does anyone know what the acceptable tolerance for bowing a 72" x 18" x 22.5" tank?
Also, how do I really know I have an older tank that was built without xbraces and will be ok without them them? :-?


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## theoryguru (Oct 11, 2011)

anyone else have an older style tank minus xbraces?


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## Sub-Mariner (Dec 7, 2011)

WOW, you mean someone actually used the search? :thumb:

*** came across a few threads awhile back where people said they have had older tanks that didnt have any center bracing and it was fine. Id still be hesitant without them due to the bowing issue like youre having.

Heres some threads you might read through that deals with tanks that have no cross bracing. Good luck!
https://www.google.com/search?q=tank+no ... =firefox-a


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## zimmy (Aug 13, 2010)

theoryguru said:


> anyone else have an older style tank minus xbraces?


I have a Hagen 110G (72x19x20) with 1/2" glass. They don't put a brace on this size and there is some slight bowing of about 1/4".

I would only really worry about it if the tank was built with a brace but this part was now missing. If it was designed without a brace, it won't hurt to put one on, but I wouldn't worry about it.

Having a brace does make it easier to put a glass lid on though.


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## theoryguru (Oct 11, 2011)

Well, I sold the tank and bought a new one; I have to sleep at night.
Patience and peace of mind, part of the hobby.
Thanks for replying


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