Let's talk tank manufacturers

[Sk8r]

I have a 54 Oceanic glass corner bow, and a 105 AquaVim glass corner bow. Both use 5/8th inch glass, both have clever features, and both are quite sturdy. They are heavy. The Oceanic tank itself is 88 lbs empty, sans stand, and the AquaVim, which also has 5/8ths inch top bracing with access ports, weighs well above 200 lbs empty and the whole rig with stand and canopy is taller than I am---we didn't get an independent weight on the thing. Two strong men and a strong woman sweated a bit getting it onto the stand base. Both have been good tanks.

 

[dkeller_nc]

Martini - A suggestion; you might want to define what you do/don't want in a tank and go from there. One of the biggest questions is whether you want a rimless design or not. The common and cheap-as-dirt marineland/aqueon/tetra tanks will all have plastic rims, and for a tank over 3ft., they will have a brace down the middle.

Rimless tanks are available from quite a number of manufacturers, and will have much thicker glass. They also tend to be a good deal more money. One of the reasons the Red Sea Reefer 450 is $2200 is that it's a rimless design made with low-iron glass, for example.

 

[Martini5788]

I didn't realize the crucible was like a billet for corpsman. Thats gotta be miserable haha it was bad enough doing it once in a lifetime as a recruit. Oh well, at least he gets to see recruits get hazed all the time. That would make it all worth it to me hahaha.

Yeah he enjoys it. He does triathlons and stuff, like I said he's crazy haha. But yeah they have to have multiple corpsman on every aspect because the recruits get injured so often. I get some awesome stories of things the drill sgt do though, which is the only redeeming factor about this place haha

 

[Martini5788]

I don't think Planet Aquariums is out of business. Their website is still up and running?? I may be wrong. If they are still around, they do make a great tank. I am considering their 90 gallon in their crystalline series. Great setup. Comes with trigger systems sump and sicce return pump. Around $1300 bucks.

No they aren't out of business but I was reading that their response time to inquiry's can be very long. That's all. That 90 sounds awesome, I looked at it last night. Definitely an option. I live in sc though so it may be difficult to get it here

 

[Martini5788]

Martini - A suggestion; you might want to define what you do/don't want in a tank and go from there. One of the biggest questions is whether you want a rimless design or not. The common and cheap-as-dirt marineland/aqueon/tetra tanks will all have plastic rims, and for a tank over 3ft., they will have a brace down the middle.



Rimless tanks are available from quite a number of manufacturers, and will have much thicker glass. They also tend to be a good deal more money. One of the reasons the Red Sea Reefer 450 is $2200 is that it's a rimless design made with low-iron glass, for example.

Good point, sorry I didn't clarify earlier. As of now I want to focus mainly on custom tanks that are rimless and see if there is anyway that we can swing the price tag. But if I am going to go that route I want to know what manufacturers are worth the money.
But input on the regular manufacturers is also very important because there is a very good chance that I will go that way.
My worry with a custom tank is that because of my husbands job in the navy, we move every few years. A run of the mill tetra marine land tank would be easily replaced if broken in the move. A reef savvy tank that is broken would be a major blow.

 

[ardsman]

I have a "Planet Aquarium 65 gallon I bought off Craig's list and have had no problems with it and it is crystal clear, they go a lot bigger than that of course.

 

[jetfixer100]

I have two Deep Blue cube tanks, and have been very happy with them. Not too pricey, and they have reef ready tanks as well.

 

[dkeller_nc]

Good point, sorry I didn't clarify earlier. As of now I want to focus mainly on custom tanks that are rimless and see if there is anyway that we can swing the price tag. But if I am going to go that route I want to know what manufacturers are worth the money.
But input on the regular manufacturers is also very important because there is a very good chance that I will go that way.
My worry with a custom tank is that because of my husbands job in the navy, we move every few years. A run of the mill tetra marine land tank would be easily replaced if broken in the move. A reef savvy tank that is broken would be a major blow.

So there are a number of custom manufacturers that make rimless tanks. You've already contacted the one with perhaps the best reputation for bullet-proof and impeccably manufactured tanks - Reef Saavy. Miracles in Canada has similar reputation, but without quite the backlog.

At a lower design specification (and cheaper), you could look at CADLights. I have one of their tanks, and I'm quite pleased with the tank and the sump. Equipment, not so much (I replaced their return pump and skimmer almost immediately). I know that they will sell their tanks as tanks-only or tanks+sump if you want to go that route. Warning - they simply don't answer e-mails; you'll need to call them if you want to discuss packages and prices.

 

[Martini5788]

So there are a number of custom manufacturers that make rimless tanks. You've already contacted the one with perhaps the best reputation for bullet-proof and impeccably manufactured tanks - Reef Saavy. Miracles in Canada has similar reputation, but without quite the backlog.



At a lower design specification (and cheaper), you could look at CADLights. I have one of their tanks, and I'm quite pleased with the tank and the sump. Equipment, not so much (I replaced their return pump and skimmer almost immediately). I know that they will sell their tanks as tanks-only or tanks+sump if you want to go that route. Warning - they simply don't answer e-mails; you'll need to call them if you want to discuss packages and prices.

I will look into cad lights, thanks for the info!

 

[biecacka]

I love my geosreef tank. If looking into acrylic give George a shout. He makes top notch stuff.

Corey

 

[SeedlessOne]

My glass cages tank exceeded my expectations. Would do business with again.

 

[saturnkk]

I started another thread as well but since I have not gotten any reeplies yet I thought I'd tag along here too.

I am looking for an afforable Acrylic Corner tank, stand and hood set-up. Likely 50 - 75 gallon range depending on dimensions (either pentagon or bowfront). Are there any places either driving distance (~2hours or less) from Detroit or mail order options (that are reputable)?

Any advice is appeciated...