What’s going on with TankMe USA? Any one having a tank built from them

[Karliefish]

I was really impressed with TankME USA Custom Aquarium Builders. Their website is shows some really nice high quality tanks. I wrote the owner (Gaston) a very long email describing exactly what I wanted to have him build for me, i.e. a 350 Gallon reef tank. Two weeks went by with no email reply, so I wrote him a second email and another two weeks went by and no response. So finally this week I called him and he answered the phone and told me that he had over 500 emails unanswered. I really wasn’t sure what to think when he told me that. He asked if he could call me back in 30 minutes and three days later I still haven’t received a return phone call. So now I’m wondering if they are going out of business or temporarily shutdown. All their website says is that they are temporarily not taking orders on the internet and to connect them directly - well that hasn/t work well for me. So now I’m trying to decide if I should abandom TankMe USA and start looking for an alternative custom tank builder.

Does anyone know what is going with TankMe USA? Anyone using them currently to have a custom tank built?
Thanks

 

[Mpek]

Hey bud. Gaston build my 350 for me 2 years ago. He did a ridiculously good job and built me a solid over built tank. I'm pretty sure he works alone so it's no surprise that he's backlogged. If you're patient and he confirms your project, it's worth it.

 

[Karliefish]

Thanks for the comment. I’m perfectly fine waiting, I have many months, before I need the tank. Just would like the courtesy of a returned email or a phone call so I know there is at least interest on his part to build my tank.

 

[TheHarold]

I think it is just a combination of huge demand and Covid related delays and shutdowns.

Even to order a tank, I am guessing it will be between 8 and 12 months until delivery. They are always busy due to the high equality.

 

[Karliefish]

Hey bud. Gaston build my 350 for me 2 years ago. He did a ridiculously good job and built me a solid over built tank. I'm pretty sure he works alone so it's no surprise that he's backlogged. If you're patient and he confirms your project, it's worth it.

wow I keep looking at your tank picture - what a stunning tank Gaston built for you. Would you find answering a few questions for me regarding your tank:
1) what are your dimensions?
2) Did you have him do external overflows or hybrids? How many and where did you have them placed on your tank?
3) are those the random flow generators on your return lines back into the tank? what do you think of them
4) Did Gaston build your stand? Really love the look and the design. You have a truly outstanding tank.

 

[Mpek]

wow I keep looking at your tank picture - what a stunning tank Gaston built for you. Would you find answering a few questions for me regarding your tank:
1) what are your dimensions?
2) Did you have him do external overflows or hybrids? How many and where did you have them placed on your tank?
3) are those the random flow generators on your return lines back into the tank? what do you think of them
4) Did Gaston build your stand? Really love the look and the design. You have a truly outstanding tank.

Thank you!

Tank is 7' x 32W x 30H. 350 gallons.

I wanted low profile overflows so that I could do some cool aquascape with arches and other formations.

The overflows are two external 20" reef savvy ghost overflows. Both are plumbed for the bean animal. If you look close to the first Pic... You can see them right at the top, seaparated by the returns in the center.

Yes, those are VCR random flow generators. They do work well, but I turned my return flow down significantly. They're more effective with higher flow through the return. I changed my flow to have less tank turnover, but increased the interal flow.

Gaston contracted the aluminum stand out, but took care of that part for me. As far as the skin for the tank and canopy, I used the company that did WWC's new facility. He did an awesome job and was on his game. Stand came out amazing and my wife absolutely loves it. He even included remote controlled actuators to raise the canopy for me.

Thank you again! If you have any other questions or want any suggestions, I'd be more than happy to help you out.

 

[Mpek]

Still have to tie up the loose wires....

 

[Fishfinder]

Gaston built my tank. Truly a work of art. He is so unbelievably busy. He is a one man business. He is not easy to get ahold of. But if you want a completely custom work of art, it’s worth the wait. My build was 3 months after the estimated finish date

 

[rushbattle]

I just took delivery of two tanks last month that were ordered originally August 2018. They are not just aquaria, they are art. The most beautiful tanks I have ever seen anywhere. He’s incredibly busy, so it takes a while to get ahold of him.

