Let me start by saying I have been a member for quite awhile but dont really post much. I have had saltwater fish/corals for almost 40 years. With that being said I had a 700 gallon acrylic tank, I had bought used from petco about 23 years ago. I had it set up all that time with no issues. Of course back then the thoughts were different, this tank was sitting just on a metal stand, no plywood under it or anything. The tank was made from 1 inch acrylic and a center overflow. The tank was great for all these years but recently it started to show signs of distress and wear. Rather than waiting for a disaster I decided to be proactive and search for a replacement. I gathered and researced online many prices and different places to buy this type of aquarium. I wanted to get the same size to use the same stand and other equipment. The tank was 96X36X48 tall. I found prices from 6200 dollars to 13,000 all for the same tank with the same material build and specs. I finally decided to go with fishtanksdirect, with them you actually deal with the tank builder for special designs. I liked talking to the actual manufacturer. The tank builder was Suncoast Aquariums, Scott and Danny were great to deal with. I talked to them and sent them designs and they sent pictures back of what I wanted and we continued to tweak the design until I was happy. Then, even later, I made some last minute changes with no problem. They were in continuous contact and it was just a great experience. Lets face it, its hard to spend that kind of money when you arent sure what you are getting. Talking to them back and forth I even decided to have them build me a new sump too. Which is also awesome. The tank was delivered and it looks great. The new tank is made thicker than my old one and the center overflow was redesigned to go against the back wall of the tank to allow more viewing area. I am in the process of finishing the plumbing and adding the rock and sand and then put the critters back in it. The new tank has rounded corners as my old one did not. It is just so much nicer. I will try to upload some pics of the old tank and the new one. Just wanted to let everyone know if you are interested in a custom aquaruim, check out fishtanksdirect and talk to Scott over at Suncoast Aquariums. You will not be disappointed.
old 700-new 700, suncoast aquarium/fishtanksdirect
- Thread starter mrpuma
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