Your thoughts on custom tank manufacturers?

[Joe Glass Cages]

Hi! So I live not too far from Glass Cages and am considering them. The top part of this picture above, is that glass bracing? Or just plastic put in for shipping? Why did you choose them over ordering a Seapora or Aqueon drilled tank?

@Elaine123, thanks for considering Glass Cages. you are welcome to visit for a tour of our studio. see some tanks being fabricated.

The bracing on the referenced tank is glass euro-bracing.

Let us know if we can help. Love this hobby!

 

[redfishbluefish]

Hi! So I live not too far from Glass Cages and am considering them. The top part of this picture above, is that glass bracing? Or just plastic put in for shipping? Why did you choose them over ordering a Seapora or Aqueon drilled tank?

Yes, there is a permanent plastic frame on the top and bottom of the tank. It's not the typical rigid frames found on off-the-shelf tanks, but a thin "softer" frame, most likely there to give it a more finished look. Here's a picture of the top corner of the tank.

I picked Glass Cages because it had to be a custom tank and they had a reasonable price. I was replacing an existing custom tank, so the new tank had to fit in the existing stand/canopy. It's a five foot long tank, but only 21 inches tall. One of the "standard" height tanks was 25 inches......and so I basically purchased the 25 inch tank (that's what I had to pay), and they cut it down to the 21 inch height.

I also believe that Glasscages underwent either new management or some type of restructuring a year or two ago addressing some of their shortcomings. I wouldn't hesitate ordering from them again....I remain very happy with the choice I made.

If you wish, here is the link to the build thread using this new tank:

RFBF's 90 Gallon Déjà vu All Over Again

 

[kaifish]

Unforunately, I cannot really answer your survey because my custom tank experience was not too good. So i'll share in this comment.

I had a relatively small custom tank built by Crystal Dynamics using clear silicone. The tank I received first had some very unacceptable build issues that brought me to question their entire quality check system. How can a glass pane not be machine polished and left with the cut marks, especially on a custom rimless tank. Not to mention major scratches. I had a new tank built at no cost, but this meant me having to haul the tank back into my car, drive 8 hours total to their shop and back home to pick up the new tank. The new tank looked better (relatively speaking) so I accepted it. But this one also had issues, this time with marring or imperfections between the bottom pane and reinforcement material. I have a bare bottom so I can see if every day until coraline algae covers it (looks like spilled liquid on a table). I don't know what the excuse is here... If a smaller tank means less profits for them, just charge me more instead of giving me lower quality product. If clear silicone is hard to use then tell me it's a non-negotiable 'no'. If 3/8" glass require machines to be re-adjusted, then just charge me more to get it readjusted right. I cannot speak of the quality produced by Crystal Dynamics for larger tanks with black silicone but for my tank, it was not that great. I had an ELOS tank at some point in life and while the custom tank would cost an arm and a leg, it probably would have been worth it to shell out the extra $$$$ for the Custom Elos tank since I look at the tank every single day. A nice controller and sump sits inside the stand cover and fancy pumps get covered in algae anyways so why did I skimp on the display tank (who knows... lesson learned).

Manufacturer: Crystal Dynamics
Date of Deposit Paid: Beginning of December 2018
Tank Size: 30"x25"x12"
Silicone: Clear
Overflow: Modular Marine, provided by me
Cost: ~$800 without shipping
Date of First Tank Completion: Early/Mid February 2019
Issues: Unfinished/polishes edges on starphire glass, scratches on glass panel towards the bottom where the reinforced black ABS material was placed.
Resolution: A new tank was build and I returned the first tank
Date of Second Tank Completion: Late March 2019
New Issues: There are large areas of imperfection between where the bottom glass pane meets the reinforced black ABS material, which is an eye sore since my tank is bare bottom and one of the viewable glass panes was siliconed ever so slightly angeled such that the glass pane is not siliconed at a 90 degree angle
Communication of Manufacturer: decent. They were responsive but sometimes required multiple follow ups to solicit a response
Conclusion: Steer clear of this one and pay the extra premium for a custom Elos tank (I anecdotally heard Reef Savvy is

wow sounds like my experience with my CD aquarium

 

[JoshH]

wow sounds like my experience with my CD aquarium

Oh wow that's disappointing to hear

 

[kaifish]

Oh wow that's disappointing to hear

Yeah I had several imperfections on my glass. They were spread out over an entire pane of glass. The silicone was so/so and some of edges were really rough. I was very disappointed. The stand was pretty bad with doors that didn’t fit, areas where the finish started peeling off and wrong hinges. Customer service were even worse with several unanswered text/emails. A couple No shows on appointments to fix the problems. This went on for months before I asked for a full refund. They did give me a refund without dispute. I was actually relieved to get did of it.