 

[Fishfinder]

If I could upload a video I’d be happy to share

 

[Karliefish]

Thank you!

Tank is 7' x 32W x 30H. 350 gallons.

I wanted low profile overflows so that I could do some cool aquascape with arches and other formations.

The overflows are two external 20" reef savvy ghost overflows. Both are plumbed for the bean animal. If you look close to the first Pic... You can see them right at the top, seaparated by the returns in the center.

Yes, those are VCR random flow generators. They do work well, but I turned my return flow down significantly. They're more effective with higher flow through the return. I changed my flow to have less tank turnover, but increased the interal flow.

Gaston contracted the aluminum stand out, but took care of that part for me. As far as the skin for the tank and canopy, I used the company that did WWC's new facility. He did an awesome job and was on his game. Stand came out amazing and my wife absolutely loves it. He even included remote controlled actuators to raise the canopy for me.

Thank you again! If you have any other questions or want any suggestions, I'd be more than happy to help you out.

Thank you for all this incredible helpful detail. I was able to finally reach Gaston and we had a really good talk and he sent me the order form to start the process. After reviewing your note above I had some more questions, if you don’t mind. I am also going to have him building a 350 gallon tank except my dimensions will be 96”L x 34W x 26H.

In your reply you mentioned that you decided to go with two external 20” reef savvy ghost overflows. I’m curious to know why you chose that over Gaston’s “Zero Overflows”. It looks really sharp on his website - was there something about the performance of the Savvy ghost overflows that you liked better - more water flow, quieter? Did you have to install the Reef Savvy ghost overflows yourself or did Gaston install them and make them reef ready (plumbed) for you?

I see you have four returns - what size holes did you have Gaston drill for you? Also did you have him do a closed loop drain system?

Regarding the stand, Gaston order form offers two types of stands: (1) Aluminum Stand powder coated or (2) Stand & Skirt 100% waterproof. Which option am I looking at in the picture? I noticed that you only have one center support on your stand - that looks so amazing and clean. I wonder if I’ll have to have two center supports since I’m going with an 8 foot tank. The wood around the metal-stand was that extra feature? Was it for aesthetics or does it serve a functional purpose?

Finally, did you go with the double or single euro braces with your two cross braces? Did you want the cross braces or structurally did you not have any choice?

I look at your tank everyday and become more excited to get my tank ordered!! Thank you for sharing your time with me. Your tank is truly inspiring!

 

[Mpek]

No problem. We're all here to help and share info...that's what this forum is for.

I chose the ghost overflows for three reasons.

1. I needed the tank closer to the wall. Gaston's were a tad too big.

2. The ghost overflows have a proven track record and are really well thought out. You can plumb them for the "bean animal" and remove the teeth for easier cleaning.

3. I wanted at least 50x tank turnover at the time with a lot of surface skimming. I have since dialed down to less than 3x tank turnover with more internal flow... Somewhere around 28,374 = 81x if all WaveMakers were at 100%. I have them on different modes which gives me probably around half that for a majority of the day.

I gave Gaston the templates that come with the overflows. He then drilled the holes where I wanted them. I did all of the plumbing on my own since I've had many years of glorious fails.

If you decide to do two overflows, it can be a PIA to dial them in. You'll get very frustrated if you don't have a lot of experience with plumbing. You'll get an annoying burping sound constantly, which requires dialing your gate valve for your full siphon very slowly over time.

The drains are 1" and all converge into a 2" drain that then drains into a remote sump in my garage. Except for the full siphons of course. Hindsight, I should've just kept them 1" all the way instead of draining into the 2" pipe. The returns are 3/4".

I didn't do a closed loop for several reasons. Biggest reason is that I didn't want any holes in the bottom of my tank. Murphy's Law.... If it can leak, it will leak. I've elimated as much as I could to avoid another leak in my house from an aquarium.

