It's funny how style changes over the years, even in fish tanks. In the pre-silicone days, tanks all had shiny stainless steel frames- and matching hoods- and the glass was held in place by a relatively thick layer of black gooey stuff that hardened over time. Problem was, the glass would push the black stuff out slightly when you filled the tank, and once it hardened in place, it wouldn't form a tight seal again if you stored the tank without water for a while. So re-sealing these tanks, always a hit-or-miss prospect at best, became a fact of life.
Silicone changed all that; the tanks were now light, maintenance-free, and cheap, and they replaced the old framed tanks in no time at all. The clean lines culminated in totally frameless tanks, which are pretty but look fragile, at least to me.
Now the trend is going towards black silicone, which gives the tank a sleek look, as if it has a very thin frame. I don't have any tanks like that, but I like them very much. A black-silicone tank with low-iron glass? Hell yeah. Sound familiar anyone?
I wonder what the next trend will be, although I must say that if I had one of those old stainless-steel-frame tanks it would have a place of honor in my fishroom.
View attachment 7422
