SC Aquariums Owners Thread

bereleah said:
Hi All,

So i had SCA build this cabinet for me. And for some reason, i don't love the way it came out reason being that i has some imperfections, for example, the gap at the top of the door and the stain job is not perfect, and since this will be placed in my living room im looking at it with a critical eye, just wanted to get you guys opinion on this cabinet.

Thank You!
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As far as the top goes they obviously used an inexpensive ply since it will be covered, and typically pine/doug fir does not stain evenly pretty often even after being conditioned, but again they probably thought no big deal since it's buried anyway.

As for the door gap, usually that gap can be adjusted out pretty easily, just a hinge adjustment from what I can see in pics, possibly did not catch as I'm sure they are probably rushing to meet demand, they just switched to a local cabinet maker not long ago, who knows what's happening on that end.

As a finish carpenter/contractor/cabinet builder myself, knowing material and labor costs, time involved, I don't think they are charging a lot at all.
 
davocean said:
As far as the top goes they obviously used an inexpensive ply since it will be covered, and typically pine/doug fir does not stain evenly pretty often even after being conditioned, but again they probably thought no big deal since it's buried anyway.

As for the door gap, usually that gap can be adjusted out pretty easily, just a hinge adjustment from what I can see in pics, possibly did not catch as I'm sure they are probably rushing to meet demand, they just switched to a local cabinet maker not long ago, who knows what's happening on that end.

As a finish carpenter/contractor/cabinet builder myself, knowing material and labor costs, time involved, I don't think they are charging a lot at all.
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Well this is the cabinet i saw a picture of and the one Steve at SCA sent me as a sample what the cabinet will look like. I think this photo looks a lot different.
 

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I honestly don't know what to do at this point since this is their second attempt and it's completely different than what I expected to be. They keep on offering me a refund, but what good is a refund when I need and ordered a reef tank.
 
Have them take another picture of the door. Hard to tell if stain is askew or just a shadow. As for the very top who cares? Never to be seen. I've never stained or painted my top. Nit to mention you will need to put the foam pad or another like pad under the tank anyway...

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Sometimes people get used to what looks like a perfect factory finish typical of Ikea type cabinets and since you mentioned liking the look of some MDF cabs I'm guessing that may be what you are comparing or measuring by.
Stain grade picks up natural grain, it's not meant to be perfectly uniform.
Honestly I don't see an issue w/ that other than the top being unevenly stained, but as mentioned numerous times that gets covered anyway, and that's just the way pine or doug receives stain.
As for your door it either needs to be adjusted or small possibility they were off on drilling, but I'm pretty sure those hinges can just be raised to close that gap from what I see.
No one can tell you what to do, but I'm not seeing any big issues just going by your pics IMO.
 
bereleah said:
How is the cabinet over all? Do you have any photos?
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Here is right after I finished it. My wife is really into country/rustic and grays so I antiqued the stand and sanded out the edges, as well as painted it gray (obvious) and sealed the inside of the stand with Rustoleum's version of flex seal.

5NSjwOyh.jpg
 
Well I think i. Going to place my order in the morning for the PNP 50. I'm going to get the system plus a plywood stand. Are there any recommendations as to any special requests I should seek? Or just be excited about a gorgeous tank showing up at my door step???

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Are the newer versions of this tank standard or metric plumbing? I read a lot of people complaining of metric, but this was also a couple years ago and I know some things have been changed.

Do I need to add the extra sch40 bulkhead to my order?


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I preferred my brs bulkhead. The sc ones were a bit loose fitting on one or two of them.

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So I finally got to the bottom of the cabinet issue. So talking to Steve at SCA today he admitted to me that they used to use a big professional pool Tabel company to build their cabinets and since the owner passed away that closed down, and they were forced to go local and trying out different shops which doesn't come close to the quality of that company, even the 2 cabinets he attempted to build for me came from 2 different shops.

So now I'm kinda in a dilemma, do I go with one of their other cabinets or do I just get everything else besides for the cabinet and I'll find something local or do I just get a refund and go with a completely different system????

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Only you can make that call. You wont find a much better deal on the tank so at a minimum I would still order that. Stand can be done yourself, ordered through Steve, or contact a local cabinet shop to make it. I will note you should probably call around to a few local shops first to get an idea on pricing. It might surprise you the amount many will charge.
 
Thanks, so I'm going to tell him to first ship the tank and everything else and I'll get something made local that I can see and feel.
 
Well I just made my order a couple hours ago for the sc50 with a plywood stand! Steve emailed me the thank you for your business and a tracking number. Should be on its way tomorrow. Looking forward to getting my packages!!!

Thanks for everyone's help deciding what route to take so far.

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bereleah said:
Thanks, so I'm going to tell him to first ship the tank and everything else and I'll get something made local that I can see and feel.
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Ya just get the stand built by s local shop. I am doing a miracles 180 build and just got the stand done by local shop that my lfs referred me to. They have a sample stand in their store. I just picked it up, maple wood. Beautiful!! Hard to see the details from the pic.. but I think lots of builders can get you nice looking stand for $1-2k. If you want under $1k, it will be pine.

b24934caa97496076c07e537d32d081c.jpg


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