So I've been messing with the idea of breaking down a standard 10 gallon tank to make a sort of cube tank for awhile. The only info I can find is people taking off the rim of a 10 gallon. I figured the $20 investment(Tank and glass cutter) into making my own cube would be worth it, even if it fails, versus spending $60+ ordering an actual cube or buying thick acrylic. I have all the tools other than the cutter to break down the tank, smooth edges, and re-assemble it.

My question is would I be able to use the panes to make a 10"Lx10"Wx12"H "cube" fairly safely? Or is the glass too thin/needs a rim to maintain rigidity?

rather than disassembling the tank, have you considered blocking off a portion of the tank to get the size you want. use a piece of large size pored sponge for filtration (i think it's called a mattenfilter) and you can put your heater, chemical medium, etc behind it.

i believe the glass on 10's is 1/8"thick.

That's kind of what my current setup is like. Standard 10 with an internal sump that makes the dispay 16Lx10Wx12H. Kind of wish I went with the matten filter route on it and angled it to give the display more room/better flow.

It's more of a footprint thing, I want it in a space that a full size tank wouldn't work. The glass is 1/8" but I read it's double strength or something. Not sure if that makes it harder to work with using basic tools.

Personally I would call a glass shop near you. You may end up paying a bit more, but you can just pick up the glass already cut/polished. Trying to remove the trim and take all the panes apart can be a PITA and the more you handle that glass, the more opportunities to break it. If you really want the experience of cutting the glass yourself, I would still recommend getting a sheet from the glass shop and cutting it down yourself.

Curious what you ended up doing? For others coming here with the same idea here is my experience: The ten gallons are a huge pain to remove the rims. I’ve done it several times for various projects. The one tank I dif use to scape worked greats and had loads of plants, substrate, and stones. Ran for over a year until I moved and when I attempted to tank it with me it was a major fail XD. Leaked from just trying to slightly lift/scooch it onto a board. Slapped on a piece of Flex Seal tape and was able to make it to my new place LOL.

Now my ADVICE would be use a 20 gallon for projects as the glass is thicker and the rims are way easier to remove! The rim has a better gap to get your fingers + blade under, is less flexible making it easier to cut + brake. The silicone is easier to tidy up and is better to start with. I had the rim off it 4 minutes. Now a derimmined 20 gal tall is my main high tech scape and it’s lovely, running strong for over a year.

Problem is I need to move it again but just to another location in the room on a new proper aquarium stand. Where it is now up against a wall on top of an exact dimension book case under a winding staircase with nonslip mat under it has me at a loss on how to move it or even get it off the book case to attempt to move it. Any advice would be welcomed!

I looked into it more and decided against it, for now. I'll definitely keep in mind using a 20 gallon instead, it's just that getting anything other than a 10 gallon in my area requires a lot of driving or paying 3x what they're worth. Paying 3x for a 20 is still less than buying a true rimless online though.

On moving the tank, I'd say it's probably best to just break it down. Maybe just leaving gravel in it, that's how I've moved all my tanks in the past. I'm going to have to do that again soon for my new setup, I have a 5 gallon bucket and a small heater ready for plants/livestock while I move eveything around.