Removing black plastic trim on a ten gallon?

1961 Views 8 Replies 8 Participants Last post by Drumachine09, Jul 31, 2007

CampCreekTexas

Discussion Starter · Jul 18, 2007

I read on a thread here that you could remove the black plastic trims on a ten gallon tank (glass) and it would be fine. Anybody done that? That trim doesn't really hold anything, does it? They seem awful loose.

I have one tank, an old one, that the bottom trim was already off when I got it. So far no problems, so I was hoping I could take the top off as well. And then I thought it'd look nice for all the tanks to be "trimless".

I know that the glass edges could be sharp. #2-Son was a glass worker for a while, so can help me sand those down. I'm mostly just wondering about the strength of the seals.

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HoustonFishFanatic

· #2 · Jul 18, 2007

i have just completed removing the trim from 10 G. Be careful with the seal. and yeah The trim on the 10 G that u get at walmart are the easiest to remove. Top Fin 10 G have the bottom trim built into the tank.
I am not sure how reliable this is(leaks?????) but i have used trim less tank with the same glass thickness before without any bowing.
My 10G has sharp edges any idea how i can smooth the down.

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Nightshop

· #3 · Jul 18, 2007

If one was inclined to do so; you could go to your nearest hardware store and purchase this one particular GE silicone most places sell, I can't recall the exact name of the stuff. Used to use it to build DIY tanks and I'm willing to bet you could improve upon the siliconed joints of a de-rimed ten gallon to make it leak proof.

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Plecosterone

· #4 · Jul 18, 2007

To take the sharp edges off the glass you need to use a sandpaper made for use with water. It can be bought at any home improvement / hardware store. Use 400 grit or more and just sand the edges. Make sure you keep the surface wet because if too much heat builds up it can crack the glass.

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Gatekeeper

· #5 · Jul 18, 2007

Nightshop said:
If one was inclined to do so; you could go to your nearest hardware store and purchase this one particular GE silicone most places sell, I can't recall the exact name of the stuff. Used to use it to build DIY tanks and I'm willing to bet you could improve upon the siliconed joints of a de-rimed ten gallon to make it leak proof.

Silicone I is the "aquarium safe" version.

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Naja002

· #6 · Jul 18, 2007

Nightshop said:
If one was inclined to do so; you could go to your nearest hardware store and purchase this one particular GE silicone most places sell, I can't recall the exact name of the stuff. Used to use it to build DIY tanks and I'm willing to bet you could improve upon the siliconed joints of a de-rimed ten gallon to make it leak proof.

GE RTV108...

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tropicalfish

· #7 · Jul 18, 2007

RTV108 is a very strong silicone, should have used it on my old old 30 gallon instead of GE I when I resealed the whole thing, but I use it as backup so it shouldn't matter much.

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CampCreekTexas

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jul 18, 2007

My 10G has sharp edges any idea how i can smooth the down.

Don't know for sure, Houston, as #2-Son has that knowledge and not me, but the advice you were given sounds good. I've read that it's very different than sanding wood or other things since glass can fracture microscopically at the edges if you do it wrong (the entire edge can be covered with tiny fractures that could spread to the interior of the glass) and you'd never know it. I think that's why Plecosterone was talking about using water to avoid heat buildup ... ? I'd suggest looking that info up on the 'net. I've seen some really good webpages on how to do that, but don't know where they are right now. I found those links from a thread here on how to build your own tank.

Thanks for the info. everybody!

I have some GE RTV108 silicone (bought it to repair and reseal an old 55 gallon I have in the barn) and I thought about taking my tanks apart completely and resealing with that, leaving the trim off when I'm done. I think they'd look a lot nicer with no trim and smaller seals. Some parts of the seals now are an inch across ~ ugh! That's part of what got me thinking about removing the trim ~ what the tank would look like "cleaned up" a bit. I think four "rectangles of water" would look sweet on my display shelves in the living room. So, that's now on my "To Do" list...

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Drumachine09

· #9 · Jul 31, 2007

GE I window and door (in clear) is also aquarium safe. Most silicons that dont contain any "mold inhibitors", and have a strong vinegar smell are aquarium safe. They also make it in black, but thats hard to find.

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