Curious...

[SupaJSK]

On a glass tank, what provides the support for the glass sides? Is it most that small piece of plastic that goes around the top and bottom of a tank or is it the silicone sealant? Just curious, thanks...

[blown63chevy]

I beleive it's a combination of both. I don't think one will work without the other. Case in point, I have a 150 gallon all glass tank. It has the plastic trim on the top and bottom and a peice of glass across the center that's siliconed in. The top trip came apart at one corner and the glass started to seperate at that corner leaving me to beleive that it's a combination of the two that hold it together. I was able to save the tank by removing the old silicone between the glass edge and replacing it along with reattaching the corner trim peice that came apart. It's been working fine since, about a year now. Just my experience with it.

[tendar]

On a glass tank, what provides the support for the glass sides? Is it most that small piece of plastic that goes around the top and bottom of a tank or is it the silicone sealant? Just curious, thanks...

I do believe the plastic across the top does not provide any real support it is all in the silicone that holds it together.

[Ninong]

On a glass tank, what provides the support for the glass sides? Is it most that small piece of plastic that goes around the top and bottom of a tank or is it the silicone sealant? Just curious, thanks...

On most standard glass tanks it is the silicone in combination with the cross bracing or Euro-style perimeter bracing that holds the tank together. If the tank is not too tall, you can get by without top bracing but very few U.S. tank manufacturers are willing to go that route. Project Reef's new Starphire cube tank from Inter-American has no top bracing of any kind but I believe it is only about 20" tall.

Some of the most expensive Japanese tanks have no top bracing of any kind, cross or Euro, but instead have a very expensive narrow stainless steel frame at the top and bottom of the tank.