Yeah rimless tanks require thicker glass. You could add the glass strip or strips, they call this euro bracing. You have to silicone it to the actual glass of the tank though as silicone does not bond well to plastic

So brace it on the inside?

Gpfifer wrote:
Yeah the inside of the rim. There's lot's of ways people do it with traditional euro bracing being strips of glass all the way around the tank and then cross bracing where necessary. I've seen where strips are just used along the front and back panels of the tank then adding a cross brace.

Here's traditional euro bracing:



Here's one with just one wide strip in the middle:

Theaggressiveoscar wrote:
So is the only bracing that is broken on the bottom? In other words the top bracing is fine? If so, first i wouldn't worry about the crack on the outer trim. It wont cause any problems, I have them on a couple of my tanks and they're no big deal. As for the bottom cross brace I would get yourself a 3/8" piece of glass thats 10-12" wide and silicone it to the bottom and sides of the tank on the inside. This will suffice as long as you clean areas you'll be applying silicone to properly and use the proper silicone

I've heard about euro bracing, but I thought it could only be done with acrylic aquariums

I just called perfecto manufacturing in Indiana and they said they do have frames in that size! but that my LFS has to order it from them. They can't sell it directly to me, I don't know why. (I didn't give them a call before because I thought they were another company since perfecto is now marineland)

should I just get the new frames for it?or should I go with euro bracing?

They also said that I had to make sure my tank was made by them, I saw a tag in the inside of the glass on the frame that says:
Built by MG/ CL
Mar 2005

And there's an anchor in the tag, which I'm pretty sure that it is Perfecto's Logo, right?

Yep, that's Perfecto. I don't know if they are in your area, but I deal w/ a franchise called The Fish Factory.(I'm pretty sure they are in a few states.)They could probably order & ship one to you.

I agree w/ you for telling that lame LFS to get bent. They just don't want to sell you a frame so you have to get a new tank. Stick w/ JasonR's advice, & get a hold of Nicki, too. They know their shit when it comes to fixing aquariums. Your in good hands.

I'm going to try this one aquarium store that I just found on google that's not too far away from where I live. stores.theplantedaquariumstore.com/StoreFront.bok
(The fish factory is unfortunately only located in Wisconsin )

Hopefully they can help me, and I'll also see if they are interested in buying my green terror babies once they get bigger while I'm at it

I had the same problem with my 180 top brace... what you need to do is find a distributer that either has it in stock or can get it from the manufacturer. Then you need to find a store that uses that distributor so they can order it for you. As far as acually getting the frame off, doing the top brace for me was not easy or fast but it is doable. You will need to be careful. There will be alot of silicon because it wil be sticking to the side AND bottom of the tank... you dont want to shatter the bottom. PM me if you want the details of how I got mine off.

claude3rd wrote:
Will do, thanks

Yeah removing them is an SOB! Just don't get pissed and end up breaking the tank! Good luck bud!

Should I get start getting it off now?so that when the new frames get here they can be siliconed and the tank can be ready quicker?

- Cutoff tool (Dremel)w/ good cutting wheel.
- Painters tool
- Razor scraper w/ many, many blades
- Acetone
- Case of your favorite beer


*You need to cut all four corners of the frame... diagonally from the inside corner to the outside corner. You need to cut al the way though the plastic but not hit the glass to much.
*Now you need to use the dagger end of the painters tool and work it into the seam between frame and the tank, you are trying to cut any silicone that is there and separate the frame from the tank... this is why you need to cut the corners of the frame. It makes it much easier to pull off the straight pieces instead of the whole thing.
*Once the frame is off use the razor blade to remove all the silicone on the bottom and sides, be careful not to cut into the silicone seams BETWEEN the bottom and sides... that would suck. Use the acetone to clean any "residue" the old silicon leaves behind. This is important because new silicone will not stick to old.
*Put a generous bead of silicone on the new frame (wash it first) and stick it in the tank... let it cure and you are good to go.

Also if you even remotely think that you want to reseal the tank do it now.

Good luck!!!!