greg_mills - Thanks very much! Most tanks, especially as you go up in size, require a rim around the top and/or bracing in order to protect the seams from separating and to prevent the wall material from bowing, or bending. Bracing does not impact the amount of storage space on the inside, unless you wish to keep tall equipment right up against the glass walls. Bracing does, however, have a significant influence on one's access to the inside of the tank, since there's generally a lip of variable thickness that you need to work around in more standard, larger tanks. Rimless tanks allow for much better access to the inside of the tank, since there's no bracing or lip around the top of the tank. Hanging equipment on the side of a rimless tank would be as easy or easier than a braced tank, but I don't think it would look very good. Rimless tanks are a departure from the norm, especially for hobbiests who have had aquaria for a long time. People have a hard time trusting that they won't leak or bow without the bracing, and this is one reason why they have such a stunning appearance. Yes, they are more expensive, but they have to be built extremely well in order to withstand the forces of the internal water pressure without bracing. Hope that answers your question.
Fliger - It's kind of pathetic, isn't it, that I'm already thinking about another tank, and I don't even have this one home yet. I'm definitely a freak. BTW, the 1260 is an H&S, no?
robster - Thanks for the welcome -- when can I learn the secret handshake? Do you have a link to your tank?
invincible569 - Yes, we moved into our new office building in February of this year, and we had a 450g AGA tank built into the waiting room as a completely enclosed room divider with adjacent equipment room.
Check it out if you wish, although it's in desparate need of updating. Last post was 5/4/07, and it's come a mile since then. I helped the Kingfish guys plan it out, but as thedude15810 mentioned earlier, it's his baby. I don't have time to think about stocking and maintaining that tank, along with a tank at home, that is, if I want to maintain any sort of family life (and I do). So John and Brian are responsible for that tank, and that thread, I might add
