75 gallon without center brace?SAFE?

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geoffgarcia

Large Fish
#1
Oct 22, 2002
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#1
Hey all, I recently picked up a 75 gallon tank for a very good price only to realize that it doesn't come with a center brace piece on the top of the tank.  So basically its one enormous open area. Now I have a few questions surrounding this.
1) How safe is it? would you take the risk of it breaking? What can I do to fortify the tank short of getting a new top piece (priced at the same amount I got the tank for:)
2) Where can I find a cover/hood/canopy for the tank since it doesn't have the center brace? or should I build one and use 2 24" covers? Which is also a risky manuver in case it falls in:(

What do you think?
 

Matt Nace

Matt Nace

Superstar Fish
#2
Oct 22, 2002
1,470
1
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Pennsylvania
#2
I would goto a home depot or such, and explain that you need a hard plastic to support the tank. It has to be kinda flat, yet strong. It need a little bit of sides to it, to support a glass cannopy. You shouldn't have a piece of glass without a support in the center, unless it is extra thick.

My center brace is starting to break on my 55 gallon...so I will be at the same problem sooner or later.

HTH
 

G

geoffgarcia

Large Fish
#4
Oct 22, 2002
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#4
good:) and your saying I shouldn't worry about all the pressure on the front/back glass pieces?
I guess I'll take your advice and go with some type of divider bar and then a pair of 24" all glass tops....or maybe I'll have to use an 18 and a 24...
Hey, one question in case you know.
For lighting on this 75 gallon beast, i was thinking of DIY with Home Depot Shop lights. I'd like to get around 160 watts to start with and only run 3 of the 4 bulbs to get around 120 watts (to start things off) Do those shop lights run with only 1 of the 2 bulbs in it? Also, any idea if those fixtures can run t8-t12 bulbs? are they electronic or magnetic ballasts? thanks:)
 

Matt Nace

Matt Nace

Superstar Fish
#5
Oct 22, 2002
1,470
1
38
Pennsylvania
#5
I can not find a ballast..which it would mean it is electronic. I don't know if the ballast would support any other bulb than a standard 48 inch-40 watt bulb.

One light does work on the one I have.

Get the one that actually looks "cheaper" from underneath. It has the bulbs closer togeather, and more centered. The sides have an edge , that I easily bent inward to have the light stand on it. The other light had the lights on the side more and it looked like the light would have almost sat on the bulbs.

Going for schultz for the substrate?
 

G

geoffgarcia

Large Fish
#7
Oct 22, 2002
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#7
Well, if this project were up to me then yeah, I'd go with the profile and plant the thing up and down...

but this is a tank I'm helping setup for my bro...
Right now I think he's pretty fond of the way the silver sand type stuff looks.  I told him that plants wouldn't grow to well in that stuff and he said he didn't care...so naturally I told him that 75 gallons is a VERY large tank and I asked what he wanted in the tank...he said "a bunch of spaceships and castles"

...yeah, he's a 28 year old network engineer

I told him we could fit the entire armada of our childhood GI Joe, He-Man, Voltron, and Star Wars figures AND their vehicles and forts and still have extra space in a tank that size:)

Know what he said?
"Cool, lets do it"

I think I'm going to have to slap him around a bit...but he is getting an awesome deal on the setup I think all-n-all its gonna run him about 100-125$ for everything.
My roomate and I are donating an Aqua Clear 300 and 500 filter for free (which we got in a REDICULOUS deal for 30$ shipped), he got the 75 gallon tank for 60$ and I'm going to help him build that hood which will probably run about 40$ and if we go with the profile, maybe 15$ for that....so its a very inexpensive setup. Oh, and we are going to build the stand to, that should cost about 45$ i would guess...and I'm going to convince him to get 2 heaters and a power head (although he is a firm believer that fish should be able to survive at room temperature)

and to think this all started one day when he told me he had 100$ he wanted to spend on a tank for his beta and guppy...and I told him I'd see what I could do...
 

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