Seeking Insight from Glass Tank Builders and Smart People

What cuzza said. I had a 36" built by modular marine on eBay. The inner box sits higher in the tank than the outer box, so the water line is above the frame. I mailed the box to custom aquariums for them to fill the holes for the pass throughs.

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Seeking Insight from Glass Tank Builders and Smart People

You could also put an acrylic spacer on the back side box to bump it out so the box can get past the aluminum rim. This would give you some more height behind the tank.
 
Thanks CuzzA and Kaidman. Modular Marine is going to build me a custom 36" long toothless low profile overflow with 3 drains so I can set up a BeanAnimal. Kaidman what size holes did you have Modular Marine cut for the drains?
 
There originally were only 2 pass throughs at 2 inches. I asked them to add a third since the length was being doubled. We just left them the same size.
 
The aluminum frame is 3/8" thick. If you're trimming it out to hide the frame I'd play it safe and give yourself a 1/2" on both sides to give some wiggle room as you slide the tank on to the stand.
 
Thanks. I want to build the stand while waiting for the tank. Plan on trimming once tank is here. Still have a lot of time to work out all of the details.
 
Looking forward to seeing progress on your tank. I'll be pulling the trigger on a Custom Aquariums tank this week. Plan is for a 48Lx30Hx30D peninsula tank with the ultra clear glass. I'll probably order a Synergy Reef overflow. More to follow when I start a build thread.

Any lessons learned so far? My biggest concern right now is getting the water level right with the overflow so it still is above the bottom of the aluminum rim.
 
If you're buying the synergy overflow then I would get it now and have it shipped directly to CA. That way they can get the hole placement perfect. Then just have them pack it up with the tank when they ship it to you.

I really wish they would add acrylic fabrication to their product line. I don't think they understand how important it is to marine hobbyist. But, they build great glass tanks for an even better price.
 
I'll be calling CA tomorrow and discuss the Synergy Reef overflow and let them know I plan to ship it to them. Should be OK timing wise from what I hear on their lead times.

I've looked at their Seamless Sumps this weekend and I might just go with them.
 
No. Obviously tempering gives added strength, but if it fails, it will be catastrophic. Dumping the entire contents on the floor. I wouldn't want that to be a possibility. At least the way standard glass breaks it would usually just crack and and drain the water. My tank has a 19 mm bottom. When I was acquiring quotes from a number of builders they were not tempering anything. I think we see more tempering in production tanks so they can get away with using thinner glass to save cost.
 
Worked a quote with CA today for a 30Hx48Lx36D tank, which is about the same footprint as the Marineland 200 DD. I increased the glass thickness from 1/2 to 5/8 thick all around and just plan to have them temper the bottom and overflow end. Price looked good, but a couple of feature tweaks on the quote and I'll be ready to commit.
 
Nice. This has apparently became the unofficial CA thread. Lol. Post a pic of your tank when you receive it.

One thing I like about this company is there's no guessing when it comes to price. They post it right there on the website. I have a feeling they are going to gain some popularity pretty quick.
 
Calling all CustomAquariums.com fans

Calling all CustomAquariums.com fans

LOL, yes it seems those of us interested in the CA tanks are gathering here. I've tried looking for the build posts of others who have been on this thread, but haven't found anything.

I should have my tank ordered in the next day or so once I hear back on the markups I made to their quote. Once I do that, I'll have to start a build thread; hopefully it won't take them too long to manufacture.
 
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Does the bottom trim go under the tank similar to plastic trim or is it just around the outside?

Building my stand and need to know if the tank needs to be supported at the edges or completely supported underneath. I assume completely supported, but I wanted to verify.
 
The glass floats on the bottom aluminum rim. I would put a sheet of 3/4" ply on top of the stand. They have a foam pad which will sit on that.
 
One thing I like about this company is there's no guessing when it comes to price. They post it right there on the website. I have a feeling they are going to gain some popularity pretty quick.

I have been looking for a vendor of my 96"(L) x 36"(D) x 30"(H) new tank, CA is on my top list. Their prices are very attractive, and I like that they publish their prices covering most popular sizes. I don't know how well their H2Overflow and Seamless Sumps will work, but they are really creative, and if your tank is built into the wall, frames cannot be seen from the front, their aluminum frame can be a plus. Not only the strength, but the wide open top without the wide euro type glass frame allow you to work in the tank much easier.

I have contacted them for a quote on Feb.24, but their communication and response time is not great. I have to follow up with phone calls and emails, and many times they do not have people to answer the phone. Finally I received a quote from them on March 8, the draw of their placement diagram looks great and very professional, but the price is almost $1,400 more than their listed price. I have contacted them with email and left 2 phone messages in the past 2 days , but received no response so far.

After DSA was out of business, I think they have the opportunity to become a major player for big tank, but we have to wait and see.
 
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