Broken center brace

Hey everyone,
So my center brace on my 80g reef broke and I would like to replace the top frame. I fabbed up a temp fix with some acrylic and nylon bolts but I still have a little bit of a bow in the glass. I have the water down about 10g just to take some pressure off but with an established system and not enough funds to replace the whole tank I need to be able to replace just the top frame. I am looking for advise from those who have do this before. Do I need to drain the whole tank or can I just drain it to about halfway? What is the process and how exactly would be the beat way to do it. Razor blade, hack saw? I'm just a little confused. Please, any advise would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance for the help.

 

Anyone... I need a little assistance....

 

If you do a search there have been many people on here that have done it (both fixed and replaced) and also places that sell the tops. I don't have the threads on hand. That should tell you all you need to know.

 

How long has it been broken? If it happened recently, I would remove at least 20% of the water to be safe. Can you tell if the silicon joints are still OK? Make sure they are not beginning to separate. They will turn from clear to milky white when they are separating.

Most top frames are glued to the glass using silicone. You can carefully run a razor blade between the frame and glass to cut the silicone. Since the center brace is broken, I assume you are replacing it as well as the top frame?

 

Yes I will be replacing the entire top frame with the center brace connected. I will be sure to check the silicone to make sure that it is clear and not milky, that would not be good. Thank you for the help.

 

I did attempt to locate a thread where someone had to do it but there really wasnt anything that I could find that had like a step by step. Maybe I just didnt look very well. If anyone knows the thread that would help.
i just want to do this right the first time and really dont want any issues.
thanks for your help

 

HMM I know there are at least three, I'll do some digging and see what I can find.

 

Here's a link to that thread, http://www.3reef.com/forums/i-made/tank-tops-bottoms-122139.html. There are a couple of sites if you scroll down.