What tank company is best ?

[Joe Glass Cages]

Yes, in Dickson, TN. Really cool YouTube video that tours the whole property.

Joe has been amazing to work with and never once pushed me in any direction for my build. Sent me multiple pics of tanks to help me decide on silicone color and every detail I asked about.

Thanks for sharing @rtparty. This should be a fun process. should be! I love supporting and serving. Its a great joy to be a part of your journey. Thanks again!

 

[Joe Glass Cages]

Shout-out to Joe @ Glass Cages!

Thanks @JumboShrimp. I just love that "name".... jumpshrimp

looking good there. need some water. Thanks for allowing us the opportunity to support your vision!

 

[MPERL]

We chose Planet for our 220 gal drilled reef. They are in Dallas, and figured the shorter shipping the better.

 

[38bill]

Maybe check out Fiji Cube depending on what size you want. Their tanks and stands are very nice. I have their 60 cube and run a remote sump so no experience with their sumps but I have seen good reviews about them.

 

[Kaiser]

Elos is top of the line for prebuilt and reef savvy is considered top of the line for custom. Although technically Elos does custom as well. Best and affordable don't usually overlap though. Find a compromise between price and quality, almost all the big names are fine to buy.

 

[jmichaelh7]

looks like glass cages has a lot of good reviews

 

[NowGlazeIT]

looks like glass cages has a lot of good reviews

Yea they must be doing something right, this is an aged question asked periodically and this year glass cages definitely rose to the top haha so cool to watch the hobby take turns

 

[jmichaelh7]

Yea they must be doing something right, this is an aged question asked periodically and this year glass cages definitely rose to the top haha so cool to watch the hobby take turns

their website makes it really easy to configure your dream tank as well. i just visited the site

 

[Reefs anonymous]

Redsea, waterbox, Cade, although decent, I don’t consider those custom tanks. Those are off the shelf tanks. Glasscages, reefsavy, and others are truly custom, you even pick the glass, silicone, overflow and return sizes ect.

 

[Ashish Patel]

I am not at all a fan of rimless tanks and wish waterbox and Redsea would just slap on a glass eurobrace. I would go for a custom tank (Miracle, planet, glassgage, etc) since the prices are probably less or close enough to the off the shelf tanks,- which like to exaggerate the water volume by adding sump volume too..

 

[WRB]

Anybody have any experience with Crystal Dynamics out of Oceanside Ca. ?
Looking for Euro-braced, not rimless and they're in my back yard so no shipping expense or worries.

 

[Stang67]

I am going with GlassCages for my custom upgrade 180g. Cant wait to get the ball rolling.

 

[ChuckTownReefer]

Checkout mode aquarium. There really nice. And if you're in the Florida area I know a custom tank builder and he does aluminum stands with all his tanks.

 

[NowGlazeIT]

Anybody have any experience with Crystal Dynamics out of Oceanside Ca. ?
Looking for Euro-braced, not rimless and they're in my back yard so no shipping expense or worries.

SC aquariums is in so.cal too

 

[Smite]

Anybody have any experience with Crystal Dynamics out of Oceanside Ca. ?
Looking for Euro-braced, not rimless and they're in my back yard so no shipping expense or worries.

I'm waiting on mine. I can say their communication has been very good so far. Sometimes it takes 1-2 days to get a response. I've seen some of their tanks in person and they are super clean and top of the line. I was quoted a 3 month lead time, that would put me receiving my tank sometime in August. I've heard some say it's more like 5 months but that was during covid outbreaks and they apparently had a silicone supply issue.

I went for their epoxy coated steel stand as well, it extends their tank warranty. I plan to skin it myself since I'll be making a floating hood so may as well have it match. I'll say their wood work is stellar.

I can keep you posted on the outcome and update here on my overall impressions of the tank and stand combo. IMO with the price point some of these cookie cutter tanks are at, for a little more you can have American made tanks that are tailored to your exact needs and real wood or steel stands. For me when talking about 200+ gallons of saltwater in my living room, around my kids I'm dropping that extra $$ to get what I want and have more trust in. CD was local to me, so I went that route for the same reasons you posted. It was very close between them and GlassCages. Those tanks look amazing as well. That black eurobracing is so sick.

Redsea fails out the **** if you follow their FB page. New tank popping up weekly it seems.... popping seams. Customer service sounds very good but man, I can't imagine dealing with that and being happy.

 

[Atomicus]

Glass tanks are cheap to make so are marketed heavily but they eventually leak or burst. They may be ok for small tanks that are not moved and intended for a few years - for anything large and long term or for any aquarium you plan on ever moving - I would only recommend acrylic aquariums and of those advanced acrylics in SoCal is the best I have found. Acrylic is what virtually all professional institutions and researchers use. You simply can’t even insure glass tanks in professional environments at all. Acrylic is better in every way except scratches. You avoid scratches by avoiding fine sand and using large coral gravel or tlf reactor media or bare bottom and making a routine of cleaning tops and middles first and the bottoms very slowly last with magnet cleaner with diamond scrub on it. It’s a game changer. Even if you get a scratch you can carefully remove it with fine 1500 or 3000 then higher grit sandpaper and the same magnet cleaner while fish and water still in tank. Just run a power filter a few inches away to catch the micro plastics. If you are a careful person then this will become a regular and easier habit. If you are not careful enough to clean the tank correctly maybe you shouldn’t be in the hobby of caring for delicate marine life in a small micro environment. If you want professional grade and can develop professional habits then acrylic is your only choice.

 

[-XENOMORPH-]

Well. Lots of great tanks listed. I have a waterbox x90. Love it. I wanted the innovative marine sr80 but the measurements didn't work for the only spot I had available. Anyways... my experience with waterbox has been fantastic! Customer service is top notch. Wait time is , Meh! 8 weeks. I had 2 issues and Chris from customer service sorted both out immediately. I can't say enuff good things about them. I love the tank. I think the stand is great. Solid. No issues. And the sump is fine. BUT I only have 1 complaint. I wish the front right reservoir in the sump had a removable glass pane. That way if you want more sump volumne and do not want to do an ato reservoir you would be able to simply slide out ? That pain of glass.

 

[Appoloreefer]

I would have to say Red Sea, they have really nice tanks and sumps and from what I have read they use good plumbing parts and the aquariums seem to be solid and last for years. Waterbox I thought was good until I actually seen one at teh LFS and the stand that came with it was just horribly constructed.

 

[NowGlazeIT]

I would have to say Red Sea, they have really nice tanks and sumps and from what I have read they use good plumbing parts and the aquariums seem to be solid and last for years. Waterbox I thought was good until I actually seen one at teh LFS and the stand that came with it was just horribly constructed.

I’ve read the opposite here, metric plumbing, failing silicone, under rated stands that lead to big tank explosions. Customers that brought it up on their Facebook page had their comments deleted and were kicked from the Facebook page. That’s wild! you would think I made it up haha no Red Sea for meeee.

 

[blaxsun]

I’ve read the opposite here, metric plumbing, failing silicone, under rated stands that lead to big tank explosions. Customers that brought it up on their Facebook page had their comments deleted and were kicked from the Facebook page. That’s wild! you would think I made it up haha no Red Sea for meeee.

A lot of this was pre-v3 stands and tanks. The 750 XXL that quite a few people had issues with has been significantly upgraded. Thicker glass, reinforced corners, a 2" steel lip all along the front of the tank, an aluminum strut/brace, etc. This isn't an endorsement of Red Sea - only sharing what the LFS, another friend with a 750 XXL and I noticed with the improvements.