Your thoughts on custom tank manufacturers?

[mfinn]

Definitely, especially considering I sent out 6 emails last week and still have yet to hear from anyone!

Call or email Crystal Reef Aquatics. See how long it takes them to respond.



With heavy heart, I have to edit this.
Crystal Reef Aquatics closed it's doors suddenly.

 

[alton]

Planet Aquariums, if you are looking for a warranty then you may want to look somewhere else. If you are looking for a well-built /perfect silicone tank, then you have found the perfect manufacture to build your tank. Many of the employees worked at Oceanic which for many years was the king of aquariums before they sold out to corporate America. Their stands are very nice, my only complaint is they do not counter sink their handle screws enough and it messes up the finish while opening and closing the doors. I would think by now they have fixed that issue. They still use glass as top bracing with the addition of plastic braces for adding glass tops or just for looks as trim, not as support as many others. The biggest plus is you do not have the glass in front and back for support on top, which makes for a pain to clean the front of the tank. Their mega website http://www.dfwaquarium.com/Products/Planet-Aquariums/ list 2’, 3’, 4’, 5’ 6’ and 8’ tanks and you pick 24”, 30” depth and the height to make for a few choices plus internal or external overflow for half the price of a custom tank. If you want something crazy, they can make that too, just look at MACNA and Mr. Saltwater video. I have a 180 and a 3’ Crystaline at this time with a 310 – 8’ x 30” x 25” tall tank coming in. The price is less than I paid for my Marineland 300DD tank back in the day. My bosses Oceanic tank is going on 19+ years so a 5 year warranty means nothing. You simply contact your LFS, they contact the distributor (DFW Aquariums), and they contact Planet. It sounds like a long expensive process, but it is not. Planet builds tanks, they like dealing with companies not people. For me that works because I know my LFS and my LFS knows me. They want to keep me happy, not only on this tank but everyday purchases. If there is an issue they will take it up with DFW, and I don’t have to worry about dealing with a large company about issues.

 

[Combs1ng]

I am surprised nobody has mentioned Exotic Aquariums out of Miami. I have never owned one but I have heard great things. Does anybody have an opinion on Exotic? Also, could we add them to the voting list?

 

[SkiCatTX]

Planet Aquariums, if you are looking for a warranty then you may want to look somewhere else. If you are looking for a well-built /perfect silicone tank, then you have found the perfect manufacture to build your tank. Many of the employees worked at Oceanic which for many years was the king of aquariums before they sold out to corporate America. Their stands are very nice, my only complaint is they do not counter sink their handle screws enough and it messes up the finish while opening and closing the doors. I would think by now they have fixed that issue. They still use glass as top bracing with the addition of plastic braces for adding glass tops or just for looks as trim, not as support as many others. The biggest plus is you do not have the glass in front and back for support on top, which makes for a pain to clean the front of the tank. Their mega website http://www.dfwaquarium.com/Products/Planet-Aquariums/ list 2’, 3’, 4’, 5’ 6’ and 8’ tanks and you pick 24”, 30” depth and the height to make for a few choices plus internal or external overflow for half the price of a custom tank. If you want something crazy, they can make that too, just look at MACNA and Mr. Saltwater video. I have a 180 and a 3’ Crystaline at this time with a 310 – 8’ x 30” x 25” tall tank coming in. The price is less than I paid for my Marineland 300DD tank back in the day. My bosses Oceanic tank is going on 19+ years so a 5 year warranty means nothing. You simply contact your LFS, they contact the distributor (DFW Aquariums), and they contact Planet. It sounds like a long expensive process, but it is not. Planet builds tanks, they like dealing with companies not people. For me that works because I know my LFS and my LFS knows me. They want to keep me happy, not only on this tank but everyday purchases. If there is an issue they will take it up with DFW, and I don’t have to worry about dealing with a large company about issues.

So far I have mixed feelings in regards to Planet. I have yet to receive the tank I have ordered, and do look forward to eventually receiving a great tank from them...it's just been a long road to getting it.

I started in August with a local retailer in Houston and after almost 2 months of negotiation I was unable to get a good quote from Planet, there was always one thing wrong...we would request a change, and wait a week, and when the document came back something else would change, then repeat and something else previously agreed upon would be changed...we tried another builder, but made little progress there either. At that point I went to a different retailer and in 3 days he was able to get me 90% of what I wanted from Planet, so I placed the order...

After a MONTH of nothing happening, Planet came back and demanded that I send them the as yet unbuilt custom overflow or they would not drill the tank (Couldn't they have made this demand a month ago when I ordered the tank and agreed to build it?)! I offered to guarantee in writing that I would not reject the tank even if the overlflow didn't fit as long at it was drilled to spec...they refused. So, I contacted the guy making the overflow and he agreed to expedite the build and send it to Planet.

