theyellowdart Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Lately I've been looking into buying a standard 10 gallon and and manually removing the black rim to make it rimless. I've seen people do this before, but I also remember hearing that it can have negative effects on the integrity of the tank (weakens the glass at the seams). Would it be safe in the long run? If not, could I get away with just taking off the top rim? Thanks for any help. Link to comment
farkwar Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Derimming a 10 gallon off the shelf tank is like trying to polish a turd. Why bother? Link to comment
Meech Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 I took off the top rim on my 12. there are tons of people that have done this successfully. Read this. Be sure to do test the integrity by filling it with fresh water and leaving it to sit for a day or two (outside or in the bathtub in case it fails). There are also rimless 10g available for fairly cheap... you may find one at your lfs. Link to comment
theyellowdart Posted January 13, 2010 Author Share Posted January 13, 2010 Derimming a 10 gallon off the shelf tank is like trying to polish a turd. Why bother? Please don't post in here if your only going to come out with some wise crack remark. I honestly don't give a $#*% about your opinion on how it looks. I'm just asking if it's safe. Why bother? Because I don't have the money for a nice ADA or other brand that makes rimless tanks. I personally don't think it looks bad anyway. Edit- Thank you very much Meech. I'll read up. Link to comment
farkwar Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 No, it's not safe. Don't cut yourself. Notwithstanding, they still look like turds. Link to comment
nanoty Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 No, it's not safe. Don't cut yourself. Notwithstanding, they still look like turds. Turd? Link to comment
Meech Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 That looks good Ty.... I wish I had the guts to take the bottom rim off mine....too shicken... Link to comment
ldballoon4 Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 IMO removing the rim is not worth the anomaly. I would not do it since it was designed for its removal. Spend the extra money and do it right. You don"t want to risk 10 gallon leak. I took off the top rim on my 12. there are tons of people that have done this successfully. Read this. Be sure to do test the integrity by filling it with fresh water and leaving it to sit for a day or two (outside or in the bathtub in case it fails). There are also rimless 10g available for fairly cheap... you may find one at your lfs. A day or two does not warrant adequate data on the tank's ability to sustain rigidness over a long period of time. Link to comment
nanoty Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 That looks good Ty.... I wish I had the guts to take the bottom rim off mine....too shicken... Thanks, if you haven't seen the thread I should mention that I broke the tank down to the panes, had it cut and re-siliconed it back. The first pic is the tank, stock, minus trim after tons of razor work to remove the trim silicone. It was a lot of work but came out well and I think would work fine without the trim. Would I do it again? Nope Link to comment
Meech Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 IMO removing the rim is not worth the anomaly. I would not do it since it was designed for its removal. Spend the extra money and do it right. You don"t want to risk 10 gallon leak. A day or two does not warrant adequate data on the tank's ability to sustain rigidness over a long period of time. Idballoon's response is fair. You are taking a risk. Just know that many people have been just fine with a DIY rimless tank. I decided the risk wasn't substantial enough to spend the extra money. After heaps of research tanks begin to bow slightly, then leak, then fail. I'm around often enough to monitor things. That being said, if there's a catastrophic failure (which isn't impossible) I have no one to thank but myself. In the meantime, I'm enjoying my DIY rimless tank for $10. You'll have to decide for yourself... as with every issue on NR.... everyone's got a different opinion. Thanks, if you haven't seen the thread I should mention that I broke the tank down to the panes, had it cut and re-siliconed it back.... Would I do it again? Nope yeah... I'm way to lazy for anything that intense... when you say you wouldn't do it again do you mean you wouldn't go to such lengths and just de-rim it with the panes still together, or you'd just skip the derimming altogether? Link to comment
ajmckay Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 The standard 10g tank is very thin glass. While the black trim doesn't do a whole lot, it does help keep the glass rigid and in place. These tanks were designed to be used with the rim. That being said I think it'll still hold water, but it'll become very fragile. Your standard tanks aren't known for their craftsmanship. When you take the rim off you'll likely find a pretty rough glass edge possibly with chips & other things which are currently protected by the black rim but could turn into big cracks if you hit it while unprotected. Good luck whatever you decide to do. Link to comment
cbachman Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Please don't post in here if your only going to come out with some wise crack remark. I honestly don't give a $#*% about your opinion on how it looks. I'm just asking if it's safe. Why bother? Because I don't have the money for a nice ADA or other brand that makes rimless tanks. I personally don't think it looks bad anyway. Edit- Thank you very much Meech. I'll read up. I feel your pain man. I would love to go rimless but definitely do not have the money for it. I did eventually set up a 55 (with a rim) and i love having it. Any tank is better than no tank but your also gonna be stuck with it a while so take your time in getting what you want. Link to comment
Meech Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Your standard tanks aren't known for their craftsmanship. When you take the rim off you'll likely find a pretty rough glass edge possibly with chips & other things which are currently protected by the black rim .... Another good point... you might not like what you find underneath the rim... one of my edges was chipped a bit... I just made that pane the back... Link to comment
ldballoon4 Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 yeah, i unfortunately tried this years ago and the tank leaked all over the landlord's floor. Wont do that again! Link to comment
nanoty Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 yeah... I'm way to lazy for anything that intense... when you say you wouldn't do it again do you mean you wouldn't go to such lengths and just de-rim it with the panes still together, or you'd just skip the derimming altogether? Yes Granted the whole thing only cost $18 even with cutting the glass and all I think I would just save another $80 and go with the ADA. Only reason I jumped into this thread is to show it can look ok if your willing to put a little work in it. Link to comment
cptbjorn Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Here's one I did and I trust it just fine, the front and back bow about 1/32" which is less than a lot of the rimmed tanks bow. Link to comment
theyellowdart Posted January 13, 2010 Author Share Posted January 13, 2010 Thanks everyone for the great responses. I'll have to do more thinking and research. If I can find the tank in Got2Envy's thread or one similar to it, I'll go with that... But google hasn't come up with anything so far. Thanks again! Link to comment
farkwar Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Turd? Hope someone tells you that your tank has holes in it. It's not going to hold much water. Link to comment
nanoty Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Hope someone tells you that your tank has holes in it. It's not going to hold much water. Oh ####! Link to comment
shaner014 Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 I took the top rim only off of my ten gallon about 2 and half months ago now. No regrets. I have the AC70 supported underneath so the weight isn't hanging on the tank, other than that I do things pretty standard. Im a little more careful with the mag-float, but that's it. I would def do it again, makes the tank look so much better. my two cents. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.