Recommended Custom Tank Manufacturers

[DARTMOOR]

Hi all, new to this site and new to the hobby. I bought a 75 gallon tank off Craigslist with fish, rock, sump, and a couple frags a couple of months ago for a bargain and have since become addicted. Long story short, as most of you know the 75 gallon just wont cut it for much longer. I am currently planning on building a new tank in the house, and the measurements for the space I picked out allow for a tank roughly 500 gallons, with a sump/fish room in the basement directly below the dining room/main display tank room.

Couple of questions:

1) How tall would you recommend the tank be, in terms of proper lighting for coral and accessibility.

2) And most importantly, can any of you veterans recommend a good and affordable company to build my new custom tank. I can build the stand myself, just need somebody to build the tank and sump for me.

Thanks!

 

[ShawnSaucier]

Hi all, new to this site and new to the hobby. I bought a 75 gallon tank off Craigslist with fish, rock, sump, and a couple frags a couple of months ago for a bargain and have since become addicted. Long story short, as most of you know the 75 gallon just wont cut it for much longer. I am currently planning on building a new tank in the house, and the measurements for the space I picked out allow for a tank roughly 500 gallons, with a sump/fish room in the basement directly below the dining room/main display tank room.

Couple of questions:

1) How tall would you recommend the tank be, in terms of proper lighting for coral and accessibility.

2) And most importantly, can any of you veterans recommend a good and affordable company to build my new custom tank. I can build the stand myself, just need somebody to build the tank and sump for me.

Thanks!

Hi Dart!,
I went down this road last year. It's a tough road to travel as there are so many decisions to make. Where to put overflows, closed loop, skimmer , lighting, ect.... But it's so much fun once you start the build. I could be wrong, but I believe most custom manufacturers won't warranty the tank without one of their approved stands, I think. A few companies I looked at were Reef Savvy, Miracles , LeeMar, Glasscages and DSA; I was also looking for a glass tank. Are you wanting acrylic? I chose Reef Savvy as they are "local" and they were the only tanks that I had physically had the chance to inspect the craftsmanship. I know many other people have had amazing tanks built by the other companies mentioned. Even still, my tank took 6 months from conception to delivery.
For your first ? I think it all depends on what you want to keep. My tank is 60"x30"x24" but the stand is 40" tall. This makes the top of the tank 64", so I do have to use a step stool to really get in to the tank, and I have a hard tom reaching the back middle bottom. Personally I would not go deeper than 30", but your lighting choices and corals are going to factor what you can do. Another factor is how will you get the tank inside?
Second question; glass or acrylic?

 

[Eric B]

You can also check with MRC (My Reef Creations) as they are in the Atlanta area and build mostly large tanks. If need be call Sea Atlanta as they are a main distributor for MRC.

 

[DARTMOOR]

Thanks Eric!

 

[DARTMOOR]

Shawn, not sure if Glass or Acrylic. I prefer Acrylic... scared of glass for some reason (anybody remember the scene in the biggining of Mission Impossible)

Which is better? I dont mind using a step ladder to get around, and plan on cutting a cabinet into the hallway which is behind the wall the tank would be for access to both sides of the tank.

 

[Jonn]

Just went through this exersize a few months back and landed on Coast To Coast Aquariums in NJ. So I'll put my plug in for them. They certainly were not the cheapest, but I couldn't find 1 bad or negative post anywhere on them. Designs seemed to be more over built then some other places and I couldn't be happier with the end product and the experience with them. BTW, they built me a 250g and it took ~10wks start to finish.

 

[hatfielj]

Another plug for Coast to Coast in NJ. I've owned a couple of different custom tanks over the years and Coast to Coast is the nicest I've seen. Very nice guy who runs the place too.