Closed loops also require at least one additional pump, which translates in my mind... an additional pump to clean. Nuff said about that.

I did the aluminum powder coated stand bc it's light and super strong. Since you're going for a longer tank, I'd recommend an extra support. You'd still have plenty of room to access the filtration and still have the sides to slide larger items inside. Just make sure the doors are removable. I made that mistake too in the past.

The 100% waterproof skirt wasn't available at the time since Gaston couldn't get any reliable contractors. The first picture that you see with the wood... was for the facade that was never finished. I hired a contractor and then had to fire him. The wood was not structural. I just didn't want holes drilled into my stand.

I had my facade completed by the company that did the World Wide Corals' new ginormous store. The material is also waterproof and very durable. He did an amazing job and completed it super quick.

As far as the eurobracing... My instructions to Gaston were, make my tank bulletproof! I had him do a double eurobrace and reinforce the bottom and corners. The bottom of the tank is 3/4" glass with ABS board. It's almost 2" thick. The corners have, I belive it's glass... Not sure... But the "glass" is, not wedged, but placed between where the two panels come together on the inside of the aquarium. Make sense?...
They were injection molded into place. In fact, all of the glass was injection molded which adds additional structural integrity for glass aquariums. Not that crappy silicone job that Marineland does.

Other than that, I think I answered all of your questions. If you have anymore, fire away. And again, thank you for the kind words.

 

[JumboShrimp]

If it’s taking 6-8 months to basically get on the ‘drawing board,’ so to speak, or at least actually begin production, is he requiring large deposits that far out? If it’s a one-man operation and something tragic happens, try getting a large deposit back from a Florida probate system that has all but shut down. It’s a shame the backlog has reached 500 e-mails, because I was seriously choosing the company to built a tank for me. Might have to move on to my second choice.

 

[Karliefish]

No problem. We're all here to help and share info...that's what this forum is for.

I chose the ghost overflows for three reasons.

1. I needed the tank closer to the wall. Gaston's were a tad too big.

2. The ghost overflows have a proven track record and are really well thought out. You can plumb them for the "bean animal" and remove the teeth for easier cleaning.

3. I wanted at least 50x tank turnover at the time with a lot of surface skimming. I have since dialed down to less than 3x tank turnover with more internal flow... Somewhere around 28,374 = 81x if all WaveMakers were at 100%. I have them on different modes which gives me probably around half that for a majority of the day.

I gave Gaston the templates that come with the overflows. He then drilled the holes where I wanted them. I did all of the plumbing on my own since I've had many years of glorious fails.

If you decide to do two overflows, it can be a PIA to dial them in. You'll get very frustrated if you don't have a lot of experience with plumbing. You'll get an annoying burping sound constantly, which requires dialing your gate valve for your full siphon very slowly over time.

The drains are 1" and all converge into a 2" drain that then drains into a remote sump in my garage. Except for the full siphons of course. Hindsight, I should've just kept them 1" all the way instead of draining into the 2" pipe. The returns are 3/4".

I didn't do a closed loop for several reasons. Biggest reason is that I didn't want any holes in the bottom of my tank. Murphy's Law.... If it can leak, it will leak. I've elimated as much as I could to avoid another leak in my house from an aquarium.

Closed loops also require at least one additional pump, which translates in my mind... an additional pump to clean. Nuff said about that.

I did the aluminum powder coated stand bc it's light and super strong. Since you're going for a longer tank, I'd recommend an extra support. You'd still have plenty of room to access the filtration and still have the sides to slide larger items inside. Just make sure the doors are removable. I made that mistake too in the past.

The 100% waterproof skirt wasn't available at the time since Gaston couldn't get any reliable contractors. The first picture that you see with the wood... was for the facade that was never finished. I hired a contractor and then had to fire him. The wood was not structural. I just didn't want holes drilled into my stand.

I had my facade completed by the company that did the World Wide Corals' new ginormous store. The material is also waterproof and very durable. He did an amazing job and completed it super quick.

