What Is The Longest Someone Has Kept A Rimless Tank Without Issue?

[tgrick]

I have a RS 625XXL since the start of 2018. I did add the optional brace that was added to the RS 750. Anyway, no issues...I hope ever!

 

[Susan Edwards]

I have a rs e170 45 gal that was my daughters. Got it from her in 2018 I think. Set it up. Took it down and moved it. Still going good. No issues. Have the 3xl900 now for 15 mo

 

[SpyC]

Rimless tanks have been around a good while…longer than 10 years. SunnyX’s famous 100 gallon rimless with t5 was around 2008/2009. I had one custom made by a very reputable builder that I wound up selling after a couple years since I was upgrading.

I’ll keep the custom tank manufacturer’s name out of it but he did share with me something to the affect of:

“Hey, I get it. They’re museum type displays. But it’s a flawed design by nature. We have to use thicker glass so that we can have a larger silicon seam at to join the panes. The taller they are the more prone they’ll be down the line to a failure. One thing people request that we’ll never do is put an external overflow box on a rimless aquarium. It’s just not smart engineering. I can build any tank I want for myself. I’d always choose a eurobrace over a rimless; not for looks but for peace of mind”.

I’m sure many people have rimless tanks that are doing just fine at the ten year or older mark. But when I hear a tank builder of premium glass aquariums personally tell me that I don’t need to hear much more to make a more informed decision now.

Why don't they like external overflows on rimless tanks?

 

[njreefkeeper]

Why don't they like external overflows on rimless tanks?

It’s already a flawed design of engineering. Making things worse by gluing something heavy that adds to an outward pushing force with no standard bracing exacerbates things further. I’ve had a rimless tank before. Never again. Too many issues in salt creep lines, fish jumping, not being able to provide the type of flow I like for SPS without water drip lines out of the tank…and worrying that much more about silicone seams just isn’t worth it. Sure they look nice, but I’m more about mitigating risk in reefkeeping wherever I can. Murphy’s Law has never rung more true than I’ve found it to apply to this hobby. I’ve heard of more high end rimless aquarium seam failures than plastic braced Marineland tanks.

 

[Cheezle]

I'm getting a 26 gallon red sea peninsula soon and this thread has me officially spooked

 

[njreefkeeper]

I'm getting a 26 gallon red sea peninsula soon and this thread has me officially spooked

Smaller the better.

 

[NY_Sea]

70 gallon Cad lights rimless going on 8 years! Love this tank. I am sucker for rimless tanks but to be honest the larger rimless tanks over 100 gallon make me nervous!!! Next tank I get will be in the 150 gallon range will have a euro brace. This is One of the design elements that is attracting me to the innovative marine 170.

 

[FSP]

Builders do what they're comfortable with. There are at least 2 premium builders in North America that know what they're doing with a water jet and can make a solid rimless tank with external overflow

 

[Tenecor Aquariums]

Help! My acrylic tank seam is failing!! Said no one.

 

[argiBK]

Help! My acrylic tank seam is failing!! Said no one.

Look, if you could promise me an acrylic tank with the same scratch resistance as Starphire, I’m totally in!

 

[Tenecor Aquariums]

Look, if you could promise me an acrylic tank with the same scratch resistance as Starphire, I’m totally in!

I can promise you that your Tenecor will not burst at the seams and flood your house. Ever. Why don't glass tanks come with lifetime leakage warranties? Just asking. Glass tanks also scratch.

 

[dmsc2fs]

Help! My acrylic tank seam is failing!! Said no one.

Well to be fair there is a very long post on another forum that a gentleman lost his extremely large acrylic tank when the front seam gave way. I don't recall all the details but it was a heartbreaking read.

 

[Tenecor Aquariums]

Well to be fair there is a very long post on another forum that a gentleman lost his extremely large acrylic tank when the front seam gave way. I don't recall all the details but it was a heartbreaking read.

Properly bonded acrylic seams never fail. Never. Key phrase; "properly bonded". Even properly siliconed seams will fail. Eventually.

 

[Toob]

My first Red Sea 525xl leaked from day 1. They replaced it, and it’s been running now for 6 months. The stand is flimsy ikea junk though - I wonder if the stands are part of the issue.

Like others, I can’t be out of the thing fast enough - don’t trust it and have really been soured on Red Sea in general. Moving into a 225g acrylic with big juicy eurobrace on an 80/20 stand this weekend! Will sleep easy again.

Strength aside, rimless doesn’t make sense to me anyway? Like @njreefkeeper mentioned above, salt creep and spills and drips are a constant nuisance. And most people will put a screen cover on anyway so what’s the advantage aesthetically again?

Red Sea 525xl for sale pretty cheap in Bay Area, CA next week!

 

[mattdg]

10 years on my 34 gallon rimless cube, so no problems there. Personally, will never do a rimless over 50 gallons. Some of that has to do with the physical weight of the water pushing against the glass, but mostly because I like the way a canopy frames a reef, hides the equipment, keeps the fish from jumping out, allows for more elaborate lighting, maintains heat in the winter, houses and hides a fan in the summer, keeps light out of your eyes, I can go on.

 

[Super Fly]

6 years, 90 cube

 

[italquam]

I can promise you that your Tenecor will not burst at the seams and flood your house. Ever. Why don't glass tanks come with lifetime leakage warranties? Just asking. Glass tanks also scratch.

The glass tanks scratch and that is all she wrote. Acrylic can be buffed with fish still in it, Mighty Magnets sells a kit you can get scratches out with, also , if your just careful you won't scratch acrylic, it is laziness and carelessness that gets it.

 

[italquam]

Well to be fair there is a very long post on another forum that a gentleman lost his extremely large acrylic tank when the front seam gave way. I don't recall all the details but it was a heartbreaking read.

That was ATM tank I believe, they are out of business

 

[salty150]

Slightly off topic... lol

But is a Euro-braced tank really Euro-braced if it is only "braced" on 3 sides and not the back...?

I.E. Red Sea's newest Reefer-S 1000.

 

[Timfish]

7 years and counting.