Large Rimless Aquariums
 

Hello all, I'm in the process of building a 225 gallon rimless reef aquarium. The tank will be 72"L x 36"D x 20"T and was wondering who else has a large rimless aquarium. The only ones I have seen here on the forums have been fairly small. I am in need of some inspiration!

Probably because anything large and rimless is extremely custom, the larger you go over a span the thicker the material has to be to minimize deflection, it'd probably be extremely cost prohibitive to do rimless and large

But I'd be curious to see a really large rimless... only one I can think of is the guy with the 5 foot wide cylinder tank.

i talked to the guys at miracles in glass (and a few other companies) and the tanks aren't that high in price. i think what's helping my price is the fact that the tank is only 20" tall, so they can use 5/8" glass on all sides. well, i think the back is 3/4", but still the total cost for the tank isn't all that bad. i think i was looking at $2500 for a 225 rimless 72x36x20.

My next build is going to be 72-42-28 rimless from AGE.

i dont think i would trust 250 gallons of water to a piece of 5/8ths glass...i dont think you could get away with less then 3/4" glass for a rimless tank this big even at 20" tall...most of your standard 6' tanks are 1/2" glass and that is with trim and bracing...

How thick is the glass for that size?
Regards,
Doug

I'd definitely go with at least 3/4" (19mm). My rimless dimensions are 66" x 26" x 22" with 3/4" glass.

I have the 300 gallon marinelandm, and it is 1/2'' with the trim.

Rimless can be done large (wide and long), it just can't be done high without risk or proper bracing. Takashi Amano has a couple of 6'x3.5' rimless aquariums in his gallery in Japan, but all of his rimless aquariums are a maximum of 24" high.


http://ic2.pbase.com/u37/plantella/u...1517.Pic02.jpg

http://k41.pbase.com/u37/plantella/u...1516.Pic01.jpg

http://ic2.pbase.com/u37/plantella/u...1529.Pic14.jpg

They are 180 x 100 x 60 (cm)

every company i have gotten a quote from said they would use 5/8" glass for a tank at those dimensions. it wasn't something i specifically asked for, and each quote was independent (i didn't send them a competing quote or anything). i do understand the concern, and i'll probably get a quote for 3/4" on every side to see what the difference would be.

Brandon,
I would go w/ 3/4 glass all around. It look much nicer. It may cost alittle more but in the end it's worth it. Also I go w/ 24 instead 20" look nicer on a 6ft tank.

if u want big rimless tank,,,then go with Elos,,,i would trust any other,,,for 72x36x20 get ready for 10k tank alone ,,,,here is a thread
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...readid=1206908

yeah, i saw that tank build and was blown away. his tank was actually one of the reasons i wanted to go rimless...well, ed's was the topper, but that elos certainly added to it.

the elos tanks are just so expensive. if i was going to go with elos, it wouldn't make any sense to get a custom size from a financial standpoint. my desired dimensions are very similar to the 160XL, which was like $1300 cheaper than going custom.

Here's an old video of my 240 cube rimless when it was a saltwater tank. Its 4'x4'x2', 1" thick acrylic all around. http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y90...funder20Ks.flv

Its now a freshwater discuss/tetra tank and looks like this:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y90...0030Medium.jpg

But I may be replacing it soon with a 525 gallon concave 10 footer that will be saltwater again.... maybe. :idea:

Looks great even as a freshwater setup...love the plants! But that video is one of the best saltwater setups ever!!!

dude, that reef tank was sick!!! why did you convert it to fresh?

but i'm going to contact the aquarium builders i've contacted and see what kind of price difference i'll see by going a tad thicker and see just how safe they think 5/8" glass will be.

recently took delivery of my miracles rimless wide peninsular 70" x 60" x 22"... it's amazing! lots of work left before it gets wet tho... i'm taking my time. :-) i'll post more when there's progress!

3/4" starphire glass with pvc bottom.

show us some pics! what thickness did you get on the glass?

Mine's built by Elos, it's 84"x48"x28" rimless. Has a little bit of deflection but can't notice it really. They used 19mm for the sides and 2x 19mm for the bottom. The bottom is something like 28 pieces. All sides are Starfire equivalent (they call it crystal but i doubt it).

Oh, and it weighs 1,300lbs dry

hey brandon - i went with 3/4" glass all around. i highly recommend it for a large rimless. btw, none of the manufacturers are perfect, but in every possible way Derek at Miracles has stood behind his work. this is not my first Miracles tank, and price was not my primary consideration. if price *is* a consideration, Miracles is a no-brainer. Starphire is clearer than the Elos "equivalent" and Miracles builds large rimless shallow tanks like mine (70 x 60 x 22) with a single bottom piece of glass reinforced with a "bottom eurobrace".

When talking to the various makers of low iron glass after a few questions came up this is what I got from them. Starphire and our "crystal clear" glass is the same specs from two different manufacturers. PPG, the maker of starphire brand low iron glass, has a much larger presence here in the US than they do in Italy for this type of glass so we do not use them. I have heard the exact opposite argument that our glass is clearer than starphire but the truth is they are both low iron glass with around 90-91% claimed light transmittance values.

Where can I get a good rimless aquarium of about 90 gallons?