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My 75 gallon derimming project.

41K views 79 replies 45 participants last post by  Desert Pupfish 
#1 · (Edited)
I started removing the rim on a 75 gallon today.
I got the top rim off and tomorrow I will start to remove the bottom rim.
I will cut 3 small pieces of glass and place them in the middle and sides so the glass won't bend.

It took me 30 min to to take the top rim off and clean the silicone.
Hope the bottom goes that fast and well too.

Here are some pics:








 
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#34 ·
With that little bowing out, I think I would make 4 glass triangles about 2 inches on the side going against the end glass, and about 6 inches on the side going to the front/back glass. Then glue them in and I don't think there is any chance of problems. For safety I would knock off about 1/4 inch of the sharp point on the triangles, and break all of the corners so they aren't sharp. The corner braces should virtually eliminate the bowing.

I'm assuming that the tank won't come apart in a week of testing. To "proof" test it, push out on the front/back glasses with about a 1 pound push. That should increase the load on the glass by about 50%.
 
#35 · (Edited)
I think i will go with the triangles and the other piece.

I pulled on the glass really hard and no problem at all.
I'm almost 100% sure it will hold.
 
#42 ·
Your my hero Nalu! LoL. I agree you got some Cojones homie! I think that, all though this is a pretty cool break through in DIY Rimless, I don't think any one should ever keep a DIYed tank of this size in the home. This should be for a basement with a drain and/or a garage. 1 week might go by and all is well. After a month or 2, it might be a different story. I was in a LFS yesterday and I found a Deep Blue Aquarium 75 Gallon for 100, lol I was tempted. lol.
 
#43 ·
Im not a hero, just someone who likes to experiment lol, thanks tough!
Yeah, I don't want to put the tank like that in my living room with hard wood floors, certainly not without the glass braces. In 3 months I move into my new house (after a 2 month trip to me and my wifes hometowns in Europe)
and then I will finish the tank and place it in my garage, for further tests.
Maybe If the tank is still fine after a year (maybe2 years) I will make one like this and put it in my living room. Would be a beautiful cheap tank :D

If you watch craigslist, you can find tanks for free to very low prices. I bought mine for $50 and was 5 years old.
 
#45 ·
You can also obsess over the possibility of any tank breaking when it is in the living room on a hardwood floor. In reality that tank is either designed with sufficient safety factor while rimless, so the rim is not a structural part, or it isn't. We should be able to make that determination independently. Right? Speak up!!
 
#46 ·
I think they use the plastic rims around the tank to actually fabricate the tank faster.
Some silicone on the bottom rim, place the bottom plate on it, some silicone on the top rim, place left and right side in, and then the front and back. Close the seams with silicone and done! They probably don't need clamps to put the tank together. As it said on the sticker on the tank "made by (person)" I don't think I can put a 75 gal together by myself without wasting hours of time. Those tanks have to been made fast due to make fast money...
 
#48 ·
I found this quote which supports your experiment.
The trim (which is generally plastic) offers LITTLE support other than providing a “cushion” between the bottom glass and stand and as well a “convenient” way to place the lid, lights, etc., on top. Of coarse the trim does certainly add to the attractiveness(mg: i like that part :) ), but as someone that has worked with high end aquarium manufacturers and built/repaired many myself, I can tell the reader here from an experience that the trim offers little in support and if it is necessary for support, you have a dangerously poorly built aquarium!
As well, I have removed trim from many tanks (including large ones) and filled them with water with no difference other than the unattractive aspect.
http://www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2007/03/aquarium-silicone.html
 
#55 ·
I don't see why this tank wouldn't hold up to 75g of water without rims. Wouldn't the aquarium split in the corners if it was built poorly regardless of a rim or not?
I know my AGA 29 Gallon has alot of gap between the rim and the glass all the way around so it can't really be holding anything. Plus the pressure from that much water would snap the cheap molded plastic like a twig if the aquarium decided to pop.

of course you know what they say about opinions..

lol
 
#56 ·
Its been sitting outside filled with water to the rim from the rain and all green from the pollen. And yes, its still holding water, I think its 100% trust-able :D
Like I told a little bit earlier, I will first go to Europe for 2 months and then I will set it up in my new house.
 
#59 ·
Yes, I will do the triangles to in the near future, when I have some more time.

I'd personally still want to put at least a 1/4" thick center brace about 3" wide (glass) on anything that comes from the factory with a center brace. Somewhat annoying but can be done nicely.
And yes, I will do a glass center brace just to be sure ;)
 
#60 ·
Came home yesterday from my 2 months trip in Europe, when I left, the tank was filled up with water from the rain, Today, the tank is still full and is still in top shape. I had a 75 gal full with greenwater with mosquito larves and dafia. My fish loved a couple of scoops of that live food after 2 months only flakes.

I decided to make an aluminum rim and center brace. I don't know if that tank still can be trusted without braces if I drill 5 holes in the back.
 
#66 ·
Okay, here we are a month later and it is time for an update. I was reading through this wondering about the brace function as well. After removing it top and bottom from a 20g tall that was sitting in someone's yard I realized it cannot be purely decorative? I mean it was hell to remove and I have battle scars to prove it. Sure if the tank fails the plastic rim can snap but this tank was sitting out in someone's yard under a tree for years and I was cursing a storm removing that plastic.

As much as I would like to trust removing the rim off my 20g L or the 50g I am picking up this week, it still is in the back of my head that I can come home one afternoon after removing the rim and a mess is waiting for me. Tempted but man you really have to think carefully right? I like Roundar's glass center brace though. Not taking away from the look of the tank and not obvious too.

Insofar as how to deal with a glass lid when you have no rim..





 
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