Glass Aquarium Manufacturer

[gobyvin]

Hi All,
If quality work was the important detail, what custom tank provider would you use to construct a custom dimension 60-ish gallon cube? Anybody local to MA? Or New England States? To avoid crazy shipping... and have some control over delivery. The installation will be inside of a furniture surround, so edge finesse in the build is not that important. I just want it built right. Tank to be an insert into a 50’s style Furniture TV.

 

[N_E_M_O]

Unfortunately no
Closest and cheapest is going to be Glass Cages.com
Im not a fan of their build quality, but they build tanks that hold water and for that size they will be more than fine, and the cheapest by far.
They will deliver the tank to a dtop off location somewhere in MA (which helps keep freight down)
Most other manufacturers will be double their price fir a small tank like that.
Im sure the guys and gals at OSA have or can get you something like what you are looking for. I would definitely check them out, before I ship anything glass, especially in the winter.

 

[gobyvin]

Unfortunately no
Closest and cheapest is going to be Glass Cages.com
Im not a fan of their build quality, but they build tanks that hold water and for that size they will be more than fine, and the cheapest by far.
They will deliver the tank to a dtop off location somewhere in MA (which helps keep freight down)
Most other manufacturers will be double their price fir a small tank like that.
Im sure the guys and gals at OSA have or can get you something like what you are looking for. I would definitely check them out, before I ship anything glass, especially in the winter.

Thanks my friend. Super advice. I get what you are saying about OSA, probably squeeze a waterbox into that cabinet is what you are thinking?

 

[this is me]

That above info about glasscage is true....in 2008....

In recent times, Glasscage had a major change in their management, quality, and customer service. Joe is the new owner and he's very active on R2R. Responding to every single post that is tagged to him and posts without. I've seen the improvement in quality in their tank in many of the builds on the larger board.
I'm not saying you go get a Glasscage but the notion that they're not a quality tank builder in present time is not true.

Many of the custom tank builders will quote you with shipping cost delivered to your door.

 

[this is me]

One of our recent member's Glasscage build is here.

Boat builders 120ish

I don’t have my tank yet but it’s shipping this week and when I show picks to friends and family all they can do is pretend to give a poop (they don’t get it) The back will get painted dark blue. I plan on mounting 3 xr15s and two orphek blue plus light bars in the surf board and hanging them on...

bostonreefers.org

 

[Terry Martin]

I got glass cages tank a year a bit ago on Dong's advice. A custom build 8 ft long 2 ft wide 17 inches deep. I described exactly where I wanted return and drain holes and they did exactly what I wanted and I love the tank. There are definitely no bells and whistles and when I picked it up from shipping, they had sent it in an ordinary cardboard box that was utterly crushed, but fortunately no damage from tank. I'd buy from them again.

 

[N_E_M_O]

That above info about glasscage is true....in 2008....

Not sure what you mean?
Are you saying my ooinion is not true, because that's all I stated was my opinion on them. Theur build quality is not even close to TankmeUSA or Coast to Coast, but neither is their price. So the info I gave is 100% true and accurate. I, in no way was saying their product was bad. I have done many an install with their tanks and they are fine. Just not what I or most of my clients prefer.

 

[this is me]

I said what I said.

 

[Zirky]

I had a great experience with glass cages. I haven’t seen other,higher end, custom tanks but I couldn't be happier. if you you have any questions or would like to check it out in person to help your decision. I’m happy to help.

 

[Barkley35]

I’m considering a new custom build and have been looking at glass cages as an option. I had them price out a custom 84x24x31 tank. What makes a tank more quality then another? I’m a couple years in on a 116 gallon Aquavim corner tank.. do I need to consider maintenances on the structural part of the tank? If I went with a new custom tank from a company like glass cages what should be the expectation of time the tank should last?

