Manufacturer for LARGE tanks (400+ gallons)

[Ashish Patel]

Hi everyone,

In about 8 months my girlfriend and I will be upgrading our 180 to around a 400-500 reef and in doing research I was curious about peoples experiences / opinions on two manufacturers we have narrowed it down to for now (open to others).

The two would be either glass cages with a 3/4" glass tank or customaquariums.com with 1/2" glass. Approximate dimensions would be 120 -144" long x 36-48" wide x 24" tall (girlfriend is short and can't reach much deeper than 24"). The tank is going on a concrete slab so weight is not an issue.

I have heard mixed reviews about both companies so I am coming to you all for advice. Thank you all in advanced for your insights, any info will be greatly appreciated as we are planning on this tank being with us for a long long time.

Did you ever get the large reef tank from any of those vendors? I am going to be looking for a larger tank at least 300-400 depending on the space in the near future and considering Planet aquarium and crystal dynamics. I spoke to planet aquariums and Reefapalooza and one of the guys identified a issue I am having with my current customer tank (glass hazing), when no one else did and ensured me they would never make this mistake. (Tin and air side issue). My search brought me back to his page and realized i had already responded on this thread so figured id ask for update.

 

[AlexStinson]

Did you ever get the large reef tank from any of those vendors? I am going to be looking for a larger tank at least 300-400 depending on the space in the near future and considering Planet aquarium and crystal dynamics. I spoke to planet aquariums and Reefapalooza and one of the guys identified a issue I am having with my current customer tank (glass hazing), when no one else did and ensured me they would never make this mistake. (Tin and air side issue). My search brought me back to his page and realized i had already responded on this thread so figured id ask for update.

Check out my build thread, I just got a large tank from customaquariums.com and I really like it.

 

[Peter K]

Did you ever get the large reef tank from any of those vendors? I am going to be looking for a larger tank at least 300-400 depending on the space in the near future and considering Planet aquarium and crystal dynamics. I spoke to planet aquariums and Reefapalooza and one of the guys identified a issue I am having with my current customer tank (glass hazing), when no one else did and ensured me they would never make this mistake. (Tin and air side issue). My search brought me back to his page and realized i had already responded on this thread so figured id ask for update.

I am going with custom aquariums, I have been dealing with Bob Pontow and he has be an pleasure to work with. I talked with a bunch of different companies and am going to be going with a 120”x36”x24” tank with custom aquariums. Lead time is about 12 weeks right now he said.

 

[AlexStinson]

I am going with custom aquariums, I have been dealing with Bob Pontow and he has be an pleasure to work with. I talked with a bunch of different companies and am going to be going with a 120”x36”x24” tank with custom aquariums. Lead time is about 12 weeks right now he said.

Awesome, also who I was working with.

 

[Blue Tang Clan]

I am going with custom aquariums, I have been dealing with Bob Pontow and he has be an pleasure to work with. I talked with a bunch of different companies and am going to be going with a 120”x36”x24” tank with custom aquariums. Lead time is about 12 weeks right now he said.

How are things going? What thickness of glass did you go with on each side and the bottoms?

 

[Peter K]

Haven’t quite ordered it yet unfortunately had some delays with our house so we had to push out ordering the tank a few months.

I’m planning on 5/8” all around low iron front panel. I spoke with Bob about the glass thickness and he said due to the height it really isn’t needed and 1/2” would be fine, I’m still going to go up a thickness just to be safe.

 

[Ashish Patel]

Tank dimension I am considering around 72" long x 40" Wide X 30" tall. I am debating who to use I think I will go with planet on my next build as they identified why my current tank started hazing. I trust custom aquariums build quality its just too bad they don't do a full eurobraced tank or external overflows.

before anyone gets a customer tank make sure they are aware of the tin side vs air side. Glass is made on tin and this side must face away from the elements otherwise it will react with the saltwater. Won't be able to buff out the haze until I rehouse the corals but its unfortunate my current dream tank resulted in me opting out of doing a build thread..