Tansu inspired mixed reef & Haddoni:Clown setup

[SaraB]

I actually think our husbands need to get together Kathy and start their own support group to deal with us and our builds

 

[SaraB]

So I looked at my A.G.E. and my left side looks very similar to your right side. My right side has a few, but nothing like the other side. This tank is used and had been running just about a year with no issues and it is also on an A.G.E. built stand. The tanks dimensions are 48" x 36" x 24.5".

I'll be filling it up and trying to not worrying about the bubbles myself.

 

[stunreefer]

Sorry to hear about your troubles Kathy!

I had an AGE tank and can say I noticed one or two such things in my seams... when I first encountered it I was very disappointed, but after talking with Tom, the distributor and looking at many other tanks it became a moot point. On tanks with glass as thick as ours, any imperfection in the black silicone is easily noticeable compared to thinner glass or even clear silicone. Once the tank had just a couple pieces of rock in it even I forgot about the seam and was definitely not drawn towards it - and I'm anal as **** about this hobby of ours! Just sayin', all hope is definitely not lost

Also, I kept a very close eye on the "bubbles" for the first six months or so to ensure nothing new was appearing and everything stayed the same :thumbsup:

Have no fear Sara :lol:

 

[SaraB]

Have no fear Sara :lol:

At this point Austin, I'm not worried ... what else could possibly go wrong for me in this hobby :bigeyes:

I just picked up this tank from Austin in Ann Arbor on Saturday :bounce3:

 

[sugartooth]

Sugartooth, I had a 300g starphire glass tank replaced from a different tank builder a while ago because of excessive bubbles on the silicone seems (looked a lot worse than your tank). I also ended up talking to other tank builders as well about the issue. I am much happier with my replacement tank, but the new tank still has some bubbles in the silicone seams as well, like yours. From what I have been told, the bigger the glass tank, the harder it is to obtain perfect silicone seems...I have seen your issue on other larger glass tanks as well. Even if Ace or another company builds you a new tank, you may still see some imperfections along the silicone seams because with larger glass tanks, the heavier glass makes it more difficult to create the perfect bubble free seems you are use to seeing on much smaller tanks.

At the end of the day, if you are not happy with your tank, you should get a replacement, but unfortunately, the replacement tank may not be completely perfect as well. I have been in your shoes and know exactly how you feel.

BTW, I sure hope you finish this amazing project you started.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I agree with you, there is no way to predict if a replacement tank will be better or similar. That''s one of the reasons I feel like it's a tough spot to be in right now.

Thank you also for the encouragement. It really helps!

 

[sugartooth]

I actually think our husbands need to get together Kathy and start their own support group to deal with us and our builds

Well, I think I will be single soon! A person can only take so much reef drama.

So I looked at my A.G.E. and my left side looks very similar to your right side. My right side has a few, but nothing like the other side. This tank is used and had been running just about a year with no issues and it is also on an A.G.E. built stand. The tanks dimensions are 48" x 36" x 24.5".

I'll be filling it up and trying to not worrying about the bubbles myself.

While I don't wish someone was in the same boat as me, I do feel comforted that you are filling with confidence! :twitch:
Good thoughts your way!

 

[sugartooth]

Sorry to hear about your troubles Kathy!

I had an AGE tank and can say I noticed one or two such things in my seams... when I first encountered it I was very disappointed, but after talking with Tom, the distributor and looking at many other tanks it became a moot point. On tanks with glass as thick as ours, any imperfection in the black silicone is easily noticeable compared to thinner glass or even clear silicone. Once the tank had just a couple pieces of rock in it even I forgot about the seam and was definitely not drawn towards it - and I'm anal as **** about this hobby of ours! Just sayin', all hope is definitely not lost

Also, I kept a very close eye on the "bubbles" for the first six months or so to ensure nothing new was appearing and everything stayed the same :thumbsup:

Have no fear Sara :lol:

Thank you Stun, I understand some bubbles are normal. I'm not comfortable with the amount of them, the size of them, and the placement. What you say about forgetting the blemishes are there once you set up the tank was what I was thinking too, but I've lived for the last 2 1/2 years constantly thinking about another tank I have with less bubble trouble. I know I need to relax a little, I have to figure out how to do it.


I agree, Tom seems to be a great builder and reputable. I really don't want to offend him by feeling the way I do.

Also, your avatar is just too cute. One thought was to turn this tank into an Angel only tank and set it up downstairs where it's 'safer' and I can do a different type of stand. But I'm not trying to add tanks at this point. If I had an Angel only I would definitely want Bandit, and that one is beautiful.

