# Derimming 29 gallon.



## Daniil (Oct 30, 2009)

I got a standard 29 gallon All Glass fish tank and I was wondering if I could make it go rimless and use glass triangles in the upper corners of the tank or I have to silicone small strips of glass along the longer sides of the tank (near the top) to prevent bowing?


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## redman88 (Jan 6, 2009)




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## Scotty (Jun 11, 2009)

I think that stand would keep it from blowing out! But I believe that was the whole idea.... Am I right? I did a 15H before with no bracing and no problems. I would say de-rim it, fill it, measure the bow. Then maybe add some bracing. I like trying new things! Go for it. Report back with any problems.


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## redman88 (Jan 6, 2009)

the stand doesn't seam to make any difference for the tank


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## Scotty (Jun 11, 2009)

Hmmm, It looks as if you buillt the stand to in-case the tank tightly. But it looks good anyways!


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## redman88 (Jan 6, 2009)

that was the idea. but it turns out the tank isn't bowing out enough


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## Daniil (Oct 30, 2009)

skonoski said:


> I would say de-rim it, fill it, measure the bow. Then maybe add some bracing. I like trying new things! Go for it. Report back with any problems.


I will de-rim it today or tomorrow, give it a good test and let you know.ray:
Thanks


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## Daniil (Oct 30, 2009)

Rim and ugly silicone has been removed.:whoo:
Filled with water to the top, measured the bow, 1/8 in on both sides. Is that too much or it will be fine?

I will post pictures later, my battery died in the camera.:doh:


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## Scotty (Jun 11, 2009)

Dont hold me to it, but that sounds about right for what the 15H did. Plus the 15H had thinner glass than a 29. I went out and looked, i have both sizes. You should be good. Maybe keep it filled for a week or 2 and keep measuring to make sure it doesnt get wider.


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## Daniil (Oct 30, 2009)

skonoski said:


> Dont hold me to it, but that sounds about right for what the 15H did. Plus the 15H had thinner glass than a 29. I went out and looked, i have both sizes. You should be good. Maybe keep it filled for a week or 2 and keep measuring to make sure it doesnt get wider.


Thank you.


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## Scotty (Jun 11, 2009)

No Prob. I love the looks of rimless tanks, Did you take the bottom rim off too?


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## bbehring (Jul 14, 2009)

Very interested in this. I also have a 29 eclipse that I am thinking about de-rimming. I plan to only fill mine a little less than two-thirds of the way full. So can you provide a how-to guide on how you de-rimmed the top and bottom?


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## Daniil (Oct 30, 2009)

Here is the link that I followed.
http://www.natureaquariumclubofutah.com/How_to_Remove_the_Rim_off_a_Standard_Rimmed_Tank.pdf
Hope it helps.


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## Daniil (Oct 30, 2009)

Bottom trim came off pretty easy, probably do to the... leak:Cry: between side glass panel and bottom.
Need to completely tear down and reseal. 
Will Petco silicone work for this job?


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## Scotty (Jun 11, 2009)

bummer dude! I was going to try a re-seal and was gonna use GE Silicone I. Heard thats some good stuff, and its relatively cheap at your local big box home improvement store.


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## bbehring (Jul 14, 2009)

Ok, so I also started to de-rim my 29. I'm picking up a planer tool from a friend this afternoon so I can finish the job. I cut the corners with a box cutter and some other serated knife tool and pulling the cut rim pieces off is more difficult on this tank than I imagined. I will try the planer and cut the top down all the way across the top rim to the silicone, then use a blade to seperate. 

On another note, the silicone on the two front corners is black, so I'm guessing I will need to scrape this off and re-silicone with clear silicone. Any tricks for this or thoughts out there?


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## Scotty (Jun 11, 2009)

You cant just seal on side. If your gonna take the black off, then you need to take it all apart. And re-seal the whole thing!!! You cant put new silicone on old silicone, it wont seal..... I would just leave it, or buy a different tank.


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## Daniil (Oct 30, 2009)

OK, My 29g rimless tank is all beak together and filed with water for leak and glass bowing test.
I have used GE Sillicone I from Home Depot 
Some pictures of the project.


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## Daniil (Oct 30, 2009)

Glass bowing is about 1/8in, no leaks. We will see results in by the end of next week if the tank is safe for home use.


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## WeedCali (Mar 6, 2010)

how long did you let the silicone cure for?


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## Daniil (Oct 30, 2009)

48 hours.


