I've been wanting to write this for a few weeks now, but holding off until the tank was actually in my possession. I'll put a provisional notice here since I haven't leak-tested the tank, but at risk of spoiling the review, given the sum of my experiences so far I don't think there will be any issues.
A few weeks ago, while taking some pictures of my Reefer 350, I discovered every Reefer owner's fear: Compromised seams. I've been wanting to go acrylic anyhow for a variety of reasons, and that was the final straw for me. I sent off emails to a number of tank makers and waited for a response.
Megan at Tsunami reached out to me within hours with a timeline - 8 weeks, which was in line with what I was hearing from other people. Just as I was getting ready to email more manufacturers, she sent me another email - after talking with Scott (the owner) he said that they could expedite the process at no extra charge. After a brief consult to finalize some dimensions, they started building the tank on Halloween, finished on November 10, shipped on the 11th, and I just took delivery on the 21st. And the Reefer has not failed yet, so it all worked out!
Cost-wise... it wasn't cheap, but in fairness their pricing does include the crating and shipping of the aquarium. You could probably find cheaper if you looked around and didn't have a deadline, but they weren't out of line with the cost of other acrylic tanks.
And speaking of the shipping - they did an excellent job of protecting it during shipping. The tank itself was wrapped in your expected Styrofoam covering. The wrapped tank was then covered in cardboard, with thick cardboard edge protectors preventing direct contact between the tank and the outer layers of packaging. Next, a flat 1/2" melamine sheet was screwed to the surface of the pallet, with two 2x4 bumpers screwed onto that at the exact length of the tank to prevent it from sliding. Around that, they built a crate of 3/4" MDF covering the entirety of the tank, held together with duct tape on multiple layers so as to avoid accidentally piercing the tank underneath. Around that, two more 2x4 posts were stood upright to prevent stacking on top of the tank. Then the tank itself was wrapped in thick black wrap, both to protect from UV exposure and to easily show any signs of external shipping damage, and two cardboard cones were applied to the top of the package to further prevent stacking. Finally, the whole thing was securely strapped down to the pallet with three separate straps. And as a nice bonus, the leftover wood is decent enough quality that I can probably make some kind of shop furniture out of it, which is something I need to do in the coming months anyhow.
Both Megan and Scott were a joy to deal with throughout the whole process. Multiple calls and emails to let me know about the progress, and never any pressure to upsell on the tank itself. Most of the manufacturers I spoke with did mention how many calls they have had to replace Reefer tanks as of late, and they were no different. I really appreciated that they were dialed in enough to know about the problem and that they cared about getting me the tank as soon as was reasonably possible.
The tank itself is everything you could want. Gorgeous, seamless, lids cut perfectly, and arrived without a scratch... though I might have put one into the bottom getting the tank into the house, but it's on the exterior and in an unobtrusive part of the tank, might not even be noticeable. I'll add some pictures later today.
I only have two complaints with the tank, both of them very minor and one definitely not Tsunami's fault. First, I didn't know how the crate was put together, so I went out to meet the driver with a crowbar instead of a box cutter. Thankfully he had a box knife, so I didn't have to run back in to grab a knife. But that was all of ten seconds of awkwardness, so it feels a little silly to even complain about that.
Second, the hole that they cut for my Plank is ever so slightly too small; I'll probably have to trim about 1/16" out of the hole to make it sit correctly. I can't blame them for that, though, because they cut the hole to the size I gave them. I should have added a little bit to the length of the Plank platform, and then it would have fit just fine. They do cut their holes with a curve to them, which works out fine for, say, the lids - it allows them to sit in the top of the tank flush. In the case of the cut-out for the Plank, though, that curve is what is preventing the Plank from seating flush. So I'll need to rig up a jig with my trim router to hog out just a little bit of material, and then it should be fine.
So, on the whole - pending the leak test, I'm very happy with the tank they've provided me. The price was fair, especially considering my desire for a fast turnaround. The tank is 99% of everything I wanted, and the only real complaint I have is from my own failure to build in a small buffer on the size of the Plank cutout.
