[greenknight]

I know this topic has been beaten to death but few things remain unclear.

I was attempting a 10 G rimless I got from Petco, Aqueon brand...

and I was almost done removing the plastic...when the unthinkable
happened... it cracked.

Now considering how cheap they are...14.99, I am debating whether I
should try it again or not.

That's because I noticed its very hard to remove silicone. I have read
"Goo-Gone" does a good job at removing left over silicone?

thoughts.. comments ?

 

[HoustonFishFanatic]

Next time you head out to buy a 10g head to Wallyworld and get the 10g they sell for 10$. The Aqueon Brand tank I believe have the sides of the tank embedded in the bottom rim. That was atleast my experience with the one I got from petco. It cracked when I tried to remove the bottom rim. I then got a sharp knife and just shaved off the bottom rim on the next one. I have this tank for over 3 years now. Here is what can be acheived in a DIY rimless 10G. http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/88801-10g-spring-colors.html
The one from walmart just has both the rims pasted on it with silicone so it comes of rather easily.

 

[inthewerks]

Excuse me if I am retarded here, but if you make the tank rimless, what is holding the glass together? I dont think silicone can withstand the pressure created by 88 pounds of water in a 10 gallon tank. Can you explain this to me please? Thanks.

 

[jargonchipmunk]

the rim on a 10g isn't really holding anything anyway. There are MUCH larger rimless tanks out there than this. The bond between two pieces of glass with silicon is surprisingly strong.

 

[sparkysko]

You won't be able to find a solvent that will eat cured silicone.

Easiest method I have found is to use the small router bit for a dremel and to just melt/grind the plastic off of the top only. The bit doesn't affect the glass edge. You'll have an inner and an outer piece, and can easily slice off the silicone to free them.

I've tried using a razor plane to shave down the plastic, and that was just almost impossible. I've tried whittling it down with a xacto knife and that was also too difficult.

If you've completely cut all the silicone the piece should just slide off with no risk of breaking the glass.

On the other hand, I've spent alot of time and money going for a rimless 2.5g, and I could have bought an ADA / Do!Aqua tank with twice as thick glass for the same amount I spent... You can get an actual rimless tank for $60, the glass will be thicker, and you'll sleep better at night, knowing it's not going to be as fragile..

Might try just melting the plastic with heat off the top of the rim... Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil, put the tank rim on it, put this on the stove and slowly crank up the heat until the plastic starts melting and you get down to the glass. Still probably have to cut the silicone..

 

[HoustonFishFanatic]

Excuse me if I am retarded here, but if you make the tank rimless, what is holding the glass together? I dont think silicone can withstand the pressure created by 88 pounds of water in a 10 gallon tank. Can you explain this to me please? Thanks.

Most of the world uses rimless tanks especially in Europe and Asia. 10g of water is not a big deal depending on the thickness of glass which is used. The tank I have has been used for 3 years and is on the 4th year now and does not show signs of buckling or leaks. Rims are added generally to tank between 20-125G to save money on glass. Adding a plastic rim is lot cheaper than adding thicker glass.The silicone used to bind the glass is capable of withstanding a lot more pressure than water in a 10G tank.I would not recommend doing this to anything larger than a 10G though.

 

[F22]

tanks that are rimless are made to hold the pressure, simply hacking into a normal 10g aquarium will destroy the structure and nearly gaurantee a leaky or broken tank... save the money and buy a tank made for it... its like cutting a targa top onto a geo metro... not gonna work

 

[invisibleprisms]

you suffer from no mental handicap, that is the biggest challenge when trying to create a rimless tank; that is to say that the number one enemy is the pressure of the water. With that in mind you wouldnt think that the silicone that comes on a standard ten gallon could withstand a D.I.Y. Rimless conversion, but surprisingly they hold up pretty well.

 

[OverStocked]

Excuse me if I am retarded here, but if you make the tank rimless, what is holding the glass together? I dont think silicone can withstand the pressure created by 88 pounds of water in a 10 gallon tank. Can you explain this to me please? Thanks.

You are not retarded, but the silicone can and will. That is exactly what holds together rimless tanks.

