Juwel Rio 240

hello
i bought a 2nd hand juwel rio 240. really happy with the tank but its got 3 inch plastic round the top of the tank. been thinking about getting rid of this and getting suspended lights. has anyone done this? the plastic can't be used as much of a support im thinking as it is only plastic but it is sealed in.

I know on the Juwel tanks that the brace bar is part of the plastic trim. Not sure if this is the case on Fluval tanks. If so then you will need to leave it on unless you can add a glass brace bar instead. The plastic trim is normally siliconed in place, but is hard to remove.

yeah the tank is juwel so its all one piece of plastic. i have another tank thats 3 foot 3 inches and has no support at all. the juwel is 4ft so i can't see how it can need a bit of plastic for strength. i just think those extra three inches at the top would make the tank alot better looking as at the moment it doesn't look as tall as my other tank but its 4 inches taller. thanks for the reply.

the brace bar has recently snapped on my 240, and the front glass is starting to bow, so i have ordered a new bar. I would recommend having something in place

The plastic trim around the top is an integral part of the tank structure. If you remove it without replacing the integrity you'll end up with a wet floor.

The brace bar, however, is not integral when the top trim is in place but does stop the front glass from bowing out (anything from 1/4" - 3/4").

You can place a luminare onto the top trim without any issues as the trim, if properly attached, is sturdy enough. You could remove trim from the sides where the luminare feet will go allowing it to sit closer to the glass. This would mean the strip at the front would help reduce light spill also.

If you want to remove the top trim it is siliconed in place so be careful you don't stress the glass trying to pull it off. The easiest way would be to destroy the trim in situ, piece by piece. Once removed you would need to put in a glass brace front to back and possibly some corner caps.