The Puffer Forum

Ok so yesterday I was adding more decor to my 50 gallon tank and to my supprise I found that my tank was breaking. I'm not sure if its somthign to worry about but the divider that is in the midde at the top of my tank has basically seperated from the top front of my tank! I can have pictures of it later tonight once I get off of work. is this somthing I should be worried about?

PHOTOS:

Would need to see picture to be sure. It might be an easy fix. If your glass is not bowing you don't have a problem yet. Best way to tell is put a level on the front middle of your glass or a flat ruler.

there is rulers that arent flat?!?! just kidding. I'll take some pictures and find a level to put to it on my lunch break which should be soon. I'll report back with my findings. ^_^

Ok Photos posted! anyones input please?

From the looks I would say it is bowing.

I would get a piece of arcyrlic cut, then cut the brace out completely and use the arcyrlic as a brace, or leave the brace and put the arcyrlic over the brace and silicone it to the tank . You can silicone it to the inside of the tank where the brace was attached before. I have a friend that did this with a 210 gallon tank. You will have to lower the water level if the tank is bowing until the silicone drys. This will probally take a few days. You may also need to get a couple of sturdy boards and make something like a clamp to hold it together while it dries. I'll see if I can find that old post and direct you to it.

Their situation was a little different than yours but if you scroll down you can see the picture of the brace they made to hold the tank while the silicone dried.
http://houstonfishbox.com/modules.php?n ... e&start=25

Hope this helps.

I need to register to see the pictures? I'm unable to do that here at work. is there anyway you could transfer the pictures here to puffer frum?

Try these links:

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x315 ... C_1060.jpg
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x315 ... C_1061.jpg

brillant! I'm sure i have some left over wood laying around the house someplace. any ide how much the plexiglass would cost for like a 6" by 18"(I'm not sure on the witdh of my tank)? and is there a special kind of silicone sealant I would need to use?

I think they used aquarium silicone (you can get a tube of this at petsmart). Try Lowe's or Home Depot for the plexiglass, they may be your cheapest bet. The piece I got was from a glass compnay but I had holes put in so that I could screw it into the lip of the tank. I think I paid like $30 to have it cut and drilled for one strip. Other people have told me they went to Lowe's or Home depot, can't remember which, purchased the plexiglass and they cut it for free. But they had to sand the sharp edges.

Plexiglass can be awkward to cut sometimes, there seems to be a knack to it. We tried it but made a complete hash of it (probably just our complete lack of DIY skills though ). So in the end we just had it cut. Very cheap, about £5 or £10 but glad we did cause it was so much better than our attempt.

so it looks like this happens quite a bit then? what is 5 or 10 pounds(thats pounds right?) in US dollars? 5 pounds is like $8.5 isnt it?

Yep sure is pounds (British Pound Sterling if you want to be precise ). £5 is exactly $8.645, and £10 is $17.29.