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Re: Can you remove the plastic trim around an aquarium?
Subject: Can you remove the plastic trim around an aquarium?
From: "Kurt Sloan" <sloan_kurt at hotmail_com>
Date: Sun, 10 Sep 2000 18:13:42 EDT
>
> I have 90 gallon tank and I was wondering if it is possible to remove the
> plastic trim around the bottom of the tank. I don't see anything holding it
> there and I'm wondering if I pull it if it will come off. Has anyone tried
> this before. Is this needed for structural reasons or just for design and
> look. Mine is a fake wood type trim and I would lik to have the glass only.
> At least on the bottom of the tank.
You can easily remove it with a little gentle work with a very thin blade to
cut the silicone cement as much as possible, first. Single-edge razors work
best, as a utility knife may be too thick. Careful, for scratched glass will
break when stressed.
>
> If I can't get it off by pulling then I want to build a stand that has wood
> covering this plastic part. The problem is that this trim sticks out far
> enough that there will be a 1/4 inch gap between the tank and the wood on
> each side. But I want this part covered.
It will be ugly, once the trim is removed. On better tanks, the bottom glass
is well up inside the side and end glass, so you will have a glued edge
showing that is not as neat and pretty as the corner seams. On a tank as big
as 90G, the shear force on that joint will lack the support usually provided
by the inside rim of the base trim, so it is even possible the tank may
fail. I won't even fill a 10G without that trim for vertical support.
Last, but not least, the trim protects the edges of the glass from chips
that can be the start of major cracks.
If you want that look, I would strongly suggest you consider just having
Tru-Vue or some such make you a custom acrylic tank. Those work great
without any outer trim. You might be surprised that custom tanks are not all
that expensive.
Wright
--
Wright Huntley, Fremont CA, USA, 510 494-8679 huntleyone at home dot com
"People constantly speak of 'the government' doing this or that, as they
might speak of God doing it. But the government is really nothing but a
group of men, and usually they are very inferior men." --H. L. Mencken
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