My next tank will also likely be an acrylic tank, and Tsunami will definitely be in the running for that, whenever it happens.
A few weeks ago, while taking some pictures of my Reefer 350, I discovered every Reefer owner's fear: Compromised seams. I've been wanting to go acrylic anyhow for a variety of reasons, and that was the final straw for me. I sent off emails to a number of tank makers and waited for a response.
Megan at Tsunami reached out to me within hours with a timeline - 8 weeks, which was in line with what I was hearing from other people. Just as I was getting ready to email more manufacturers, she sent me another email - after talking with Scott (the owner) he said that they could expedite the process at no extra charge. After a brief consult to finalize some dimensions, they started building the tank on Halloween, finished on November 10, shipped on the 11th, and I just took delivery on the 21st. And the Reefer has not failed yet, so it all worked out!
Cost-wise... it wasn't cheap, but in fairness their pricing does include the crating and shipping of the aquarium. You could probably find cheaper if you looked around and didn't have a deadline, but they weren't out of line with the cost of other acrylic tanks.
And speaking of the shipping - they did an excellent job of protecting it during shipping. The tank itself was wrapped in your expected Styrofoam covering. The wrapped tank was then covered in cardboard, with thick cardboard edge protectors preventing direct contact between the tank and the outer layers of packaging. Next, a flat 1/2" melamine sheet was screwed to the surface of the pallet, with two 2x4 bumpers screwed onto that at the exact length of the tank to prevent it from sliding. Around that, they built a crate of 3/4" MDF covering the entirety of the tank, held together with duct tape on multiple layers so as to avoid accidentally piercing the tank underneath. Around that, two more 2x4 posts were stood upright to prevent stacking on top of the tank. Then the tank itself was wrapped in thick black wrap, both to protect from UV exposure and to easily show any signs of external shipping damage, and two cardboard cones were applied to the top of the package to further prevent stacking. Finally, the whole thing was securely strapped down to the pallet with three separate straps. And as a nice bonus, the leftover wood is decent enough quality that I can probably make some kind of shop furniture out of it, which is something I need to do in the coming months anyhow.
Both Megan and Scott were a joy to deal with throughout the whole process. Multiple calls and emails to let me know about the progress, and never any pressure to upsell on the tank itself. Most of the manufacturers I spoke with did mention how many calls they have had to replace Reefer tanks as of late, and they were no different. I really appreciated that they were dialed in enough to know about the problem and that they cared about getting me the tank as soon as was reasonably possible.
The tank itself is everything you could want. Gorgeous, seamless, lids cut perfectly, and arrived without a scratch... though I might have put one into the bottom getting the tank into the house, but it's on the exterior and in an unobtrusive part of the tank, might not even be noticeable. I'll add some pictures later today.
I only have two complaints with the tank, both of them very minor and one definitely not Tsunami's fault. First, I didn't know how the crate was put together, so I went out to meet the driver with a crowbar instead of a box cutter. Thankfully he had a box knife, so I didn't have to run back in to grab a knife. But that was all of ten seconds of awkwardness, so it feels a little silly to even complain about that.
Second, the hole that they cut for my Plank is ever so slightly too small; I'll probably have to trim about 1/16" out of the hole to make it sit correctly. I can't blame them for that, though, because they cut the hole to the size I gave them. I should have added a little bit to the length of the Plank platform, and then it would have fit just fine. They do cut their holes with a curve to them, which works out fine for, say, the lids - it allows them to sit in the top of the tank flush. In the case of the cut-out for the Plank, though, that curve is what is preventing the Plank from seating flush. So I'll need to rig up a jig with my trim router to hog out just a little bit of material, and then it should be fine.
So, on the whole - pending the leak test, I'm very happy with the tank they've provided me. The price was fair, especially considering my desire for a fast turnaround. The tank is 99% of everything I wanted, and the only real complaint I have is from my own failure to build in a small buffer on the size of the Plank cutout.
My next tank will also likely be an acrylic tank, and Tsunami will definitely be in the running for that, whenever it happens.
