Hi guys. Going to be doing a 220g build in the near future. I was wondering if I should buy the Marineland or look into custom tank companies like Reef Savvy. The only problem would be the cost delaying when I can get it setup as I am just about to close on a new construction house and will need to start saving all over again. Also, if custom, are there any great companies that are not too expensive? I am all ears.
Marineland 220g versus custom?
- Thread starter sanzz18
- Start date
- Tagged users None
U
User1
Guest
It will depend on who the custom builder you choose but one piece of advise would be to do some research on the Marineland tanks. I do not know what the number of tanks are out there to be fair but I've read several DD tanks, especially the 300 DD that have had seams blow out. May help guide you with your decision.
Again - not sure what the failure rate is but there are some threads out there with catastrophic failures.
Again - not sure what the failure rate is but there are some threads out there with catastrophic failures.
PatW
2500 Club Member
Marine land and other manufacturers make good tanks in stock sizes.
Stock or manufactured tanks are pretty much limited to 6’ tanks for a max volume of 220 gallons. For larger tanks, you have to go custom.
Custom tanks also allow you to use low iron glass. Red Sea and Waterbox do that now.
With custom tanks, you can control the dimensions. An increase in depth to 30”, 36” or 48” really gives one much more scope for aquascape.
Another advantage of custom are overflows. My tank has corner overflows and they limit space. They also limit placement of power heads. There are new overflows like Reef Saavy’s ghost overflow that look really nice.
Stock or manufactured tanks are pretty much limited to 6’ tanks for a max volume of 220 gallons. For larger tanks, you have to go custom.
Custom tanks also allow you to use low iron glass. Red Sea and Waterbox do that now.
With custom tanks, you can control the dimensions. An increase in depth to 30”, 36” or 48” really gives one much more scope for aquascape.
Another advantage of custom are overflows. My tank has corner overflows and they limit space. They also limit placement of power heads. There are new overflows like Reef Saavy’s ghost overflow that look really nice.
Radman73
Valuable Member
I have a Marineland 220 with low iron front and sides(supposedly lol!). I bought it second hand. I ripped out the stock overflows, plugged the bottom holes, and drilled for a custom low profile overflow on the back. The 30" depth is a blessing and a curse. I love having the all the swimming space for the fish above the rock, but it's challenging to reach to the bottom and even my grabbers get fully submerged if I go for something on the sand bed. Not sure I'd change anything though, it's a great tank size.
dantimdad
7500 Club Member
Agreed about the OF. I plugged mine on my marineland 93 cube and drilled for a fijicube overflow. Hardly even see it.
The 30" height would be almost a deal breaker for me. 24" is about my limit. I actually wish mine was 36x36x18 instead of the measurements it is.
Radman73
Valuable Member
Yeah, but I keep telling myself if I ever get acro's to actually grow that the 30" depth will be glorious lol!
xaflatoonx
Valuable Member
Contact Crystal Dynamics Aquarium for a custom order.
They are absolutely great to work with and their prices are miles better. Their tanks look phenomenal. I highly recommend them.
They are absolutely great to work with and their prices are miles better. Their tanks look phenomenal. I highly recommend them.
OP
OP
sanzz18
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2019
- Messages
- 532
- Reaction score
- 179
Thanks for all the replies guys.
Awesome I will contact them to get a quote, thanks,
lol I am 6 ft tall and from what people say 30" is still a pain to work with but I am still going to do it haha
I will get a quote from them too. How much did they quote you for your 240?
Awesome I will contact them to get a quote, thanks,
lol I am 6 ft tall and from what people say 30" is still a pain to work with but I am still going to do it haha
I will get a quote from them too. How much did they quote you for your 240?
dantimdad
7500 Club Member
at 5'10" a 24" deep tank still get's the whole arm wet. :)
JoshH
Tank Status: Wet...ish, growing things....
Fellow Miracles owner here, A couple things that I wasn't too fond of on my tank but it was honestly my fault (except for one but it's a small issue that you honestly can't see when the tank is all set up) as I didn't bother to mention them when we were going through the initial design of the tank. Other than that, the tank is beautiful, the craftmanship is solid and they did a few extras that I never asked for like upgrading the bottom and back panels to 3/4" glass and adding reinforced corner bracing on the entire bottom and back panel as well. Over all I'm VERY happy with my new 125 Gallon and would happily recommend them:)
And I will say this on a side note, honestly if this is your "Forever" tank, it's beyond worth the money and wait to get something completely custom and EXACTLY what you want instead of having to drill things or deal with a slightly deeper tank which makes maintainance a pain in the neck. With custom your options are limitless and the tanks are typically built to a MUCH higher standard than the stock tanks. Not that there is anything wrong with stock tanks, they just aren't built the same.
dputt88
Active Member
It was ~$3,300 which included international freight. check out my build thread if you like, link is below
ca1ore
10K Club member
Excellence Award
Reef Tank 365
CTARS Member
Article Contributor
R2R TV Featured
Expect to pay between 2x and 3x for a custom tank. Personally I think it’s pointless in smaller tanks (yes, 220 is smaller). I had the 7’ marine land 265 for four years and was very happy with it (other than the horrible overflows). I’d buy the non reef ready version and drill it for a ghost-style overflow. My current 450 necessitated custom as a consequence of size.
lolgranny
Well-Known Member
I have a 30” deep custom tank and if I was to do it again I would have done smaller. Im 6’5” and have a crazy arm span. It is not easy at all getting to the bottom of the tank. Keep that in mind.
Mines a 400g done by AGE. The tank was a great price after I did some haggling. I got quotes from miracles / reefsavvy / and a couple others. This was by far the best bang for the buck. Then again if I had very deep pockets I would go with the Ferrari, being savvy. They are just wayyyy too overpriced.
There are so many threads of marineland bottom seal failures on their large tanks. They used to be great about paying out warranty claims, but now they are sending over an insurance adjuster and claiming user error. I would stay away from their tanks over 180g
I've have the Marineland stock 150 and now have the Aqueon stock 220....I dunno, I sorta wish I dropped the extra few $100's on a custom....Heck just in terms of what the tank itself cost vs. equip, livestock and rock....
edit to add I hate that rim... and those bulky overflows are aquascaping pita's
edit to add I hate that rim... and those bulky overflows are aquascaping pita's
jsvand5
Valuable Member
“Few extra hundred”? I think you’d be more looking at a couple extra grand. I just picked up an aqueon 210 recently. I agree that the back overflows do suck. Looking back now I should have plugged them and went with a ghost but voiding the warranty kind of sucks. Tank was under a grand. A custom would have been at least 3k for a similar size. I might be old fashioned, but I prefer the look of a tank with a nice canopy. My lighting is too sloppy and it’s nice to not have to move a mesh top when feeding or doing maintenance.
My goal is to one day go to an 8x3x3. That’s when I’ll spend the big $$$
Similar threads
TOP 10 Trending Threads
-
- Sticky
