SCAquarium review anyone? Please!

[fragit]

Okay I've posted in a few place looking for some advice/reviews and haven't received many responses so thought I would try here. I'm looking for a 100 gallon tank and have narrowed it down to either going with Miracles for almost 2k 5/8" thick glass star fire on two sides. Or still thinking about SCAquariums $799 100 gallon 3/8" thick star fire three sides. Derek at miracles said they would not do anything other than 5/8" because of the hydrodynamic forces placed on the joints from mp40s and the like, even if it's eurobraced or otherwise. It's a tough pill to swallow that price difference and I understand in this hobby you get what you pay for. However I'm still looking for reviews on SCA and not finding many guess there could be a reason. I've heard great thing about Miracles, and just emailed reef savvy. I guess I'm looking for some one to tell me what to do. Thanks.

 

[Jimbo662]

I bought SCA's 50g cube star fire package off amazon. Great tank, never any issues. The only negative for me was the included plumbing. They use thin walled pvc. I did my own plumbing instead. Check amazon for some reviews.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

I actually have a 120g by them. For the price I was pleasantly surprised by the tank and stand. Great looking tank and well put together. The stand was solid and very nice as well. The plumbing not so good.

 

[TheEngineer]

Same to report as the above two. I have the 50g from Amazon too. No complaints other than the plumbing.

 

[BlueDevil]

Is there an option to have SCA custom make a 5/8" thick tank? I'm curious as well since they're one vendor that I plan to consider when I get my new tank sometime this year. The thickness of the glass (or lack thereof) for bigger setups is what's concerning me as well. Smaller setups it might not as big of an issue due to the smaller volume of water (and hence pressure on seams).

Btw - there are a few reviews of SCA in the vendor feedback section of R2R. You may want to check those out.

Also have you considered Coast to Coast Aquariums? I hear they make some nice tanks as well. It will also cost less for shipping assuming you're located in the U.S.

Reef Savvy are top notch but price wise they're the Rolls Royce of tanks.

Keep us posted on whether or not a custom thickness is doable since I'm curious about that myself.

 

[fragit]

I actually have a 120g by them. For the price I was pleasantly surprised by the tank and stand. Great looking tank and well put together. The stand was solid and very nice as well. The plumbing not so good.

@revhtree how are the seams? I read a review where a person set the tank up and there were air bubbles in the seams and they started leaking. Also a couple of the walls were not flush with the front, sounded like I could build a tank better. That was a review from 2009 though. Does the tank feel rugged, any issues with glass bowing or anything like that? The plumbing is an easy fix. But this tank is going in my dinning room and it would not be good to have 100 gallons of water on my floor.

 

[fragit]

Is there an option to have SCA custom make a 5/8" thick tank? I'm curious as well since they're one vendor that I plan to consider when I get my new tank sometime this year. The thickness of the glass (or lack thereof) for bigger setups is what's concerning me as well. Smaller setups it might not as big of an issue due to the smaller volume of water (and hence pressure on seams).

Btw - there are a few reviews of SCA in the vendor feedback section of R2R. You may want to check those out.

Also have you considered Coast to Coast Aquariums? I hear they make some nice tanks as well. It will also cost less for shipping assuming you're located in the U.S.

Reef Savvy are top notch but price wise they're the Rolls Royce of tanks.

Keep us posted on whether or not a custom thickness is doable since I'm curious about that myself.

@BlueDevil I will check out that review I didn't see it. I'm waiting for another quote from Coast to Coast but yes I am in touch, I also just reached out to ReefSavvy but don't expect to hear back from them till at least next week. If I'm going to get a custom build I'm gonna get a custom build by either Miracles,Coast to Coast, or ReefSavvy, not SCA I don't think. SCA just has a great price point as long as the quality holds up.

