I have a triple shimano chainset on my bike but dont actually use the big ring so can i just remove it and run it as a double or do i need to buy a new one?? I want to get rid of it to save a small amount of weight but mainly to give more ground clearance

Take off big ring, put on bashguard (optional). Depending on your chainring bolts you may need longer ones for bash or shorter for no bash.
Adjust front mech