Removing top trim to go rimless?

[Tom@HaslettMI]

Thanks for all of the replies. You guys are pretty much echoing all of my concerns while also giving me some additional things to think about.

I would normaly say bracing can only be taken off on smaller tanks, but....

I see the extra thick glass and the glass bracing. I am no expert, but I dont even see a need to euro brace on this one. Alot of the older tanks, especialy the ones with the glass center brace are built with the plastic trim being only cosmetic, from what I remember growing up.

I could be wrong, but....

^ this sums up my thoughts pretty well.

I recall reading that the edges of trimmed tanks are often unfinished (not polished.) I'd be concerned with cuts from sharp edges.

That said, I don't think I'd do it. 17 years in storage is a long time. I'd be concerned about the silicone degrading and any problems being exasperated by the removal of the trim. IMO, 90 gallons is too much water to take any uncalculated risk with.

But that's just my uneducated opinion - I'm a chicken when it comes to the possibility of saltwater on the floor (and everywhere thereunder.)

Good points. I had planned on finishing the edges.

IME silicone does not degrade. My current tank has been up for 11 years and my dad has a FW thank that has been set up for more than 30 years. From my searches on other forums the general consensus is that UV can degrade silicone but little else. This tank has been stored in a cool dark basement for the duration.

I too am nervous about this. Thus the thread. If I decide to go for it I'll likely do a several month leak test with FW.

The glass under that trim is most likely not only sharp, but may not line up in the corners. I took apart a tank from a "local", and the glass was off by nearly a HALF INCH in one corner. (The space was filled with silicone. )

As for the euro brace idea, I like that over going straight rimless with a 3/8" tank. A 1/2" I would be all for going rimless on.

I think the glass under the trim is pretty good. The trim is quite flimsy and I can pull the inside edge out and get my finger pretty close to the top. Can't be 100% certain but it seem good.

I agree Euro brace seems wise.

+1

If I were to do it with this tank I would be sure the glass is polished (or get some of the items to do it myself) and then I would cut the entire tank apart and re-glue it together with some RTV103 or RTV108 depending if you want black or clear silicone seams.

Personally I'm more confident in a 17+ year old silicone done by a professional than anything I could do... mostly because I hear RTV can be tricky to get right.

One of the main reasons I'm even considering this is that the trim on this tank is so wimpy and there is glass center brace already in place. I'll get a few trim measurements on it as well as my other tanks for comparison and will post them later on.

Thanks for all of the input and please keep them coming.

Tom