As far as the eurobracing... My instructions to Gaston were, make my tank bulletproof! I had him do a double eurobrace and reinforce the bottom and corners. The bottom of the tank is 3/4" glass with ABS board. It's almost 2" thick. The corners have, I belive it's glass... Not sure... But the "glass" is, not wedged, but placed between where the two panels come together on the inside of the aquarium. Make sense?...
They were injection molded into place. In fact, all of the glass was injection molded which adds additional structural integrity for glass aquariums. Not that crappy silicone job that Marineland does.

Other than that, I think I answered all of your questions. If you have anymore, fire away. And again, thank you for the kind words.

You are amazing and super kind in taking the time to answer all my questions which btw were really nicely done and easy to understand.

Here is what I’m concluding:
Really love the Reef Savvy Ghost Overflows and how functional they are. However, I might be stretching my plumbing skills to take-on the installation of the overflows on my own. You are fortunate that you posses those skills. I might ask Gaston if he’d considered installing them for me. I’m curious, you stated that they are a PIA to dial-up. Is that because you had two of them installed and that is what complicates the dialing-in process or would one still be a PIA? Fortunately, I don’t have a wall issue, as the back of my tank will be in a open-space fish utility room, so the Zero Overflows might be ok - just don’t know if Gaston can do two of them. Question....your original intent was to get a large turnover of water in your tank and surface skimming - if you were to start over again would you still do two overflows? I also want lots of water turnover.

Totally with you on avoiding close loop systems. I had a close loop system years and ago was always dealing with slow leaks - they are just a PIA.

Regarding your stand...sorry to hear about your headaches with your contractor, that really sucks. So the wood that is fitted around your aluminum stand was installed by the same company that made your powder coated stand? I also don’t want to drill into my stand and like the idea of attaching my wood panel to those wood cut-always molded around the stand. I have a builder that will be putting my tank into a wall (only the front will show) and I’ll need him to attach the wood panel fronts somehow to the metal stand - the wood molded around the stand looks like the way to possibly go.

Your aquairum is built like a tank and will last forever - wow, impressive! I was planning on doing the euro bracing around the the tank, the extra strong bottom, the injection molding on all the glass corners, but wanted to avoid the center cross braces as I want to avoid shadowing with my T5 lights. If Gaston feels they are required becuaase of the length of my tank - oh well, I’ll live with it. Like you, a fully structurally sound tank is my first priority.

Do you happen to know the company that did the actuators for your canopy? I’m don’t need a canopy, but do want to automatically raise my lights out of the way when I do tank maintenance, etc.

Thank you again for your time!!

 

[Fishfinder]

the zero overflow Gaston does is amazing. I love mine.

 

[Karliefish]

the zero overflow Gaston does is amazing. I love mine.

That is so great to hear. How large is your overflow and do you happen to have a picture of the backside? Many thanks!

 

[Karliefish]

Gaston built my tank. Truly a work of art. He is so unbelievably busy. He is a one man business. He is not easy to get ahold of. But if you want a completely custom work of art, it’s worth the wait. My build was 3 months after the estimated finish date

Do you happen to have a pic? Did you also have him do your stand? Thanks!

 

[Karliefish]

If I could upload a video I’d be happy to share

That would be greatly appreciated - thanks! Looking forward to viewing it.

 

[Fishfinder]

Is there a way to put videos on here?

 

[Silver14SS]

I have a smaller tank from Gaston, I love it.

Build Thread - 45g TankMe USA and Battlecorals SPS Build

Welcome to my slowly progressing, and infrequently updated build thread! The tank and stand were built by TankMeUSA, I can't say enough good things about Gaston. I had one other custom tank built a few years ago, this experience was way better. Plans are to fill up the tank with only...

www.reef2reef.com

The only thing I’d change is going bigger next time, I’m considering getting him to build me a 36”x24”x18” or so to put on my existing stand.

Text has been the best way for me to communicate with Gaston.