 

[Smite]

Okay I've posted in a few place looking for some advice/reviews and haven't received many responses so thought I would try here. I'm looking for a 100 gallon tank and have narrowed it down to either going with Miracles for almost 2k 5/8" thick glass star fire on two sides. Or still thinking about SCAquariums $799 100 gallon 3/8" thick star fire three sides. Derek at miracles said they would not do anything other than 5/8" because of the hydrodynamic forces placed on the joints from mp40s and the like, even if it's eurobraced or otherwise. It's a tough pill to swallow that price difference and I understand in this hobby you get what you pay for. However I'm still looking for reviews on SCA and not finding many guess there could be a reason. I've heard great thing about Miracles, and just emailed reef savvy. I guess I'm looking for some one to tell me what to do. Thanks.

Hey there fragit. Reading this post sparked my memory of receiving a FB message that I believe you sent me I apologize for not getting back to you.

I've had my 100g 4x24x20 set up for about a month now. For the price, I don't feel they can be beat. My silicone is nice and clean, no bubbles, all the way around. I feel it's a very well made tank.

As stated above plan on buying new bulkheads and doing the plumbing on your own. That's something you'll be doing with any custom ordered tank anyway though.

1 small thing with the design I don't care for is the eurobrace on the back wall of the tank. It is 1 large piece that doesn't cut out for the overflow. This makes plumbing very difficult for someone with normal sized forearms. Like I said, small complaint and I'm sure it's for added strength.

They come standard with 3 - 1" holes drilled in the overflow. This allows you to run a Herbie syphon style drain which is awesome. Super silent, and you have the added safety of a 1" emergency. I would have preferred for the return locline to be 3/4". It drops from a 1" to a 1/2" which knocks your flow down. This did end up working in my favor, for my specific needs though, IMO. It adds a little back pressure to my manifold - my calcium reactor and carbon reactor have solid flow and don't clog. I contribute this somewhat to that slight back pressure.


That being said, I am 100% satisfied with my SCA. They are local to me, so I did pick it up. Extremely nice and helpful people over there.

 

[fragit]

Hey there fragit. Reading this post sparked my memory of receiving a FB message that I believe you sent me I apologize for not getting back to you.

I've had my 100g 4x24x20 set up for about a month now. For the price, I don't feel they can be beat. My silicone is nice and clean, no bubbles, all the way around. I feel it's a very well made tank.

As stated above plan on buying new bulkheads and doing the plumbing on your own. That's something you'll be doing with any custom ordered tank anyway though.

1 small thing with the design I don't care for is the eurobrace on the back wall of the tank. It is 1 large piece that doesn't cut out for the overflow. This makes plumbing very difficult for someone with normal sized forearms. Like I said, small complaint and I'm sure it's for added strength.

They come standard with 3 - 1" holes drilled in the overflow. This allows you to run a Herbie syphon style drain which is awesome. Super silent, and you have the added safety of a 1" emergency. I would have preferred for the return locline to be 3/4". It drops from a 1" to a 1/2" which knocks your flow down. This did end up working in my favor, for my specific needs though, IMO. It adds a little back pressure to my manifold - my calcium reactor and carbon reactor have solid flow and don't clog. I contribute this somewhat to that slight back pressure.


That being said, I am 100% satisfied with my SCA. They are local to me, so I did pick it up. Extremely nice and helpful people over there.

Hey man thanks for the response I really appreciate the input, and feedback. I will keep considering my options. This is going to be my dream/forever tank so I want to get something to last a lifetime and that will hold up over the years, I also want something that is every thing I'm looking for. So I've got some thinking to do.

 

[fragit]

@BlueDevil, I just searched the vendor review section there were only two reviews, one about their skimmers and one very short thread about tanks(literally two entries). Did you find/see others that I am missing?

 

[BlueDevil]

@fragit - here is the link to the thread I was referring to.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/sc-aquariums.219125/

 

[fragit]

@fragit - here is the link to the thread I was referring to.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/sc-aquariums.219125/

Thanks for that @BlueDevil exactly what I've been looking for! Just heard back from ReefSavvy $1890 not delivered to Maine. So I'm thinking I at this point it's between Miracles and SCA. Not sure what I'm gonna do. Spending 2k on a tank really cuts into my overall budget, well it's just gonna take a lot longer to get everything. However my Birthday is coming up and maybe Reef2Reef will give me a sweet birthday gift! Huh @revhtree?

