Should I remove rim on a 60 gallon cube tank.

[SDROBBIEFISH]

Just got this 60 gallon cube tank. I was wondering if it's a good idea to remove the top rim. I want to have driftwood protruding out the tank so having a rim will not look good. The rim is mitered. The guy I bought t this off of said there was identical one like this from the same maker that was rimless. 

[nabokovfan87]

I cannot say "it'll be fine" but perhaps there is someone who did the research on a cube tank rim removal specifically.  There is some indication, not saying it is correct in any way, that there is a higher quality silicone used with a higher tensile strength for aquariums that are rimless. 

A cube tank as opposed to a rectangular tank would have a generally equal load distribution, that is working in your favor.  it's difficult to say what will be safe long term.

The first response when trying to google for a forum where someone has removed the rim resulted in a few comments and concerns.  Namely, eurobracing the aquarium after you remove the rim, the height of the glass being too much to remove the rim (without bracing it), silicone strength mentioned above, and being able to clean up the edges of the glass after you remove the rim.

The tank in question was made by visio (not sure who made yours) and the rim was 4 individual pieces, decorative, to keep the edges safer to work on as they were unfinished.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

I wouldn't do it.  The rim is providing reinforcement as the water pressure pushes against the walls of the tank, and that pressure is more than you might think.  I saw a horror story on YouTube where a guy didn't like the look of a woodgrain rim and took it off.  The tank did ultimately fail, in a very bad way.  I will link the video if I can find it again.  What if the tank fails and you are not home?

You are better off buying a rimless tank.  Even if it looks very similar to the tank you have.  The rimless feature is part of the design and quality checking takes place before the tank is distributed to retailers.

Edited April 14, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Lennie]

On 4/14/2023 at 5:16 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

You are better off buying a rimless tank.  Even if it looks very similar to the tank you have.  The rimless feature is part of the design and quality checking takes place before the tank is distributed to retailers.

+1.

I personally am not a fan of the rim look as well, but never even considered removing it on my rimmed tank. I am not into physics, but if it is made this way, I believe there must be a reason.

60g is big for a cube. My 33g cube (50cm cube) tank has 10mm glass. Carrying a 60g in a cube might actually need a good thickness and planning of a glass to glass tank. So I believe you cannot turn it into a glass tank by yourself in a safe way