Two weeks later, still nothing from Planet, so we contacted them. They said they had the box, but hadn't done anything with it yet. Eventually they sent the CAD with all the measurements EXACTLY as I had specified, so we approved them.

Wait another week or so and I asked for a progress update and pictures of the build in progress. They replied that they had just ordered the Sapphire glass and was backordered so no idea when it would arrive...seriously? They didn't order the glass when I placed the tank order so many weeks ago?

So, the build they originally promised would arrive before the end of November is delayed indefinitely...

Of course, none of this is inherently bad, more like just incompetent management, as I'm sure the actually builders are great, and bad management likely not their fault, perhaps the final tank will be awesome, but the nonchalance and the shear uncaring nature of their communication is underwhelming me so far...Not the awesome company that many people online have portrayed to me...

 

[alton]

(Planet builds tanks, they like dealing with companies not people. For me that works because I know my LFS and my LFS knows me. ) I typed this and I guess it came true and has slowed your process, sorry. I ordered my 310 and in a couple weeks it was delivered to my lfs where I unloaded it from the DFW truck.

 

[SkiCatTX]

(Planet builds tanks, they like dealing with companies not people. For me that works because I know my LFS and my LFS knows me. ) I typed this and I guess it came true and has slowed your process, sorry. I ordered my 310 and in a couple weeks it was delivered to my lfs where I unloaded it from the DFW truck.

Good deal.

Not sure how custom yours was, but I understand that if you order their overflow, and choose one of the sizes where they have their special glass on hand, turnaround can be quick. Mine being a custom shape and 25" high rimless/frameless (which they don't like to build over 21" any more), so they had to special order, and with a non-Planet overflow...

From the tanks I've seen from them, the build quality is pretty good, just taking longer than I'd like with extra drama...

 

[alton]

My 310 is from their mega tank collection, so I am sure they had the glass already in stock..

 

[Epic Aquaculture]

I had ordered a 84" x 42" x 27" tank with stand and a custom 60"L sump from Crystal Reef Aquatics, however they went out of business 3 weeks after I ordered. They did refund my money, and I have now ordered an 84"L x 42"W x 30"H tank with stand from Miracles which should be delivered in January. I also ordered a custom sump from Bashsea. I will write a review once the tank is delivered...

 

[SkiCatTX]

I had ordered a 84" x 42" x 27" tank with stand and a custom 60"L sump from Crystal Reef Aquatics, however they went out of business 3 weeks after I ordered. They did refund my money, and I have now ordered an 84"L x 42"W x 30"H tank with stand from Miracles which should be delivered in January. I also ordered a custom sump from Bashsea. I will write a review once the tank is delivered...

Awesome, looking forward to it. ")

 

[madweazl]

Review of my 150g from SCA (originally posted Mar 2018). The tank was finally filled about five months ago and has been great for the price paid. One additional complaint I have now that it is set up is that there are small bubbles in the black backing; you cant see them from the front but you can see them from the side (less than 1mm but who knows if they'll grow). Also, the left side pane has a tiny bubble within the glass (.5mm max). Really hard to notice but once you see it, it always sticks out LOL. Again, for the price, it has been a fantastic aquarium but if absolute perfection is your priority, SCA probably isnt the best choice. I'm extremely pleased with it but I'm also not willing to spend $2000-5000 on an aquarium of this size.

I've had a couple days to look over the tank so I thought I'd provide my initial thoughts in regard to quality. The tank was "crated" decently; it has 1" foam on all sides and the cardboard box it was shipped in was banded together well.

There were a few areas that worried me when the tank arrived but the contents were just fine.

At $40 from SCA, the lid to the overflow is a total joke. The $17 lid from Modular Marine has a machined lip to keep in place (small lid on the bottom). There is nothing to prevent a rogue snail/critter from pushing the lid off the box). Don't waste your money on this piece.

The overflow box is siliconed together which I found odd as the tank is large enough that an assembled unit could be siliconed to the back wall as a single structure. While purely cosmetic, the front panel of the overflow overhangs both side panels by about one millimeter (not illustrated well in the picture).

The silicone was done fairly well; I've certainly seen better but other than this small gap on the front panel (lower right), everything else looks pretty good (haven't thoroughly checked the back yet).

The glass edges have a nice chamfer but the polishing leaves a bit to be desired. The right half of the front panel was done fairly well (cant feel any knurling) but starting about mid way across the front panel and extending all the way to the left side, you can really feel the knurling.

Right side (visible cut but smooth to touch)

Left side (easy to see and feel)

How do I rate it on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best?

Cosmetics - 7
Construction - 8
Value - 10
Customer service & shipping time - 10

At roughly 66% the cost of many other manufacturers, the SCAquariums 150g delivers a pretty nice aquarium for the cost and I'm certainly able to overlook the cosmetic issues for the money saved in this regard.