I wouldn't take the rim off of a 55g tank, but a 10g or smaller, no problem. I also leave the bottom rim intact.


The edges might be rough, so a knife sharpening stone can help with that

 

[RipariumGuy]

Hydropyte's blog has a great artical on derimming aquariums. You should check it out.

 

[AlexXx]

What that "spring colors" tank is amazing.

 

[greenknight]

HoustonFishFanatic:
ok..update... I got another 10 G Aqueon brand and I read your post too late HoustonFishFanatic !

but good news, I derimed the top part, and for obvious reasons since its a weird
way side panels go into the plastic, I cant derim the bottom..so will leave it like that.

Sparkysko:
Thats exactly what I did before I read your pst, I thought why not put my Dremel to
good use. I cut the edges of the plastic rim with the Dremel cutting tool,
and then used the buffing attachement to clean off the left over silicone which
people in every thread were complaining about that they couldnt completely remove.

The white polishing attachment at high speed removes it like magic !

Now be careful when cutting the plastic, because it can scratch the glass, so thats
why I cut at the corners but still holding dremel parallel to glass, so sractches
wont show anyways.

and, yes I did use Exacto knife to loosen silicon along the plastic rim.

 

[sparkysko]

Razor blade takes off silicone film. I just scrape the heck out of everything and buff it out with a paper towel afterwards.

Glad you got it derimmed. Now if only I could find a way to polish the edges without putting tiny chips in the glass... oh well.

 

[greenknight]

I used the dremel "cotton wheel" to buff and polish it...but it disappeared very fast.
So I used another rubberized buffing attachment,
and realized it was getting so hot, I was fogging the glass..like etching it.

I dont know if its silicone only, we will see, but its only on the side panel edges, so
front will be clear. and ya, I do have tiny chips on edges, not sure if I did them
or if they were there before.

 

[Milq]

Reading this thread last night gave me a dream that the top and bottom rims on my tank were damaged, and I was so worried that the thing was going to explode on me.

 

[greenknight]

Milq: LOL ... thats funny

I'm sort of disappointed at not being able to de-rim the bottom rim though,
and with the scuff-like marks which I think are permanent on the side panels.

I did this as an experiment, but it owuldbe worth it to buy rimless to start with
or if you wanna do DIY, just buy glass panels and assemble it yourself using a
strong grade silicone.

 

[adjangs]

I've had success de-rimming a 10gal from walmart. (the one in the $35 kit) It took about 3 hours of work though to get all of the left over residue off. Before de-rimming it was in use for a year and now has been in use de-rimmed for 2 days without any incidencts... yet.

 

[greenknight]

Adjangs, Did you de-rim the bottom rim also ?

Did it have the side panels sitting in a plastic groove in the bottom rim ?
Or was the bottom panel flush with the edges ?

And did you remove the bottom rim ?

 

[adjangs]

Yep, I de-rimmed the bottom too. It used to sit in a plastic groove so that the bottom glass panel was raised off the stand some. Definitely was not flush. Does it matter for integrity of the tank, or for convenience of de-rimming or..? It's my first and only de-rim so I'm still learning.

I don't have 5 posts yet and so can't post links yet... but if you want to view my guide for the process you can google "How to remove the rim off a standard rimmed tank" By Erik Ostrander.

​

 

[greenknight]

I don't have 5 posts yet and so can't post links yet... but if you want to view my guide for the process you can google "How to remove the rim off a standard rimmed tank" By Erik Ostrander.

nice.. I actually read that also to de-rim the tank.

Well if you see the other post in DIY about 2.5. 5, 10 G de-rim tanks,
the concern with space left under the bottom panel is that pressure
of the 88 lbs in 10 G tank would compromise the seal eventually at the
bottom.

less of a concern with 2.5 or 5 gallons but still a concern.

so we came toconclusion to put somehting under that empty space flush
with the side edges ..(like wood, plastic,etc) to prevent it from crumbling
or leaking.

Heres the link to that Thread http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/diy/105138-de-rimming-2-5-5-10-a.html