Salmonshutters' 20 Gallon Rimless

[salmonshutters]

I currently have a 15 gallon set up, but while trying to take the rim off the 15 I broke about 2 inches off the back plane of glass. So I decided to get a real set up and make it myself. I was gonna replace the 15 with another 15, but the 20 was only $1 more so I said H*@L yea. After getting it home I took the rim off by cutting it in pieces with a dremel first. To get all the silicone off I had to run a razor blade over it until it was completely off. I then drilled the back of the tank for (3) 1" bulkheads. I'm am hoping to get in touch with one of the sponsors to get some custom acrylic made to make a center overflow with a tight fitting lid to be flush with the top of the tank. Much more to come in the upcoming weeks.



I hung the door on the stand today and placed a plumbing order at bulk reef supply.



Made a net top for it to protect the fish from jumping out.



Bulk Reef Supply order came in today!!!



I put the locline and bulkheads on. Next project will be building the overflow and baffles for the sump. Then finally to plumbing it.



I also went with the black sand because I wanted to stick with the black theme. It will also make it look like the colors in the corals pop out more.

I finished up the plumbing last week before I left for my vacation to Florida. Here is a picture of the sump prior to adding the baffles, and on of the plumbing on the back of the tank.





Monday, I got a chance to fill up the tank and move everything over. Everything is looking a lot happier, but it is still pretty bare because most of my frags were moved into my 5 gallon pico as that tank was much more stable due to negligence to the other bigger tank. I'll have some new frags coming next Tuesday or Wednesday from when I stopped at WWC and one from their live sale.







Here's two more photos of the sump

[Blue2Fyr3]

Looking good, I really like your live rock!

[jelly]

The tank looks nice but a word of caution. Tanks with rims are made to keep rims and taking the rim off can lead to problems down the road... the rim helps support the thin glass and keeps it from bowing and the seams from getting push open from the weight of the water... True rimless tanks use thicker glass to avoid any bowing and to allow you to get stronger seams due to being able to use more silicone. I’m not saying this can happen but could so I would keep an eye on it.

[salmonshutters]

I do know this. That was the first thing I looked for after I removed the rim. It only bends out maybe an 1/16 on the front and back. The side width is 12 3/16" and in the center it is 12 5/16" I do plan on keeping an eye on the width over the future months and if it gets any worse I will be making a euro brace for it. Thank you for your input as it is something to consider and worry about.

[johntroxel71]

I am a bit new to making sumps, but how do you keep your DT from overflowing into the sump on a power outage with the return bulkhead so low? Are you using one of the durso setups?

[salmonshutters]

I made a overflow out of acrylic and siliconed it to the back of the tank. And then I added a valve to the return to quiet the water noises a bit.

[Desy148]

Great work! I like)