 

[izzyishh]

I am currently in the early stage for my custom drop off build. I have reached out to 7 companies and only 3 have offered to quote me:
Tank Me USA
Crystal Dynamic
Planet Aquarium

 

[JoshH]

I am currently in the early stage for my custom drop off build. I have reached out to 7 companies and only 3 have offered to quote me:
Tank Me USA
Crystal Dynamic
Planet Aquarium

Custom Drop offs are a different beast all together and few will actually do them. They typically are incredibly expensive. One way to decrease this expense is to design your aquarium so leftover glass from the side panels can be used elsewhere on the tank.

 

[izzyishh]

Custom Drop offs are a different beast all together and few will actually do them. They typically are incredibly expensive. One way to decrease this expense is to design your aquarium so leftover glass from the side panels can be used elsewhere on the tank.

It's really not that big either but companies do stay away from them. I have 2 concepts for the stand both pictured.

 

[JoshH]

It's really not that big either but companies do stay away from them. I have 2 concepts for the stand both pictured.

Not overly big but a complicated design none the less. The floating design definitely makes it a bit more of a challenge with having to use thicker glass but still doable.

 

[ReefEco]

I don't typically flame a manufacturer - but this is a cautionary tale about Custom Aquariums/Custom Cages that I feel obligated to communicate it was so bad. Hired them after a ton of research to build a 400g tank/stand, and 4 other tanks. They were damaged in transit (their fault, they didn't crate the tanks correctly) and they refused to remake the tank unless I accepted the also damaged stand, that we didn't even know was safe after coming loose and bouncing around for 2,000 miles and all the leg levelers being stripped from the threads. They only cared about the bottom line and not having to pay return shipping. And then there were the machining marks on the edge of the tank panels, visible, that they said were "normal." This on a $5k tank. Right. I'm sure they have a lot of satisfied customers out there - one of the reasons I chose them. But you don't really get to know a company and its people until things go wrong. They showed their true colors - wow. Had to re-place my tank order with AGE - and they have been great so far. Crossing my fingers the tanks arrive ok this time....

 

[kaifish]

I had the same machine marks on my crystal dynamics tank. I also didn’t feel it was normal or acceptable for a custom tank.

 

[ReefEco]

I know - right? When these tanks cost that much, 2 more minutes in the polishing machine seem like a small ask. Especially when some of the other edges were polished perfectly - so it IS possible to have a clean edge... Pretty crazy that it was allowed to ship like that. Even more crazy that they tried to explain it away as normal. If that is normal quality and quality control - glad I'm not getting my tanks from them anymore, LOL.

 

[JoshH]

I had the same machine marks on my crystal dynamics tank. I also didn’t feel it was normal or acceptable for a custom tank.

I know - right? When these tanks cost that much, 2 more minutes in the polishing machine seem like a small ask. Especially when some of the other edges were polished perfectly - so it IS possible to have a clean edge... Pretty crazy that it was allowed to ship like that. Even more crazy that they tried to explain it away as normal. If that is normal quality and quality control - glad I'm not getting my tanks from them anymore, LOL.

Absolutely not normal whatsoever, even stock tanks from Red Sea, waterbox and IM don't have glass like that. Totally unacceptable for a custom tank builder to brush something like that off IMO. It should have never left the shop like that.

 

[ReefEco]

Absolutely not normal whatsoever, even stock tanks from Red Sea, waterbox and IM don't have glass like that. Totally unacceptable for a custom tank builder to brush something like that off IMO. It should have never left the shop like that.

Preaching to the choir my friend. I totally agree. Their excuses and lack of accountability were the most disturbing out of everything else. Crap happens, we all make mistakes - I certainly do - but how you deal with them reveals all...

 

[JoshH]

but how you deal with them reveals all...

This. Without a doubt. I said it a little while back but no manufacturer is perfect, not even Reef Savvy. It's how these issues are dealt with that make a company stand out IMO... and there are a few of the good ones out there still

 

[ReefEco]

Amen brother!

 

[Camaro Show Corals]

little worried about my CDA tank now being made.

 

[ReefEco]

little worried about my CDA tank now being made.

Worried about what? (and holy crap you have a lot of gallonage my friend! Impressive : )

 

[izzyishh]

I reached out to reef savy on the website, facebook and even Felix got ghosted

 

[JoshH]

I reached out to reef savy on the website, facebook and even Felix got ghosted

Well, the last time I tried getting a quote from Reef Savvy it was over a month before I heard anything back. Unfortunately they are just too busy to provide the customer experience that most would prefer when doing a transaction as large as this...