# scared to fill my first rimless



## dabrybry (Jun 27, 2010)

My ADA 75-p just arrived and i am terrified to fill this thing with water. Someone tell me reassuring things to help me believe. in the structural integrity of these 5 pieces of glass held together by barely anything 0_o


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## JustLikeAPill (Oct 9, 2006)

Why are you scared? I would only be afraid to fill a rimless tank if I am the one who made it : )

It has a three year warranty, a great track record, and extra thick glass! Fill it up!


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## kingb4c0 (Dec 24, 2009)

Ada is the Mercedes Benz of the aquarium tanks. Enjoy it!


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## dabrybry (Jun 27, 2010)

Thanks guys i feel better about it now  the mercedes benz comparison especially helped ^_^


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## Skizhx (Oct 12, 2010)

From what I've read about tank building, the rim doesn't do anything for the strength or integrity of the tank. It's just a cheap piece of plastic that would probably crack under less pressure than the glass would.

And I mean, if you think about it, it makes sense... If the plastic trim was adding structural integrity, why isn't it on the sides of the tank as well? 

When you look at it like that it seems sort of silly to think that any significant amount of the tank's integrity would be dependent on such a flimsy support that's only used at the top and bottom. You're think manufacturers would be putting trim over all the corners to make sure their tanks were as reliable as possible.


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## dabrybry (Jun 27, 2010)

The next thing that sort of sketches me out with this thing is having this on the 2nd story of our house. This is the largest tank I've ever had. I imagine that once it has water/substrate/hardscape in it+ all the equipment+the stand it's probably going to be pushing 600-650 pounds. Would that frighten you if placing that on a 2nd story floor?


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## JustLikeAPill (Oct 9, 2006)

No. It's fine. Think of it as having a couple of 300 lb people stand next to each other in one spot.

It's not going to fall through the floor.


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## joshvito (Apr 6, 2009)

I wouldn't worry about the weight. lots of people have refrigerators on the second floor, or a washer and dryer...both weigh in the hundreds of pounds. If I were constructing a fish room with thousands of gallons, I'd opt for the basement.


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## Csr (Feb 26, 2011)

Don't mean to sound rude but if your "terrified to fill this thing with water" then why spend that much on a tank?
There's a reason you bought it so just start it up already and post up pics please.
I'm still waiting on my light to get mine setup.


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

um, not to be a wise(guy) or anything, but why did you buy a rimless?


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

*The plastic rims and/or braces:*

Do make a big difference. US aquarium manufacturers use them for 2 reasons:

1. Handling, transporting etc. of a rimless tank is a pain - it's very easy to chip them. The plastic pieces act as a buffer.

2. If you remove the plastic trim of any US made tank the glass will bow. On some tanks it is a huge difference. The back and front glass of some standard 55 gallon tanks "swell" 2 inches if the flimsy plastic brace is broken or if the rim is removed.

Some tanks with a rim but no center brace bow anyway. But within acceptable limits.

*The German rimless tanks that ADA sells:*

In some ways they are very counterintuitive. The glass appears a bit too thin. The silicone has been applied in some magical way - it is just the right amount and there is no evidence of using masking tape. The tanks do bow a tiny bit - and that is factored in the design.

Do not try to make yourself comfortable by just looking at one of these German tanks. You do not understand how this thing works. And it does work very very well. It's all in the kind of glass (if you think all glass is the same you are wrong, very wrong), how the glass is cut, the preparation of the glass for the silicone, the kind of silicone, the silicone thickness. On some Russian forums there are literally 100+ page discussions about all these things. Someone even used electron microscope to investigate which cleaner/combination of cleaners + method cleans the glass best in preparation for the silicone.

What you see when you are looking at a German ADA tank is a masterpiece. A perfect diamond, a Bugatti Veyron, true love if you wish, haha... you get the picture. If I want to be ironic I could say that such an aquarium could actually be the only thing of true value in an average household. Complexity made to appear so simple you cannot even suspect it.

--Nikolay


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

Thanks Niko- I'm always amazed when people think taking a rim off a rimmed tank is no big deal. When the center brace on my 55 g cracked, the tank's front glass visibly bowed. Now THAT's scary!


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## dabrybry (Jun 27, 2010)

I've had nothing but rimmed aquariums so far and am used to seeing copious amounts of silicone along with that plastic rim holding the panes together. I got the rimless because I enjoy aquascaping and have been doing for a while good while now and wanted to step my game up a bit. I've been piece-mealing a nice setup together for the last couple months and I didn't want to use my MH fixture+c02 setup on a walmart 29 gallon


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