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Dugong

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  1. The thing that makes me think its not algae is that its only on the water surface and kind of water resistant as you can see from the water drops on it. No trace of it under the water.
  2. Hi guys, Anyone know what this cotton looking stuff is? Its only on the tank surface in a heavily planted tank. Fish are indifferent about it. Worried it might be mould or fungus. Thanks in advance
  3. After some research and talking to a couple manufacturers I thought I'd post an update incase anyone was curious down the line. The trim around the bottom of tanks don't provide any structural support and are mostly for aesthetics. They do function to lift the tank up causing it to be supported at the edges only, even when on a flat surface, which is why a stand with no centre support is the same. The reason why some trimless tanks cannot do this is because the glass at the base is too thin which requires the whole bottom pane to be supported. In summary, trimmed tanks can be supported only at the edges. Trimless ones - it depends on the thickness of the glass.
  4. I agree that taller tanks have more volume and hence more force on the tank sides and that the glass deflects and after a certain amount of deflection you have a wet mess. However, I don't see how this relates to why trimmed tanks can be supported at just the edges and rimless do not. The bottom trim is usually just plastic and would provide minimal structural support. The whole weight sits on the trim at the edges. The same as the whole weight at the edges on a rimless tank in a stand only supporting the edges. A good example of a rack only supporting the edges is at Aquarium Co-op. https://youtu.be/y4oYu8C-RhU?t=118 However, they're tanks have trim around the bottom. My question is whether this trim is needed. I don't see why it wouldn't work without it because it's just plastic. If I were just going to build 1 stand/tank then I would just play it safe use a rimmed tank. But I am considering expanding my fish room by over 15 tanks so it does make a difference. Here's a picture with a tank with no trim and no middle support.
  5. Assuming the sides do deflect more this might just be a reflection of the base being silicone to 4 other pieces of glass which would act like bracing would it not? Whereas the top edge of the side panel is not silicone to anything so will deflect the most. I assume in a vacuum water pressure would be equal on all sides. However, with gravity the bottom panel will take the most load. If deflection allows the bottom panel to relieve stress then isnt that exactly what a stand that only supports the edges does? Thanks very much for you help and thoughts! I do appreciate the advice. From experience many things within the hobby referred to as common knowledge aren't as simple or 100% accurate hence why I like to get into the details to understand why certain advice is given.
  6. Adding to your structural analogy the trim really doesn't provide much strength as its just plastic. It may help the seal and silicone the glass panels together but I don't think this relates to what stand can be used. It also reduces that contact area with the stand. From a simpler view the forces applied to each panel doesn't change with a stand that supports the entire bottom of the tank or just the edges. Only the contact points and pressure points of the bottom panel changes.
  7. I can agree that a pressure point anywhere on the bottom panel would cause the tank to shatter, regardless of whether there is trim or not. I also agree that trim may help strengthen the seals and a middle brace helps prevent bowing/deflection which could lead to seals shearing or side panels breaking. A trim may benefit a tank maker who thinks that glass thickness may be inadequate but a tank that's built rimless out of the factory has already proven its structural integrity and ability to hold water. The above points don't affect what stands can be used. I don't think adding a trim just makes all the downwards load divert sideways. Unlike a house all the panels of glass are structural and even with a trim that bottom panel still needs to hold the full weight of the tank due to water pressure and gravity. The trim creates a smaller area of contact around the edges of the tank as opposed to spread evenly across the bottom entire panel. Exactly the same way a rimless tank being supported by a stand only at the edges would apply pressure only to the edges of the tank. Effectively my thoughts are if a tank can be trimmed then it can be supported with a stand only at the edges because that's exactly what trim does. Let me know what you think about this. I think I may experiment my self or reach out to some tank manufacturers to try get some more information.
  8. Thanks for the reply! Do you know why this is the case? In my mind the trim doesn't make the bottom pane of glass any stronger it just changes the contact point between the stand and tank to the edges of the tank. Effectively the same as if there was no trim and the tank is only supported at the edges. The trim may help with the seam/seals but the seams should already be able to handle the water pressure if its being sold that way. Sorry not trying to be argumentative. Just trying to understand why this is the case since there is a huge time, space and money benefit for me if bottom trims aren't needed and I'd rather decide based on facts rather get rimmed tanks just in case. Edit: To add to this I just watched KeepingFishSimple's video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OZmvydU0yo and it appears he is building a fish room with rimless tanks with only corner support. Maybe I'll wait to see how that pans out haha
  9. Hi guys, I saw in Cory's videos and shop that he said fish tanks are made to only require support at the bottom corners. Is this only the case for tanks with a trim around the base? Thinking of expanding fish room with 20 x 10 x 12 tanks and that would help alot in terms of cost and space but the tanks I have access to have no bottom trim.
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