TANKS & FILTRATION

Rimless Aquarium

Low-iron glass tank with no plastic trim, mitered corners and a clean open top.

Setup stage Tanks

Unplug before servicingHands out of the water firstDrip loop on every cableTest before you dose30 ppm CO₂ ceilingCycle before stocking

Tanks

Technical line drawing of Rimless Aquarium

Specification
Typical sizes	30 / 45 / 60 / 90 / 120 cm
Glass thickness	6 / 6 / 8 / 10 / 12 mm
Glass type	Low-iron (optiwhite)
Corner joint	Silicone, 1–2 mm gap
Top rim	None
Base mat	Leveling mat required

Technical parameters
60×30×36 cm nominal	64.8 L
60 cm glass thickness	8 mm
Water volume at 3 cm freeboard	~59 L
Weight, empty (60 cm)	~14 kg
Weight, filled (60 cm)	~73 kg
Recommended stand top	Flat, non-flexing, mat included

A rimless aquarium is a glass box with nothing added. No top frame, no bottom frame, no silicone bead visible above the waterline. The visual result is an uninterrupted sheet of glass, which is why almost every competition aquascape photographed in the last two decades sits in one.

The structural difference matters more than the cosmetic one. Removing the rim means the glass itself carries the load, so rimless tanks use thicker panes than a rimmed tank of the same volume — typically 6 mm at 30 cm, 8 mm at 60 cm, 10–12 mm at 90–120 cm. Low-iron glass is used because ordinary float glass has a green edge tint that becomes obvious when you are looking through 60 cm of it.

The trade-off is evaporation and access. An open top loses water quickly, especially under strong lighting, and it means nothing is stopping a jumping fish. A rimless tank is also less forgiving of an uneven stand: the base must be flat and fully supported or the bottom pane will carry a point load it was not designed for.

Safety and welfare

Never lift or move a filled tank. A 60 cm rimless tank holds roughly 60 kg of water and the seams are not designed for shear loads.
Set the tank on a mat on a flat, level surface. A single grain of gravel under the base is enough to start a crack.
Use a drip loop on every cable leaving the tank. Water follows cords downhill, into sockets.

Using it well

Fill a new tank outdoors or on a floor you can dry, and check for seeps over 24 hours before you commit to a cabinet position.

Leave 2–3 cm of freeboard. Rimless tanks look better with a visible waterline gap and it stops fish from swimming over the edge.

Clean low-iron glass with a soft pad only. Abrasive pads leave permanent micro-scratches that show up badly under a bright light.

Suits these setups

Nature aquariumIwagumiDutch styleBiotopeShrimp-only tank

Note. Parameters are conventional ranges across the category, not the claim of any one manufacturer. Nothing on this page is for sale and no outcome for any plant or animal is guaranteed. Simulator output elsewhere on this site is a simplified model, not a measurement — confirm everything with a test kit and the equipment's own instructions.

Rimless Aquarium

Using it well

Suits these setups

Works alongside