CL_'s 105 gallon Crystal Reef Aquatics build

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Went to Reefapalooza today, somewhat on a whim. Was walking through and met @revhtree and his wife (had no idea he'd be there, Super nice guy), then chatted with Ryan and Randy from @Bulk Reef Supply in the booth right next to him.

I must say I was unsure of how it'd be to finally go to one of those conventions but it turned out great. Was lucky to get out of there having spent under $300

Few pics of some of the haul, shortly after I added it to my (current) tank... Super pumped for the clam to open up more. My CRA tank should be finished up any day now!

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Went to Reefapalooza today, somewhat on a whim. Was walking through and met @revhtree and his wife (had no idea he'd be there, Super nice guy), then chatted with Ryan and Randy from @Bulk Reef Supply in the booth right next to him.

I must say I was unsure of how it'd be to finally go to one of those conventions but it turned out great. Was lucky to get out of there having spent under $300

Few pics of some of the haul, shortly after I added it to my (current) tank... Super pumped for the clam to open up more. My CRA tank should be finished up any day now!

Awesome - I glad to here that you had a great time and decided to take the chance to go! Even more than his ability to effectively lead and run the top reef forum, Rev and his wife are truly wonderful people. They have both made a difference in my and my family's life.
 
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Just found out the CRA is going out of business, and I've been waiting on my tank to ship for a few weeks now (I keep getting promised it'll be finished in the next week or two). I'm starting to get nervous!
 

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Just found out the CRA is going out of business, and I've been waiting on my tank to ship for a few weeks now (I keep getting promised it'll be finished in the next week or two). I'm starting to get nervous!

What! Where did you hear that? How come?
 

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Just found out the CRA is going out of business, and I've been waiting on my tank to ship for a few weeks now (I keep getting promised it'll be finished in the next week or two). I'm starting to get nervous!
The tank builder was kicked out of the building, looks like you are going to need to ask for a refund. Lots of folks have paid them but yet to receive anything and not much communication from the owner.
 
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What! Where did you hear that? How come?

It's on their website ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

hope things come through! was curious if you decided to enclose the stand? #openstandclub #t-slotstandclub :cool: :cool:

I'm gonna leave it open! No great way to enclose it while keeping the look I want

The tank builder was kicked out of the building, looks like you are going to need to ask for a refund. Lots of folks have paid them but yet to receive anything and not much communication from the owner.

He was kicked out?? I just heard from the owner tonight and he said my tank would be shipping next weekend and that they are finishing up the eurobracing now. Hopefully the quality is still there even though they know things are shutting down...
 

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He was kicked out?? I just heard from the owner tonight and he said my tank would be shipping next weekend and that they are finishing up the eurobracing now. Hopefully the quality is still there even though they know things are shutting down...
He was let go and told not to come back, yes. But I’m sure they still have assemblers around finishing tanks, so I’m hopeful yours is done soon.

edit: this appears to contradict what I said in the previous post, but I was confused about which CRA thread I was looking at and didn’t realize the tank was already mostly complete months ago. My apologies.
 
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He was let go and told not to come back, yes. But I’m sure they still have assemblers around finishing tanks, so I’m hopeful yours is done soon.

edit: this appears to contradict what I said in the previous post, but I was confused about which CRA thread I was looking at and didn’t realize the tank was already mostly complete months ago. My apologies.
I found the other thread... yikes. If things don’t pull through I may have to consider taking a break from the hobby for a while until I can make up for some of the $$$.
 
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I posted this in the other thread, but Ed sent me a few pictures as an update this morning. There’s still some cleaning up they need to do, but said that it’ll be crated up by next weekend!
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And here is the tank during the final skimming. I think you all get how the tank looks by now so hopefully the next update is of the shipping crate being unboxed!
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Have you spoken to Mike?
No, not since he let me know the shop was closing down.

Ed did send me pics this week, and let me know they’d be shipping today. I know it’s not a picture of me unboxing the tank, but we can pretend it is since it’d essentially look the same, right?
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I got the tank the other day - it was very well packaged, but unfortunately there are some significant bubbles in the silicone. I just sent Ed an email to let him know about my concerns. Do you all think that anything can be done here? My concern is that the tank’s integrity is lost, even if it does hold water right now (which I haven’t yet tested...). Definitely bummed.

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I got the tank the other day - it was very well packaged, but unfortunately there are some significant bubbles in the silicone. I just sent Ed an email to let him know about my concerns. Do you all think that anything can be done here? My concern is that the tank’s integrity is lost, even if it does hold water right now (which I haven’t yet tested...). Definitely bummed.

Talked with Mike and he hasn't been there since the beginning of October.
He says this is probably Ed's kid that finishing ( or trying to) what he can.

From the looks of it, the bubbles aren't in the structural part of the glass.
More in the corner guard and abs silicone.
 
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Talked with Mike and he hasn't been there since the beginning of October.
He says this is probably Ed's kid that finishing ( or trying to) what he can.

From the looks of it, the bubbles aren't in the structural part of the glass.
More in the corner guard and abs silicone.
Thanks. That’s what I was thinking too, though the fourth picture gives me some pause. I did explicitly ask to have the corner guards left off, but it’s possible that detail was missed as things were wrapping up.

Do others feel that there’s nothing to worry about?
 

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Definitely different quality than what I got, makes sense that someone else has been building/finishing them. I’m not a tank builder, but visually those look rough and unfortunate for the time and money spent. I too had a few flaws but nothing that large.

Please keep us posted
 
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Talked with Mike and he hasn't been there since the beginning of October.
He says this is probably Ed's kid that finishing ( or trying to) what he can.

From the looks of it, the bubbles aren't in the structural part of the glass.
More in the corner guard and abs silicone.
I looked back, and the picture I got of the tank coming together was back in August, so while it might not have been Mike who built my aquarium (who knows for sure), it was built while he was still there,.
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I looked back, and the picture I got of the tank coming together was back in August, so while it might not have been Mike who built my aquarium (who knows for sure), it was built while he was still there,.

He was there when it was being built, he just wasn't there for the final detailing and final inspection.
If he had been there it would have been right. He wouldn't send it out if it wasn't.
 

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