Anybody Cheaper Than Glass-Cages?

[lotsofgallons]

looking to buy a 240 long from them @ $540

are there any other well-known custom glass tank builders with good prices that you would suggest?

 

[lotsofgallons]

up

 

[Icefire]

Perfecto 220G 72x24x30 $935,00cdn locally.

Look at glass cage review on this site, their are ok for sump, but if you want a quality display.....

 

[BigBadBlenny]

i think you get what you pay for with tanks.

 

[rickh]

Are you nuts??? You are going to put 220 gallons of sea water in your house and you want a cheap tank. If it breaks there will be thousands of dollars of damage. R

 

[lotsofgallons]

its just glass and silicone; a simple concept. i would build it myself as i have done in the past but they are selling it cheaper then i could buy the glass alone for.

as long as the glass is the correct thickness and all the seams have silicone between them there is usually no problems.

are you nuts? im not

 

[steve the plumb]

air bubbles in the silicone can weaken the tank.If its not sealed properly it will leak.Bracing and thickness is important.You need the gap at the bottom in between the bottom glass aswell as properly braced.Thats 2400 pounds you will have sitting in a room.

 

[lotsofgallons]

ok lets try this again without asking me if im nuts, because if i was whats it to you?

does anyone know of any other companies out there that i can compare prices with before deciding on glass cages?

 

[rickh]

Please don't take offense, but I have heard horror stories about Glasscages. I emailed them several times about the guarantee on their tanks and after ~5 emails I received a note to "read the web site". I had read the web site--I had a specific question.
I take this aquarium stuff seriously. A friends new house was burned to the ground by his hobby. Another had thousands of dollars of water damage.
It scares me when I see posts looking for the cheapest pump, light or whatever. That $5 bargain bulkhead could be a $25,000 mistake. R

 

[steve the plumb]

I am looking to build a 300 gal tank.I want a good quality build.I too have read bad reviews on Glass Cages.Where can I get a good quality tank made for reasonable price

 

[RichConley]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9943816#post9943816 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by steve the plumb
air bubbles in the silicone can weaken the tank.If its not sealed properly it will leak.Bracing and thickness is important.You need the gap at the bottom in between the bottom glass aswell as properly braced.Thats 2400 pounds you will have sitting in a room.

Do you have any evidense that glass cages doesnt properly seal their tanks?


I dont. Their tanks are actually pretty nice, IME. Much nicer than AGA lately.

 

[lotsofgallons]

after reading through ALL of the reviews on glass cages on RC it is pretty much split down the middle, half are 5 star builds and the other half are half a star.

more specifically, the 240L that i am looking to get got a few good specific reviews on that page

ill probably go for it

 

[Icefire]

540$+shipping is how much?

 

[Jeff]

Rick, I dont think lotsofgallons took offense to your opinion of Glasscages. I think it was the fact that you implied he was "nuts" to even consider buying from them.
I do agree with you though, there have been a few too many bad reviews to trust my house to that company.


Jeff

 

[RichConley]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9948122#post9948122 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Engine 7
Rick, I dont think lotsofgallons took offense to your opinion of Glasscages. I think it was the fact that you implied he was "nuts" to even consider buying from them.
I do agree with you though, there have been a few too many bad reviews to trust my house to that company.


Jeff

I've never heard of a glasscages tank failing.

Using a little too much silicon, so it looks a little sloppy, yes. Tank failure? no.

 

[steve the plumb]

Rich I don't mean Glass cages when talking air bubbles.My friends dad worked for Hagen and built aquariums for over 30 years.They don't even build them anymore because its to hard to compete with china.I am saying that if the tank isn't built properly you have a greater chance of it leaking.I wanted to get a tank from glass cages but I have read mixed reviews.Shipping a large tank 8ftx30x24 will cost you anywhere from $400-$800 its mostly around $500-$600 mark.Glass Cages has some shows that they travel to so if you can get there it costs $125 wich isn't that high.I don't want to get a tank from them and have it leak.I was told by a friend that works in a local LFS that he ordered a tank from miracles of Glass and the tank leaked.This happened to 2 customers who ordered custom tanks.It may not happen often but if you are the unlucky guy(I have bad luck) you will curse them if its your tank.The tank manufactuers that I looked at all have 1 year warrenty but you have to ship the tank back to them.This isn't cost effective.Most of the quotes I got for the 300 gal tank I wanted are all in the $3200 range plus shipping plus taxes.Glass cages was around $900 for the tank $228 for sapfire (front panel) $75 for the overflows $75 to crate the tank.They usually ship it wrapped in plastic.They are less than half the price.A local builder wanted $2500 CDN funds without a saphire panel plus or tax is close to 16%.Glass Cages is dirt cheap compared to everyone else.By far I don't think anyone can beat there price unless you buy a tank from china.I found my LFS can get me one $2000 CDN(negotiable on price) 10 ft tank 3/4 glass 400 gal

 

[silvers]

glasscages IME are quality tanks and for that price its hard to beat

 

[sufunk]

To actually answer your question, NO i dont think you will find anyone remotely as cheap. At least noone you have ever heard of.

They do have hidden costs though. It has to be shipped or picked up. SHipping to florida was WAY too expensive for me and even to pick it up in Orlando, i had to pay them $100 plus a Uhal and god knows how many friends to help to get it back home. For me, it was cheaper getting an AGA from a lfs with free delivery than a custom from GC with shipping.

Tank itself, GC is cheapest but check out the shipping costs or how youre gonna get it home before deciding.

 

[Jeff]

In the past couple years there have been a few threads that I have read concerning Glasscages quality. A couple total failures but mostly shotty workmanship. There have been a lot of complaints on their customer service.
I am all about saving money and fixing up cheap things to make them work. If I order from Glasscages chances are that i will get a decent tank that will give me years of service. I am not willing to take that chance. I am actually in the process of looking for a 300-450 gallon tank. Glasscages has the biggest bang for the buck except I am not willing to take that kind of chance with them. There is too much at risk. One of the biggest advantages to Reef Central and other message boards is the sharing of knowledge. I consider the bad reviews of Glasscages as an indicater that there is a problem with the tanks. Even a slight chance of failure is enough for me to take a pass. It would be worth it for me to pay almost twice as much and go with a more reputable company and be able to sleep at night.

Jeff

 

[steve the plumb]

Thats what has been running in my mind.The last thing I want is 300 gal of saltwater on my basement floor nevermind livestock