Need Guidelines for Building Tank

[PMaj]

Hi everyone,
I'm going to try my hand at building my own acrylic fish tank since I have now outgrown by 55 gallon. I know the general rules about any height over 20 inches has to be half inch thickness. The size of the tank and I want to build is 48 x 20 x 24. What I like to know is for the top plate to I really need a center brace instead it being completely open. On my acrylic 55 gallon the center brace gets in the way in anything I do. So if I could eliminate the center brace it would be so much easier to landscape, catch fish, put in a diy background that is a one-piece instead of multiple pieces, etc. By the way how do production tanks get away with their side panes being such a thin thickness. My 55 gallon is 48 x 13 x 20 and it's all made of 1/4 inch thick acrylic.
Looking forward to your ideas and comments,
Pat

 

[Ziggy953]

You don't have to have a center brace if you use euro bracing all the way around the top of the tank. Have a look here http://www.melevsreef.com/acrylics/sumps/e/sump_model_e.html I know this isn't a "tank" but it will give you an idea of what I'm talking about. The brace that runs all the way around the tank keeps things square.

 

[bs6749]

Also, acrylic tanks are supposedly 5 times as strong as glass tanks so that would explain why the thickness could be less than glass.