Removing a tank rim

[Timber Wolf]

Good evening.

Does anyone have experience removing the upper rim off of an aquarium? I'm considering it on a 50g, 35g, and 30g. The 35 and 30 are over 20" tall. The 50 is only about 16" tall.

I am planning on building a stand that will hold both the 50 and 35, with the 50 on the bottom. This would allow for more stability. I already have a wrought iron stand that will hold the 30 and a 15. Again, I plan on putting the larger one on the bottom.

 

[Squintyekalb]

I've only read of removing a trim and was told it can be done with a simple razor and elbow grease. Sounds too easy IMO but I'm hoping to try it out eventually on my BC30


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[Brookster123]

Some tanks shouldn't be de rimmed, i wouldn't do it to any of the tanks listed unless they have thick glass and you'll be reselling with the appropriate silicone.

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[Timber Wolf]

So what size would you do? Under what criteria?

 

[Brookster123]

So what size would you do? Under what criteria?

I'd just buy a rimless.. new tanks?? Honestly none, all my tanks are new and they all bow with the rim, wouldn't sleep at night without the rim. On an older tank I'd still reseal but I'd de rim a 10, 20l,30l,30b, 40b. I have an old 75, no center brace with 1/2" glass.. some dude on tpt just went rimless with it.. used the proper silicone though..

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[J.Mcpeak]

Are you talking about the structural bracing or the plastic cover trim?
You will jeopardise the integrity of the tank if you remove those braces!
Plastic trim, umm it's just a trim. Not sure it does anything but. . .

That bowing is called deflection. Exceed the limit for the glass, only one thing will happen. Broken glass!

 

[TMRC Exotics]

IMO this is only OK on tanks 10 gallon and under. Maybe a 20 but even that will be 180-200 pounds in the tank, that's more than I trust silicone for in the long run.

 

[Timber Wolf]

Thanks for all this good input. So the general consensus is no, unless the tank is built for it.

 

[mr_X]

I had a DSA 105 rimless recently. I ran it for about a year. It had a definite bow, which I'm assuming the manufacturer felt was ok. It never broke, or leaked, and I only sold it because I hated having a rimless tank (every time I cleaned the glass water would come over the top), plus it was too small for me.

 

[waterphreak]

Hi, (new here) I've just removed the top plastic frame from a 55 Gal and I found that using a plastic credit card (store perks card) worked very well-especially in getting to that top edge. I had to put a fold in the card and it took time and a few cards (I had store cards-the type you get reward points for) I think store cards are slightly thinner than actual credit cards but I didn't mic them up. I like using plastic rather than metal against glass.

 

[Brookster123]

How much larger are the gold fish in compairson to the other fish? Lots of fish will canablize on smaller fish if the size differental is great.

Are you planning on running it rimless??

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[54seaweed]

I look at it like this : if it came with a rim around the tank it's there for a reason ,
removing said rim can cause catastrophic failure , along with voiding any warranty the tank may have ,

think about the big mess if the tank fails , my tank didn't fail structurally but my sump did over flow it was not fun cleaning up the big mess I got up all the water but it seemed more water would build as it sat it took over a week to suck up every drop of water out of the carpet , now I'm going to be replacing the carpet as it has a musky smell , it is a costly risk if it fails it's not worth the risk !

If you want rimless tanks you should buy them that way , as they are constructed a little differently and are built with thicker glass than most tanks,
there's also the choice of seamless vinyl tanks