Pros vs Cons: Rimless Aquariums vs Traditional Braced Aquariums

[hatfielj]

I've had both rimless and traditional tanks as well as eurobraced and by far my favorite has been euro bracing. It has the look of rimless with out the sloshing out of water. Plus it gives me piece of mind knowing the tank is a little bit stronger.

 

[Sn4k33Y3z]

Love my rimless!

 

[basile]

Love my rimless!

I like it too. Good job.

For your pictures, load them on thats site;Photos | Photobucket's Top Collections of Pictures, Images & Photos Then copy the DIRECT LINK. Click on the image here that looks like a painting ; Then paste it in , press enter. easier like that. just saying.

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[CoralNerd]

With a rimless you will have more evaporation. My set up I'm having a recessed euro edge... by having this lip it will help a little on the evaporation.
My canopy will come down to cover the water line.

 

[that Reef Guy]

I like Old School Braced Tanks.

 

[biecacka]

I love the look of a rimless tank, they are so sexy. My current tank is acrylic and eurobraced which I don't mind really. Still looks really sleek and nice


Corey

 

[vlangel]

My tanks are all tradition rimmed. I guess they look old school, (especially with the oak color trim) but then so do I so it's all good.

 

[Kworker]

Rimless looks better but all fish have the capability of jumping.. I'll save on the cash and heartache and go rimmed with a nice canopy. I've had several rimless and it got old. Overall aesthetically it's just a matter of opinion really.

 

[Stubaca]

I've had many tanks but my newest which is almost 2 years old is an 80 gallon rimless. I def love the rimless. Was a little nervous at first but haven't thought about in forever now! Lol.... Def looks way cooler!

 

[Eckolancer]

I have fish that are known for being jumpers in my rimless for over a year with no issues. I have 6 line and school of anthias. My only down side to the rimless is when I feed mysis to the tank my regal tang splashes water after eating. There are times when he splashes almost a cup out of the tank. He does this every time for about half an hour. It kinda ticks me off and really ticks the wife off. I now put a couple towels down before feeding.

 

[hatfielj]

I hate my rimless tank. Cleaning it is such a pain because water constantly splashes out or runs down the side. I plan on doing eurobracing next time, which I've had before and is so much nicer for up keep. The rimless tanks look nice, but IMO they are a pain in the ***

 

[that Reef Guy]

I am debating on getting a Rimless now.

 

[Up2no6ood]

Love the look of rimless. But I like how the rim keeps water from splashing out. My next tank will be euro braced...best of both worlds

 

[newguy2014]

Rimless. Two years now. No lost snails and no lost fish. If you splash while cleaning, you are going too fast. Slow down, it's not sex at 14 years old.

 

[KingTriton]

I have a rimless and would only buy traditional for now on. Having a rim allows screens to be unseen and more secure. Im a firm believer in screening a tank in order to protect the fish in it.

Having a screen on a rimless tank is a PITA.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

I have been smitten by the rimless look. I have manufactured acrylic tanks for over 30 years and the open top is so easy to care for and great for keeping the light levels high and heat out. With the acrylic tanks with a bonded top it would seem the top gets salt creep and lowers the light levels. I notice a lot of crazing around the top cut outs when high intensity lighting is used. Might be fabrication induced stress or stress from the heat generated by the HQI lamps or VHO lamps. In either case since seeing ADA aquariums I would love to have a similar product.

Just received my first rimless tank for a freshwater planted display. Can't wait to get it set up. Looking at importing or building similar glass or acrylic tanks to the ADA range but with my label on it. I love the clean, clear, uncluttered view of the tank and inhabitants.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

One of my LFS's display rimless blew out over night. Lost most everything . I'm all for the support.

I have seen many rimmed glass tanks blow out as well. Glass is just more delicate than Acrylic but much more scratch resistant. There are pros and cons with each type. I have built and sold both types. My insurance company prefers Acrylic and has lower premiums for my Acrylic tank fabrication as a result. Not currently building glass but I love the look and quality of ADA tanks!

 

[s2nhle]

I love the look of rimless tank. very nice.

 

[Bruce Burnett]

I like the looks of rimless but slosh going over the edge would get to me. Euro bracing will stop that and let you have more water movement. I like trim around mine as I don't like to see water spots above the waterline. Without bracing you have to go thicker on the glass. On a 30" deep tank say 240 gallons or larger the extra thickness really adds to the weight. An acrylic tank would be much lighter but they scratch easily. I don't have low iron glass but it looks clear enough when I look through both pieces and 6 feet of water.

 

[Klcan]

My saltwater tank is a Marineland 60 gal rimless which came with a glass top which sits flush on top of the tank. I also have the traditional rimmed tank which has cichlids in it. I love the look of my rimless tank and one of these days I going to get my ladder out and hang my lights (I've been really lazy here lately). But once I hang my lights I do intend to keep the top on.
I hate the water line on my rimless and I find myself cleaning it constantly other than that I really don't have any issues with it.