 

[BlueDevil]

@fragit - another thing to consider would be the Miracles shipping cost since they come from Canada. I would imagine that would be quite expensive. Let me know what quote you get from coast to coast. That might be a viable option for you. I've heard really good things about their tanks. The thickness of SCA still bother me. Like you said, last thing you need is 100+ gallons of water on your floor!
I'd personally rather spend the extra for $$ for that peace of mind. Like they say you get what you pay for eh?
Yet another thing to consider is the lead time to get your tank. I know Reef Savvy is usually quite busy and have a fairy long wait to get your tank. Not sure how soon you want it.

 

[fragit]

@fragit - another thing to consider would be the Miracles shipping cost since they come from Canada. I would imagine that would be quite expensive. Let me know what quote you get from coast to coast. That might be a viable option for you. I've heard really good things about their tanks. The thickness of SCA still bother me. Like you said, last thing you need is 100+ gallons of water on your floor!
I'd personally rather spend the extra for $$ for that peace of mind. Like they say you get what you pay for eh?
Yet another thing to consider is the lead time to get your tank. I know Reef Savvy is usually quite busy and have a fairy long wait to get your tank. Not sure how soon you want it.

@BlueDevil Miracles' quote included shipping to a depot in Portland Maine. So that's awesome and I will have peace of mind. So probably gonna go that route. Timeframe is not an issue as I have a lot to build plan and purchase to make this the system I want. I need to start my build thread soon. Thanks again for the input and help!

 

[BlueDevil]

@fragit - that sounds like a pretty good deal for that sized tank, all custom made! If it were me I would go with Miracles as well. C2C might end up being the best quote though since they ship from NJ if I'm not mistaken. So shipping to you wouldn't be a whole lot I can't imagine.

Looking forward to following you on this build journey!

 

[fragit]

@fragit - that sounds like a pretty good deal for that sized tank, all custom made! If it were me I would go with Miracles as well. C2C might end up being the best quote though since they ship from NJ if I'm not mistaken. So shipping to you wouldn't be a whole lot I can't imagine.

Looking forward to following you on this build journey!

@BlueDevil thought you'd be interested to know that C2C came in at close to 2K more than Miracles for the same tank. They were tacking on money everywhere 300 for the acrylic overflow, 350 for star fire glass 2 panels and one was an end panel, 250 crating fee then 500 for shipping. All of that including delivery from miracles in Canada only 1795. Plus Miracles is going to use 5/8 glass versus 1/2 with C2C. I'm amazed bet you know where I'll be ordering my tank from. Unless of course I start hearing crazy good feed back about SCA. But I think my mind has been made up.

 

[BlueDevil]

@fragit Holy cow! That's insane! Guess I won't even bother getting in touch with them. I got a quote from Miracles as well that I'm happy with. 150 gal (60x24x2) starphire front. Drilled for bean animal overflow. 5/8 inch glass. Eurobraced. Shipped to my door for a hair under $2500. I'm pretty happy with that price and the things I've heard about Miracles.
Thanks for posting the update.

 

[fragit]

Yes, have read great things. I need to ask if they can get shipping to my door as well. Did they give you a turn around time?

 

[BlueDevil]

Yes, have read great things. I need to ask if they can get shipping to my door as well. Did they give you a turn around time?

To my zip code, shipping to my door was an extra $145. I figured it was worth it to not have to worry about the hassle of trying to get the massive crate loaded onto a truck to bring home myself from the shipping depot. Turn around time for my quote right now was 8 weeks.

 

[fragit]

To my zip code, shipping to my door was an extra $145. I figured it was worth it to not have to worry about the hassle of trying to get the massive crate loaded onto a truck to bring home myself from the shipping depot. Turn around time for my quote right now was 8 weeks.

Yeah what's another $150 in this hobby, sssshhhh my wife hasn't realized yet unless she's just the coolest wife ever well she is. Anyway I will have to ask them to do that when I order I was wondering how I would get it home too. 8 weeks is perfect, just enough time to get the wall ready for install.