 

[Combs1ng]

I had ordered a 84" x 42" x 27" tank with stand and a custom 60"L sump from Crystal Reef Aquatics, however they went out of business 3 weeks after I ordered. They did refund my money, and I have now ordered an 84"L x 42"W x 30"H tank with stand from Miracles which should be delivered in January. I also ordered a custom sump from Bashsea. I will write a review once the tank is delivered...

This is identical in size to the tank I will probably be ordering. Not sure if yours is a peninsula style, but I am looking forward to hearing more info. on this order.

 

[JoshH]

I guess this thread carried on without me knowing about it, sorry to hear you had issues with CRA @SawCJack00 but glad to hear they did issue a refund I hope you are happy with your Miracles tank, and please do share with us here when you recieve it!

 

[Epic Aquaculture]

This is identical in size to the tank I will probably be ordering. Not sure if yours is a peninsula style, but I am looking forward to hearing more info. on this order.

It will be a peninsula style tank, but the primary view will be the long side which will be in wall. The other two sides will be viewable from the fish room.

I guess this thread carried on without me knowing about it, sorry to hear you had issues with CRA @SawCJack00 but glad to hear they did issue a refund I hope you are happy with your Miracles tank, and please do share with us here when you recieve it!

I defintely will. It should be arriving in the first couple of weeks of January.

 

[JoshH]

So far I have mixed feelings in regards to Planet. I have yet to receive the tank I have ordered, and do look forward to eventually receiving a great tank from them...it's just been a long road to getting it.

I started in August with a local retailer in Houston and after almost 2 months of negotiation I was unable to get a good quote from Planet, there was always one thing wrong...we would request a change, and wait a week, and when the document came back something else would change, then repeat and something else previously agreed upon would be changed...we tried another builder, but made little progress there either. At that point I went to a different retailer and in 3 days he was able to get me 90% of what I wanted from Planet, so I placed the order...

After a MONTH of nothing happening, Planet came back and demanded that I send them the as yet unbuilt custom overflow or they would not drill the tank (Couldn't they have made this demand a month ago when I ordered the tank and agreed to build it?)! I offered to guarantee in writing that I would not reject the tank even if the overlflow didn't fit as long at it was drilled to spec...they refused. So, I contacted the guy making the overflow and he agreed to expedite the build and send it to Planet.

Two weeks later, still nothing from Planet, so we contacted them. They said they had the box, but hadn't done anything with it yet. Eventually they sent the CAD with all the measurements EXACTLY as I had specified, so we approved them.

Wait another week or so and I asked for a progress update and pictures of the build in progress. They replied that they had just ordered the Sapphire glass and was backordered so no idea when it would arrive...seriously? They didn't order the glass when I placed the tank order so many weeks ago?

So, the build they originally promised would arrive before the end of November is delayed indefinitely...

Of course, none of this is inherently bad, more like just incompetent management, as I'm sure the actually builders are great, and bad management likely not their fault, perhaps the final tank will be awesome, but the nonchalance and the shear uncaring nature of their communication is underwhelming me so far...Not the awesome company that many people online have portrayed to me...

Sorry to hear about your troubles @SkiCatTX, I have been speaking to a few builders about another new tank and I'm wondering if the delay is with the Starphire glass, to my knowledge PPG has stopped making the 5/8" and 3/4" size glass for now and anything needed in those sizes now has to be Optiwhite glass made by another company. I'm wondering if Planet is attempting to wrangle up some Starphire for your build still, would be interesting to find out...

 

[italquam]

I wanted an AGE tank when I was looking into my cube being built. I ended up going with a custom GEO 48/48/24. Workmanship is like his reactors and other stuff....top notch. Only experience I have.

Sorry


Corey

Any photos of the Geo tank, I didn't even know he built them, I have a sump from him

 

[biecacka]

Any photos of the Geo tank, I didn't even know he built them, I have a sump from him

George built it for me before he sold it. contact them to see if they will be able to answer your questions if they still build them. Here is a few from when I was setting it up .

corey

 

[italquam]

George built it for me before he sold it. contact them to see if they will be able to answer your questions if they still build them. Here is a few from when I was setting it up .

corey

Nice tank , did you build the stand ?

 

[biecacka]

Yes. A friend and I built it based off of the thread on RC. Rocketengineers build bread I believe is the title


corey

 

[samson78945]

Thank you to everyone for all the information. I am in the very early stages of planning a new reef system and contacted several of the mfgs that were recommended.

Size in question - 48" x 24" x 48"

 

[JoshH]

Thank you to everyone for all the information. I am in the very early stages of planning a new reef system and contacted several of the mfgs that were recommended.

Size in question - 48" x 24" x 48"

Is that a 48" tall aquarium??