Building a 300g

Z

zachslow

New member
Hey everyone,

I have a quick couple of questions for a 300 gallon build I'm thinking about diving into. I currently have a Elos 120xl that's SPS dominated. I'm toying with the idea of upgrading it to a 300g and have begun looking into quotes from various builders.

This is what I'm looking for: 78 1/2 x 39 x 24 rimless w/ starphire on front and two sides.

I've looked into three builders so far. Elos, Miracle Aquariums and Ocean ReeFlections.

Elos wants $7700.
Ocean ReeFlections wants $2795.
Miracle Aquariums wants $3497.

My question right now is, does anyone have any experience with Ocean ReeFlections or Miracles? Do they have good reputations and build good tanks? I have an Elos right now, and it's awesome, but I don't think I can justify paying double. Are they really that much better?

Any suggestions would be outstanding. I'll probably be asking a lot of questions during this thread.

Here is my current tank. Thanks in advance!
DTside.jpg
 
if i had to choose i would go with miracles they have a excellent reputation in the reef community,do a search and you will see the same.
 
I currently have a 300 gal made by Miracle back in 2003 (96x24x30). To date, the tank hasn't given me any problems after two moves and I use two external wave boxes on it (some people say the wave boxes weakens the seams).

I just recently got another quote from them for my tank upgrade (120x36x36) and probably will be ordering from them at the end of the summer as time becomes more abundant.

You should ask how the tanks are built to compare apples to apples (as I did). These will add some differences to the price:
- how thick is the glass on the sides
- how thick is the bottom glass (some manufactures make it thicker or use tempered glass)
- if there is euro bracing on the bottom for extra support and how think
- if the edges are polished on the glass
- if it comes with trim
- and not applicable in your case but what type of top bracing and how thick (euro bracing - perimeter bracing - cross bracing (how many) - a combination)

Also, what are shipping charges like for each or are they included in the price?
 
Last edited:
Thanks a lot for the info HOB--that's really helpful!

This maybe a silly question, but what's the advantage of a tempered glass bottom?

The quote from Miracles looks like this:

All edges machine polished
5/8” tempered bottom with 2 holes
Internal overflow centered on back panel
¾” sides and ends
Starphire front and ends

My biggest fear is the tank is strong. Since it's a 300g rimless, I'm surprised the bottom doesn't have thicker glass. Does this build look strong enough?

Thanks!
 
zachslow said:
Thanks a lot for the info HOB--that's really helpful!

This maybe a silly question, but what's the advantage of a tempered glass bottom?

The quote from Miracles looks like this:

All edges machine polished
5/8” tempered bottom with 2 holes
Internal overflow centered on back panel
¾” sides and ends
Starphire front and ends

My biggest fear is the tank is strong. Since it's a 300g rimless, I'm surprised the bottom doesn't have thicker glass. Does this build look strong enough?

Thanks!
Click to expand...


When I ordered my 300 back in 2003, I had it build all with regular glass; the rest I left it up to them to make it cost efficient. It came with two cross braces, euro bracing on the bottom, 3/4" polished glass all around and I’m not sure about the bottom, trim, one drilled 2" drain hole on the side (I have since added another drain hole and two 1.5" holes for the wave boxes). I order it through my LFS and I believe with shipping and taxes, it came out to about $2,800 CAD$ back then. So with 7 years of inflation, with your starfire glass and shipping, your internal overflow and extra hole, your quote sounds proportionally correct to mine. I'm only a 4 hour drive from Miracles.

When tempering glass (it is heated then cooled quickly), it makes it 4 - 5 times stronger than regular glass of the same thickness. It can also withstand greater loads on the edges from the side panes. On larger aquariums, they will usually temper the glass as opposed to making the bottom piece thicker for cost effectiveness. While it is stronger to bang on and absorb impacts, it will not handle a stress focal point very well and will shatter into small pieces as opposed to cracking.

My tank survived 2 moves where it was banged around and I was worried that the seams were stressed too much but it's been running 2 years this spring since the last move and all's well even with the two wave boxes on for 6 hours a day. Since your bottom is tempered, I wouldn't worry about it being strong enough. The only concern that I would have is the 8 foot length without any top bracing since it’s rimless. I would assume that there would be some slight bowing, but what do I know - if Miracles have been building aquariums for over 20 years and they say it will work, then it will work so I wouldn't worry about it.

What thickness of the walls or bottom glass did the other places quote you? Were they comparable in the thickness and were they tempering the bottom pane? If your other quotes were building it with the same strength, then I wouldn't worry about it.
 
I've heard mixed reviews on Glass cages. I just ordered a customized 300 from Marineland. They build custom tank now.
 
I looked into glasscages, and ultimately was put off by all of the negative reviews I've read. If I was looking to get a small tank, I 'd probably consider them. But I'm upgrading from an elos 120xl and I don't want to risk a 300 gallon rimless aquarium leaking or breaking on me.
 
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