Pros vs Cons: Rimless Aquariums vs Traditional Braced Aquariums

[BkReefBaby]

I have a rimless tank love the look I'm pretty young so it looks really modern rather than having a canopy which looks so old school something my grandpa would have (no offense to you older guys lol) and I also have a screen on top nothing jumps out or escapes. The screen is not noticeable unless you're on top of the tank. I must admit I do like the floating canopy look in case I ever do a retro fit DIY lighting

 

[larryhaynes]

LOVE MY RIMLESS!!!

 

[rboutin111]

Rimless is the way to go for me. Yes a little water will splash out from time to time, but that happened with my braced tank too. You can still have jumping fish you just need to put a screen top. People will say well if you put a screen on it defeats the purpose. A 1/4" screen rim is much more attractive then the 1" black black. I'll always have a rimless tank.

 

[Kathy B]

I love the look of my canopy but there is definitely something to consider in the ease of access on the rimless. Access and working on my 220 is really tough through the canopy.

 

[atrizz]

Rimless looks clean with just a light hanging over, and is really easy to work in the tank. Your not going to keep a canopy on the tank so known jumping fish aren't a smart idea.

I have found that a lot of snails don't stay inside rimless tanks!! All my nerite snails escaped! When I realized they were gone, it was to late!

read all the forums and tried to make my own and failed. but i found this and it really does work great and doesnt make the tank look bad

http://www.rimlessaquariumlids.com

 

[s2nhle]

did not know about this. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Ashish Patel]

I have a 48x48x12 rimless it's beautiful for sure, but the sloshing, and my dam cleanup crew always crawls out and my cat finds them on the floor. Jumpers is another issue even if you put a screen on top which I do there is no way to truly secure the screen so it wont move around easily, thus still allowing jumpers to easily escape R.I.P. my poor yellow coris wrasse. And my female clown has jumped out trying to attack my hand as I put it in to move a coral, luckily I saw where she landed before the cat did.

LOL - Hilarious!

 

[Christopher Davis]

I've got two aquariums both achieving different looks. However I think rimless nano's are much more attractive! I don't think I would go with a larger rimless however, purely on the fact that I like to have a canopy on a larger aquarium. But I've seen some really nice large rimless ones that it made me consider getting one to each their own!

The water problem really isn't that big of a deal if you let your hand gets submerged in the water, The tank will balance out if you have a sump!

 

[Ashish Patel]

I love the rimless look but after reviewing the pros and cons from this thread I decided to go with a Euro-braced tank - best of both worlds~! I didnt want to lose my fish and inverts and figured its pointless to go rimless and have to add covers later. The Rimless vs Eurobraced from my vendor cost over $1000 more because of glass thickness.

If you do decide to go with Rimless the 3 reputable dealers I got quotes from (CTC, Miracle, Reefsavy), all said has to be 3/4" thick glass (115G). These manufactures understand the pressure we put on our tanks with tunzes, gyres, vortechs, etc. So go to a good manufactures and make sure the water line is 1.5-2" and you shouldnt have a problem..

 

[Ashish Patel]

I've seen videos of 200g Rimless tanks online with 1/2" glass.. This is a failure waiting to happen...
IMO
large tanks - Better with bracing
smaller tank - looks better with rimless.

 

[s2nhle]

with current technology, I don't think larger rimless tank is a problem. It is very safe if you are setting it up correctly.

 

[pickupman66]

I have had both, and each has its own advantages IMO

1. Rimmed tanks can hid that water line, and look good with a canopy. But I hated having to open it to feed and get in there to adjust lighting and replacing bulbs was a PITA. I think they do best as larger tanks.

2. Rimless tanks look more modern and in most cases give you the most wonderful top down views of corals. YOu can see better colors than looking through your glass. Maintenance is easy to get into the tank, but yes, there is a greater opportunity for spillage if you are not careful. BTW, flipper scrubbers work best and disturb the top surface of the water less so less spillage... Also, I love the water reflection of the light on the ceiling.

What is not to love here:

 

[Ashish Patel]

Top down view is surely spectacular for coral viewing and even fish...

 

[Cherub]

I'm going with rimless for my next build. Red Sea Reefer XL 525 is what I'm looking at but Cadlights has some nice stuff too. I have no fears of it failing though. The lid is my main concerns and Cadlights has a glass lid they provide

 

[Reef&corals]

my first big reef tank rimless ofc

 

[BlennyKravitz]

Then you are really really REALLY careful, because everyone I've ever talked to with a rimless tank has the same complaint, to some extent. I think it's really bad in a small tank, FWIW.

Nope. No issues on Red Sea tank here. If it's spilling then your overflow isn't set up correctly.

 

[BlennyKravitz]

I'm going with rimless for my next build. Red Sea Reefer XL 525 is what I'm looking at but Cadlights has some nice stuff too. I have no fears of it failing though. The lid is my main concerns and Cadlights has a glass lid they provide

525XL WOOT WOOT. Don't forget there's a bigger one coming soon! 750XXL

 

[Bob Escher]

I have found that a lot of snails don't stay inside rimless tanks!! All my nerite snails escaped! When I realized they were gone, it was to late!

Strange haven't lost any snails at all but then duh now that I think of it I have a net cover

 

[ReeferMaddness843]

Just went rimless myself with a Deep Blue 80g shallow. Came from an acrylic euro braced 90. Not looking back. Like not having a canopy, the appearance, and no bracing to shadow light or having to clean salt creep from the bracing. Here's a pic of my new baby. Excuse the frag rack of shenanigans that broke along the move as well as a few im looking for a good placement.

 

[Bob Escher]

Looks good although I'm not a fan of shallow