 

[sugartooth]

I heard back from the woodworker and they have a couple of ideas for me if I choose to go ahead with the tank as it is. I think they are so great and am glad they are willing to see this through.

 

[ieatchinese]

Kathy,

I, as you know, am in Taiwan and I just got back from the Water Street as it is called locally. This is the fish/aquarium street where all the shops are. I went into one of the shops that builds aquariums and found this beauty:

Now I know that you cannot see the detail of the seems, but they are flawless. I spoke with the owner/builder (friggin artist as far as I am concerned) and he gave me a quote for this tank. This tank is 97 inches long, 24 inches deep and 32 inches tall. The bracing that he puts at the top of the tank can be done in a different, better looking style, which I could'nt get a picture of, but this size tank, with the nicer bracing on the top is $1420 USD. He will do Starfire on the front pane for a total of $2300.00 and front and both sides for $3300.00. I asked for 6 x 1" holes in the bottom glass for closed loop and also asked for a rear overflow that is 2 feet by 4.5 inches with 4 holes for drain and return in the overflow. He told me that he just shipped one of these to LA last week. No idea on the cost of shipping, but this fella says it takes him 4 days to make such a tank and he is an artist. I could not find a bubble in any of his tanks and when I mentioned bubbles, he quickly explained that if there is a bubble, he immediately takes it apart and fixes it.

If you are interested, you can send me all of your tank dimensions and where all the holes are, sizes etc and we can get a free quote for you. My agent here in Taiwan is checking on what the crating and shipping to Chicago will cost and will let me know.

Let me know if you are interested......again, a genius this guy is!.....with RTV anyway


I also had to take the pics below from one of the shops. LOOKS LIKE FIREWORKS !!:

 

[stunreefer]

Also, your avatar is just too cute. One thought was to turn this tank into an Angel only tank and set it up downstairs where it's 'safer' and I can do a different type of stand. But I'm not trying to add tanks at this point. If I had an Angel only I would definitely want Bandit, and that one is beautiful.

Thanks for the compliment! Although I must say, she is not a fan of the antlers and glowing nose

Whichever way you decide to go, this build is amazing and will continue to be! Can't wait to see it salty and stocked :thumbsup:

 

[sugartooth]

Thanks again Stun for the encouragement!

Roy, WOW. Thank you for posting that and it's so very nice of you to offer recon all the way from Taiwan. I will send you measurements, etc. later today. I hope you are having a great time there and your belly is full of yummy goodness.

 

[hugh ngo]

age tank

age tank

I wouldn't worry about the seam to much because I have the same problem on my 375g AGE with 36" tall with bubbles. Been running for 3 years now with no problems.

 

[haps]

If AGE says it's structurally sound, could you not just tape that edge off and paint it black? It appears black anyway.

 

[john rochon]

having built 2 500g tanks and a few other sizes, really hard Not to get some curing bubbles or were you pull out the spacers. Your tank IMO is sound.
just place some trim to match over the edges. I actually like to do this on all corners because once the corraline starts showing its a pain to clean close to the silicone seal.with corner trim you can clean just past the trim [inside] and you'll never see corraline in the corners. just a thought.

 

[hugh ngo]

Here is my 375g AGE with the trim around the edge. Just to give you an ideas.

 

[liv]

ya.. agree with Johnny.. trim on the edges is real pretty I plan to do this on my next setup.

 

[sugartooth]

Thanks all for the reassurance. I still haven't spoken to A.G.E. yet, most likely he is very busy but I hope it will be soon.

hugh ngo: That is lovely! Yes, I am considering adding some sort of trim. I want it to be removable if there are bubbles so I can monitor it. But as of now, I still stand by my feeling that I don't want to use the tank due to the factors mentioned earlier.

 

[gasbatalla]

Any updates on the tank?

 

[sugartooth]

Gastón, thanks for your post. Unfortunately as it stands, not much has happened. This is currently stopped. A.G.E. has not called, and with the holidays I didn't have much time to try to get his phone number from the fish store. I've also been ill this week, so there is essentially no movement.

I did post the tank for sale in the selling forums. I'm asking $1500 for the tank, but I know it's only worth whatever someone wants to pay for it. It comforts me that others have these bubbles and are very happy with their tanks. I still have not budged from my decision to not use this tank in this build.

I still haven't thought it through what I would do if no one wants the tank.

 

[Clay]

This thread is so encouraging in the attention to detail and the meticulous care in putting together a perfect setup, but also heartbreaking in the issue with the tank. It just totally derailed it for me.

I hope you can sell this and select a new tank to continue on. I'm hoping this works out in the end.