Turning 90->to rimless 90

Justin1386

New member
So I have a 90 gallon and I wanna turn just the top rimless. The glass is 1/2" thick I just want to remove the top trim and possibly later on turn it to a euro-brace.

I'm leaving the bottom trim because the stand hides it.

Think this will work?
How should I do it?
 
Too big in my opinion. Maybe someone that has done it will chime in. Some say the top trim is just cosmetic and only helps during the curing process.
 
i just got a 38g tank to make a sump. one of the fist things i noticed was the middle brace was slacked and thought i may as well take it off. before i did i filled it up with water and the brace was very straight and tight. i would not remove it for any reason at all. theres a lot of force being applied to the glass and there needs to be something in place to counter it otherwise failure is a very real possibility.
 
Imo 1/2'' glass is pretty thick for a 90 gal tank. If you do remove the trim add the eurobrace right away. No Harm No Foul.
I was told the trim on the tanks is strictly for the assembly process. That statement it for what it is worth?????
 
Not for assembly only. They hold it together for sure. Its a different story if you make the tank yourself and know the quality of the silicone and that it will hold. I wouldn't trust a store bought tank without the trim.
 
I have a 120 which I am currently doing this. It is the same size as your tank but it goes back 24" instead of 18".

Problem #1 The older tanks did indeed use 1/2" glass but only on the 4ft panels. Your side panels (if your tank is like mine which it should be) is actually only 3/8". My glass shop is cutting two new sides for me in 1/2" glass for $65 a side (24"x24"). To rebuild you are going to need to take it apart so you will lose the bottom rim and will need to run foam under the tank on a flat surface. I plan to place it on a slab of finished granite with stainless trim covering the bottom and foam.

Problem #2 The glass you will be exposing by removing the rim is not finished and quite jagged. I was quoted by my glass shop $30-40 to have all four edges of all five panes polished/straighted with 45 degree edge beveling.

Problem #3 ADA uses 1/2" glass for their rimless 120 gallon tank without any euro-bracing. They also use a low-iron glass which is not as strong as standard glass. This would lead me to believe that you would be safe with no Eurobracing. The truth is, ADA has amazing craftsmanship and your glass will not be that straight on the edges. Truth is, for a 4ft pane, 1/16" tolerance is the standard. This is a little over 1.5mm allowing up to 1.5mm of silicone to be between the two sheets of glass, lowering the necessary burst pressure. At bare minimum, you need to add a lower euro-brace. I was quoted $50 from my local glass shop to have 2" eurobraces cut which I do intend to run on the bottom rather than the top.

Good luck!
 
By the way, use a high quality silicone!!! Do some research on this to see what is available to you; don't just buy the stuff they sell at Lowes.
 
bad news if u do that..i had a 90 gallon and i had a 400 watt halide or the center brace and needless to say it broke from the heat and the tank had a bow from front to back 2 1/2 inches across.buy a rimless
 
bad news if u do that..i had a 90 gallon and i had a 400 watt halide or the center brace and needless to say it broke from the heat and the tank had a bow from front to back 2 1/2 inches across.buy a rimless

You probably have one of the newer 90 gallon tanks which are made from 3/8" glass. If you were to just go buy a rimless ADA tank, it would be made of the same exact thickness glass that he already has. For reference, my tank was built in 1997. If you fill it for a leak test and it bows, you can always add a top eurobrace for around $100.
 
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