Tank brands - plusses and minuses

[Butch01]

So I've been reading a good bit on low iron glass tanks. When I find one I like, I read up on it and find a lot of not so great comments. Then I find another one I like, same thing. Some people seem tickled pink, but a disturbingly large number of people report all manner of quality and/or customer service problems.

Sigh... so... can anyone give us noobs some pointers on who makes the best quality tanks and stands (I'm even okay with AIO as a concept)??

Tks!

Butch

 

[Dr. Bogger]

Around what size tanks are you looking into?

 

[homer1475]

SCA aquariums

For medium sized tanks(I think they only do up to a 200G). I've never read a bad review about their tanks, and this is the reason I ended up buying an 80G.

Their customer service is second to none, and Steve will go out of his way to help you and customize the tank if need be.

 

[Sk8r]

AquaVim can build you most anything largish in glass. They do a very solid build in furniture grade stuff, the sort of thing you see in hotels, etc.

 

[Butch01]

Around what size tanks are you looking into?

Not 100% sure, but since "bigger is better" I'm thinking maybe like 180-ish. My current fantasy (which will likely change when I start getting prices) is a drop off tank. I think they are absolutely the coolest looking things I've ever seen.

What do you all think about about PVC bottoms? That's totally new to me since my experience in the 1990s. Seems like a good idea in theory. Putting that kind of stress on a glass bottom has always made me nervous.

 

[xCry0x]

Bigger is better is all relative to what you want to accomplish.

If you want a fish only tank with a bunch of swimmers (tangs, triggers, etc) then sure, a big tank will be great.

If you want an extensive reef tank, id suggest starting smaller unless you have cash to burn. I couldn't imagine stocking a 180g tank with coral from scratch =) A nice cube or a 40g breeder -> 65g/90g tank go a long way on the reef keeping end of things (and are by no means cheap to set up).

 

[jayball]

SCA aquariums

For medium sized tanks(I think they only do up to a 200G). I've never read a bad review about their tanks, and this is the reason I ended up buying an 80G.

Their customer service is second to none, and Steve will go out of his way to help you and customize the tank if need be.

Yeah, I'll second that. I am very happy with mine, had it over 2 years now.

Good quality tank and stand, some of the accessories are so-so. I replaced the return pump due to noise and wouldn't mind replacing the skimmer for the same reason but there are a few big name skimmers that use the same pump.

 

[vikinglord13]

Thanks for starting this thread. I'm also in need of advice as I'm going to be shopping around to buy 100-150 soon. I'll look into SCA.

Do you guys think, in general, that to get something quality it's best to just hunker down and accept having to buy online and having it shipped? I briefly looked on Petsmart and I wasn't too sure of what to think of the tanks on their website.