question about tank trim

christyf5 · #1 11-08-2009, 11:24 PM

Awesome, thanks!

lngrhaul · #2 11-09-2009, 04:05 AM

what about some nice painted wood trim around the tank/opening in the wall? then you can leave the tank as is and hide it at the same time.

Dez · #3 11-09-2009, 04:50 AM

Scrap the trim. Check out my tank build. I was on the fence about the same issue you have and my 5' tank had glass bracing all around as well, but I ended up tearing all of the black trim off and I am absolutely loving it. My tank is a 5 x 2 x 2. The reason I took it off is because I wanted everything flush without having to build the stand bigger by the 1/8 - 1/4" that the trim adds to the tank. I don't think you'll have to worry about sharp edges. No tank manufacturer leaves freshly cut edges on the tank. It would have been at least rough sanded before construction. Hope this helps.

christyf5 · #4 11-09-2009, 04:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dez

Scrap the trim. Check out my tank build. I was on the fence about the same issue you have and my 5' tank had glass bracing all around as well, but I ended up tearing all of the black trim off and I am absolutely loving it. My tank is a 5 x 2 x 2. The reason I took it off is because I wanted everything flush without having to build the stand bigger by the 1/8 - 1/4" that the trim adds to the tank. I don't think you'll have to worry about sharp edges. No tank manufacturer leaves freshly cut edges on the tank. It would have been at least rough sanded before construction. Hope this helps.

Thanks, yes that totally helps!!

sphelps · #5 11-09-2009, 01:18 PM

You don't need it but good luck getting it off

It will also take a lot of work cleaning up the silicone afterwards, be sure to think this out

Dez · #6 11-09-2009, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sphelps

You don't need it but good luck getting it off

It will also take a lot of work cleaning up the silicone afterwards, be sure to think this out

It took me about 20 mins total to get the trim off. Just started with a razor blade, and the rest comes off pretty easily when you yank on it. Cleaning up the silicone was pretty easy with just a razor blade as well.

JDigital · #7 11-09-2009, 07:50 PM

^^ Every tank is different... it took me 45mins to get the trim off of a 10G because of how much bloody silicone was used... I could easily see a 180 that's over-siliconed taking awhile.

christyf5 · #8 11-09-2009, 04:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lngrhaul

what about some nice painted wood trim around the tank/opening in the wall? then you can leave the tank as is and hide it at the same time.

yes I will be doing that but I didn't want to have to account for the 1" of trim that goes around both the top and bottom of the tank (reducing the viewable to 22" instead of 24" and making the bottom not quite the bottom). This way I can just rip it off and the tank will be fully viewable.

I had originally planned on actually making the viewing pane smaller so that I wouldn't see various powerheads and the wavebox but eventually scrapped that as it would just make the viewing pane smaller than I'd like. One day if I do a custom tank I'll plan it better for that sort of thing. For now I need to experience the entire 6x2 feet