 

[GraniteReefer]

Not sure what you mean?
Are you saying my ooinion is not true, because that's all I stated was my opinion on them. Theur build quality is not even close to TankmeUSA or Coast to Coast, but neither is their price. So the info I gave is 100% true and accurate. I, in no way was saying their product was bad. I have done many an install with their tanks and they are fine. Just not what I or most of my clients prefer.

I think he meant your opinion is dated

 

[this is me]

I’m considering a new custom build and have been looking at glass cages as an option. I had them price out a custom 84x24x31 tank. What makes a tank more quality then another? I’m a couple years in on a 116 gallon Aquavim corner tank.. do I need to consider maintenances on the structural part of the tank? If I went with a new custom tank from a company like glass cages what should be the expectation of time the tank should last?

First and foremost is how fast do they respond to your questions and get you a quote. Second, do they know what they’re talking about. What’s their warranty. And lastly, how’s their reputation in the online community. There’s no tank manufacturer that you can’t find feedbacks on.

On quality, big thing is silicone work. Are the seams clean? Does it have bubbles? Is the tank level? Is it square? Overflow box design, etc.
A lot of modern tank builder with the modern silicone can make a tank quite strong. And with modern tools and technique, it’s very unlikely it can go wrong.
I had two Elos and two Miracle. Yes the Elos were perfection but they were also quite a bit more. They were top tier and not a lot of tank builder can touch that level of quality. But as technology progress with stronger silicone and and techniques, you look at today’s mass production tank like Waterbox, and you ask yourself why pay Elos price when you can have the Waterbox for less than half the price.
Some names you should research on
-Elos
-Reef Savvy
-Miracle Aquarium
-Tank Me USA
-Planet Aquarium
-Coast to Coast
-SCA
-Glass Cage

I think any of them is going to be fine. A little silicone smudge or bubble is going to be just fine. Ultimately, nobody will look at your tank and compliment the perfect seams on the tank you just paid 5 figures for. It’s how the critters look in the tank that count.

 

[errattiq]

Customaquariums.com - my 8x3x2 340 came from them. Silicone was done very well, no bubbles, drilled for a reef shadow overflow, shipped direct to my door via tractor trailer fully crated and strapped down with foam panels inside tank for further support. Tank is 5/8” starphire glass on the front and sides and it cost just over $3k shipping INCLUDED. Bob Pontow was my contact back and forth when designing my tank. Everything was straight forward and a full schematic was provided requiring my signature prior to construction of the tank. This tank was a fraction of most other “large name” company’s prices. In many cases, less than 50%! I’m three years into having it with no issues. I’d go there.

 

[Barkley35]

First and foremost is how fast do they respond to your questions and get you a quote. Second, do they know what they’re talking about. What’s their warranty. And lastly, how’s their reputation in the online community. There’s no tank manufacturer that you can’t find feedbacks on.

On quality, big thing is silicone work. Are the seams clean? Does it have bubbles? Is the tank level? Is it square? Overflow box design, etc.
A lot of modern tank builder with the modern silicone can make a tank quite strong. And with modern tools and technique, it’s very unlikely it can go wrong.
I had two Elos and two Miracle. Yes the Elos were perfection but they were also quite a bit more. They were top tier and not a lot of tank builder can touch that level of quality. But as technology progress with stronger silicone and and techniques, you look at today’s mass production tank like Waterbox, and you ask yourself why pay Elos price when you can have the Waterbox for less than half the price.
Some names you should research on
-Elos
-Reef Savvy
-Miracle Aquarium
-Tank Me USA
-Planet Aquarium
-Coast to Coast
-SCA
-Glass Cage

I think any of them is going to be fine. A little silicone smudge or bubble is going to be just fine. Ultimately, nobody will look at your tank and compliment the perfect seams on the tank you just paid 5 figures for. It’s how the critters look in the tank that count.

Thats great feedback. I'll do some more research on these other companies. I'd like this next tank to be the last upgrade. If the tank is setup correctly and maintained properly is it reasonable to expect a quality tank from one of these providers to last 10-12 years? Obviously main concern is walking into 250+ gallons of ocean on the floor one day.