Jewel 400 Brace Bars.

[Mrbarry]

Hi all, I'll start by saying I'm a new member, or at least first post. I've been keeping fish for many years and have had all sorts of set ups from a 24x12x18 trop set up, to a 132x36x30 trop set up in 32mm plate glass, wish I still had it but heating 500 gallons of water wasn't getting any cheaper lol. I live in the midlands and am returning to fish after a couple of years dry

I have a 30x14x21 set up, fresh water tropical with a 30x11x9 home made glass sump, and a 24x12x18 trop set up, but had a hankering for some thing larger, a Jewel 400 came along cheap with a ehieme pro3 filter so I snapped it up, but....


The two brace bars from the top of the tank are absent, I called maidenhead aquatics and they can next day them for me, but £50 :shock: We have an identical tank in our reception at work and on inspection today the braces in there are starting to part from the rim allowing the front to bow around 5mm. I am reluctant to replace them with the same so plan on ordering a pair of 8mm thick glass bars 40mm wide and 58 inches long (you gotta love the continuity in denomination haha) and silicon sealing them along the top of the glass under the plastic rim like a standard rimmed tank. I will then add two 8x40 braces front to back spaced equidistant apart. Has any one else ever tried this solution? I will post results as I find them.

It also needs a new lid but I plan cutting one from high gloss white plastic sheet on the laser cutter at work to match the high gloss stand (I sprayed it as my living room isn't beach friendly).

 

[star4]

Brace bars are cheaper on ebay. I am presuming you have the older model with the thin brace bars. Another option (which I am slowly doing now with my Jewel tanks) is to find a local tank maker and get them to fit glass brace bars to it. The plastic ones do not last that long and if you stick them to the plastic trim once they break you have to put the next one off centre. Its happened so many times on two of my rio 300'ds that now I have to have two brace bars as its so far off centre. Great tanks, stupid design brace bars, but the new thicker ones are better.

 

[Mrbarry]

It's a newer tank but the design is flawed, no way that was going to last!

I have built a few tanks over the years, as long as everything is clinically clean it's a simple process, I had planned to add glass braces my self but a helpful member sent me a link to a place that is so cheap I may as well let them do it for me. .

 

[Essjay]

I thought it was just my tank, a rio 125! The bracer bar has come off the back of the tank and is twisting the trim as it is still attached to that. The glass is also bowing front and back. My husband is wary of letting me do any DIY on it - he is paranoid about flooding and won't even let me have an external filter in case the seal goes.
On the plus side, I announced I needed a new tank, and not only did he agree to me getting a bigger one, he got rid of the long unused piano so I have somewhere to put it. I'm just waiting for my new custom built tank to arrive

 

[Mrbarry]

Sounds like a good result then. I will post pictures of my repair so others can consider doing the same if they wish. A new tank wasn't an option I am a DIY kinda guy.

I finaly decided to order two lengths of glass 10mm x 50 x 1747 and add them front and back the full length of the tank just under the plastic lip, and two pieces 8x50x470 to use as additional braces front to back ontop. Total cost for the glass from brownhills glass was £17, that's with machined edges too. Extremely cheap I thought. Other cost £5 for a large tube of aquatic silicone sealer.

I will be doing the job in a week or so, will post pictures and results