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## m3177o (Jan 16, 2009)

silicone vulcanize around 24hrs. (completely at room temperature) de-rimming your tank looks nice and sounds good but i think its best when the glass is tempered. most tanks with rim come with just regular glass. as we all know the rim has it's purpose. i would recommend going to home depot and buy something thats super duty and would hold it together. the silicone at petsmart will just seal leaks. im no expert at de-rimming, but i've seen alot of my buddies rimless tank leak because of cheap silicone. good luck, i'll keep an eye out for your continuation. keep up the good work. it looks really nice.


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## Daniil (Oct 30, 2009)

m3177o said:


> i would recommend going to home depot and buy something thats super duty and would hold it together. the silicone at petsmart will just seal leaks. im no expert at de-rimming, but i've seen alot of my buddies rimless tank leak because of cheap silicone. good luck, i'll keep an eye out for your continuation. keep up the good work. it looks really nice.


Thank you for the kind words.
I did use Home Depot _GE Silicone 1_ and it was allot harder to clean excessive silicone of the glass then original.
I think GE Silicone 1 is strong enough for 29g, I am not sure about larger tanks.


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## killacross (Apr 29, 2010)

all of you people who buy tanks and de-rim are just too brave for my taste
I dont doubt that I could do it...but I just dont trust it...
my fear would be 3yrs from now hearing a crash and a splash in the night

plastic trim just doesnt bother me that much, but to each their own

keep us updated


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## Daniil (Oct 30, 2009)

killacross said:


> all of you people who buy tanks and de-rim are just too brave for my taste
> I dont doubt that I could do it...but I just dont trust it...
> my fear would be 3yrs from now hearing a crash and a splash in the night
> 
> ...


I pick this tank on the side of the road for free, that is why I decided to take the rim off of it.


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## m3177o (Jan 16, 2009)

brave indeed, but i just wanted to say thanks for posting. i know people will learn from your diy project. and hopefully it will help them in their future DIYs.

Vu



Daniil said:


> I pick this tank on the side of the road for free, that is why I decided to take the rim off of it.


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## gwclark (May 10, 2010)

Nice job! 

I know you're done, but this might help others.

I derimmed my 20 long a couple of weeks ago. The hardest part was getting that last bit of silicone film off the tank. After a bit of research and experimentation, I found that by spraying the silicone with WD40 then letting is sit for 5-10, with a new razor blade I could remove the film much easier than without the WD40. I don't know if it reacts with the silicone or lubricates the blade, but it was a better method by far.

Ciao...


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## Daniil (Oct 30, 2009)

gwclark said:


> Nice job!
> 
> I know you're done, but this might help others.
> 
> ...


Razor blades are good for this job, but they like to cut your fingers from time to time.
I used wire wheel in the diy grinder, with a light pressure and low RPM it came out pretty good. It was quicker and less painful for the fingers.:fencing:


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## gwclark (May 10, 2010)

Daniil said:


> ...I used wire wheel in the diy grinder, with a light pressure and low RPM it came out pretty good. It was quicker and less painful for the fingers.


Great idea! But, I'm not sure I understand what you mean by a DIY grinder. A Dremel or similar tool? Did you get any scratching?

Thanks,


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## Daniil (Oct 30, 2009)

gwclark said:


> Great idea! But, I'm not sure I understand what you mean by a DIY grinder. A Dremel or similar tool? Did you get any scratching?
> 
> Thanks,


Its something like this:









With light pressure and low RPM = no scratches


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## gwclark (May 10, 2010)

Wowsers! I never thought of an angle grinder. I've got one that's still in the box. Maybe I'll even switch it to a brass brush (they're just a little softer).

Thanks for the reply.


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## bbehring (Jul 14, 2009)

Danill, looking great. Looks like you sealed it good! 

Boy my de-rimming of my eclipse 29 was a struggle and I only took the top rim off. I used a door planer tool and a box cutter. I'm guessing it took me roughly over an hour off and on. I'm still working to get the silicone film off. I think I will try using wd40 spray and soak for 5 min. then new sharp razor blades (read this in another thread somewhere). I'm almost there and it's looking great. Definitely glad I did it. Still need to wet test it. For me I am only filling 2/3 high as I have a waterfall wall along the entire back wall.


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## fem1440 (Oct 15, 2013)

I know it's been a long time but, how has the tank? Did it hold up? I just de rimmed my 29 gallon tank so I'm hoping you didn't encounter any problems.


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## Daniil (Oct 30, 2009)

I had no problem with the tank for about year and half, and then.........:frusty:





I sold it, because we moved. So i sold everything.

Other then that no problem.


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## alanle (May 8, 2013)

Nice

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk


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