Custom vs standard tank

cpschult · May 30, 2022

I’m looking at getting a new tank and struggling on if I want to go custom or just buy premade.

just found out deep blue is out of business (but is seapora??). I had always wanted one of their tanks but when I stopped at my lfs to look at their low iron 80 gallons I wasn’t super impressed. I got a quote from miracles and it would be about double the cost of the pre-made seapora low iron tank (three side starfire tho).
Anyone have insights they can share on how they made their decision to go custom?
Anyone thought about going custom and went pre-made?

thanks!

glb · May 30, 2022

cpschult said:
I’m looking at getting a new tank and struggling on if I want to go custom or just buy premade.

just found out deep blue is out of business (but is seapora??). I had always wanted one of their tanks but when I stopped at my lfs to look at their low iron 80 gallons I wasn’t super impressed. I got a quote from miracles and it would be about double the cost of the pre-made seapora low iron tank (three side starfire tho).
Anyone have insights they can share on how they made their decision to go custom?
Anyone thought about going custom and went pre-made?

thanks!

I think it all depends on your budget. There’s a lot of beautiful premade tanks out there but with custom you can build something that’s exactly what you want. For the price difference, you could get a lot of equipment for the amount a premade would save you.

DaneGer21 · May 30, 2022

I say it’s more where your tank is going and what size you want; not so much the budget(although it does matter)

I’ve gone custom on my last two tanks because of placement in our homes. Standard sizing just didn’t give me what I wanted.

Here’s my last two. As you can see, both of these sizes are made as “standard” tanks also, but not in the dimensions I wanted…

Custom 90: 36x24x25
Custom 220: 60x36x24

Standard 90: 48x18x24
Standard 220: 72x24x30

Timfish · May 30, 2022

If a standard size with standard glass fits the space, go with it. Use the money saved for equipment and livestock. Sitting empty side by side on a showroom floor it's easy to pick out lead free from standard. Not so easy at all when tanks are full of animals and lit up. What makes a tank stand out and catch peoples eye and sticks in their head is how well you stocked it and how good you are keeping your animals alive, not whether you used leaded or lead free glass. Maintnenance will be easier and you'll have a little less to worry about if you stick with standard glass.