Your thoughts on custom tank manufacturers?

[JoshH]

So lately I seem to see a lot of threads popping up on advice on custom tank manufacturers and which ones people would recommend. Last fall I went through the same process myself and landed on a manufacturer here in Canada. But it's recently dawned on me that in my search and even combing through the threads, there doesn't seem to be a nice and easy way for new buyers to read reviews on multiple companies or even hear everyone's thoughts on there own custom tanks. So here I am making this Poll on Tank manufacturers for people to hopefully share ONLY there own personal reviews on tanks that they have had made for them and the Quality of the craftsmanship.

Please and I beg of all of you, ONLY share your own experience and do not comment on manufacturers you (Or a family member @Crabs McJones) haven't previously owned or currently own. This is not a thread that I want to go off on a tangent and turn into a brand bashing thread especially with certain manufacturers that I know are in the poll. Hopefully it can just be an easier place for people to see others thoughts on there custom tanks.

Being a tank owner, if you wish, share your experience good or bad with the company you chose.

Info like

Size?​

Cost (Obviously you don't have to share this and every tank built can vary greatly in price but it can be helpful to give someone a general ball park)?​

Communication with the builder?​

Time it took to complete the build and ship?​

Quality of your build?​

Things you loved about the build?​

Things you might have done differently?​

What overflow and return options were you given?​

Did your builder offer you to build/supply a stand?​

Any warranty information you're aware of on your build?​

And finally if you could share a picture or two, or even a link to your build thread​

BTW I don't know every tank manufacturer under the sun so if there's one I'm missing and I'm certain there will be more than a few, Let me know and I'll throw them into the mix.

Thank you!

 

[Crabs McJones]

I hope this counts, but my uncle recently purchased a Custom Aquarium's rimless tank. I helped him set it up. It's a 65 gallon 36x18x24. Cost wise I believe he spent about 800 bucks on it, not including sump stand or plumbing, all that he picked up from marine depot. As far as the tank goes the construction was top notch. Very heavy duty, only their rimless isnt really "rimless" the bottom of the tank has a heavy duty metal frame, but the top is rimless. Went with the ultra clear glass on the front and sides and thick glass on the bottom. Nice part is you can specify each pane of glass as far as clarity and thickness of the glass. Website is OK to use, but you're better off calling up and speaking to a rep. Lead time varies, he was originally told 8 to 10 weeks, and after 8 weeks came to find out the rep was fired so his order never got done so it was another 6 weeks before the tank was done. But definitely worth it. They do offer their own overflow setup which I wasnt thrilled with, I'd rather do an external overflow box and do the Herbie or bean animal setup. This tank only came with a single 1.5" drain and two 1/2 inch returns.
Overall the tank looks great, a few areas that could be improved, but hey, the company is only 20 minutes away from us lol

 

[TheHarold]

@JoshH I really think this is a poor strategy for comparing manufacturers. For example, a quote from one of these manufacturers is easily 4x more than another- for pretty much identical tank specifications.


Also: you’re missing TankMe. Pretty insane quality, up there with Reef Savvy IMO.

 

[JoshH]

@JoshH I really think this is a poor strategy for comparing manufacturers. For example, a quote from one of these manufacturers is easily 4x more than another- for pretty much identical tank specifications.


Also: you’re missing TankMe. Pretty insane quality, up there with Reef Savvy IMO.

Hey @TheHarold I think your mistaken on my intentions here. I'm not looking to compare manufacturers directly on a specific tank size or price. Only to provide as much info on each ones work quality and customers experiences (And Price if someone feels like sharing). Obviously Reef Savvy prices (And I'm guessing that's the manufacturer you're referring to) are insane and we all know it which is why I mentioned in my post that I understand the same tank costs will vary widely between each builder.

But I also know it's a nightmare looking for good reviews from people who own these tanks so I'd like to start some kind of database for someone who is looking to comb through, if they want super quality and don't mind paying a premium for it than they can go with Reef Savvy, if they don't quite feel like spending that much atleast there are other reviews to look through on other manufacturers. I'm not out to find out who is THE BEST manufacturer and say all the rest are garbage. Only to hopefully give enough information for someone to make an educated decision on there tank purchase.

FWIW I certainly didn't go with a Reef Savvy and I easily could have, there quote wasn't 4 times that of Miracles either. I will be adding my Review of Miracles a little later on.

 

[JoshH]

I hope this counts, but my uncle recently purchased a Custom Aquarium's rimless tank. I helped him set it up. It's a 65 gallon 36x18x24. Cost wise I believe he spent about 800 bucks on it, not including sump stand or plumbing, all that he picked up from marine depot. As far as the tank goes the construction was top notch. Very heavy duty, only their rimless isnt really "rimless" the bottom of the tank has a heavy duty metal frame, but the top is rimless. Went with the ultra clear glass on the front and sides and thick glass on the bottom. Nice part is you can specify each pane of glass as far as clarity and thickness of the glass. Website is OK to use, but you're better off calling up and speaking to a rep. Lead time varies, he was originally told 8 to 10 weeks, and after 8 weeks came to find out the rep was fired so his order never got done so it was another 6 weeks before the tank was done. But definitely worth it. They do offer their own overflow setup which I wasnt thrilled with, I'd rather do an external overflow box and do the Herbie or bean animal setup. This tank only came with a single 1.5" drain and two 1/2 inch returns.
Overall the tank looks great, a few areas that could be improved, but hey, the company is only 20 minutes away from us lol

That is more than okay and exactly the kind of information I'm hoping to see

I'll add overflow options as well to the mix as each manufacturer has very different options with those as well.

 

[Variant]

Unforunately, I cannot really answer your survey because my custom tank experience was not too good. So i'll share in this comment.

I had a relatively small custom tank built by Crystal Dynamics using clear silicone. The tank I received first had some very unacceptable build issues that brought me to question their entire quality check system. How can a glass pane not be machine polished and left with the cut marks, especially on a custom rimless tank. Not to mention major scratches. I had a new tank built at no cost, but this meant me having to haul the tank back into my car, drive 8 hours total to their shop and back home to pick up the new tank. The new tank looked better (relatively speaking) so I accepted it. But this one also had issues, this time with marring or imperfections between the bottom pane and reinforcement material. I have a bare bottom so I can see if every day until coraline algae covers it (looks like spilled liquid on a table). I don't know what the excuse is here... If a smaller tank means less profits for them, just charge me more instead of giving me lower quality product. If clear silicone is hard to use then tell me it's a non-negotiable 'no'. If 3/8" glass require machines to be re-adjusted, then just charge me more to get it readjusted right. I cannot speak of the quality produced by Crystal Dynamics for larger tanks with black silicone but for my tank, it was not that great. I had an ELOS tank at some point in life and while the custom tank would cost an arm and a leg, it probably would have been worth it to shell out the extra $$$$ for the Custom Elos tank since I look at the tank every single day. A nice controller and sump sits inside the stand cover and fancy pumps get covered in algae anyways so why did I skimp on the display tank (who knows... lesson learned).

Manufacturer: Crystal Dynamics
Date of Deposit Paid: Beginning of December 2018
Tank Size: 30"x25"x12"
Silicone: Clear
Overflow: Modular Marine, provided by me
Cost: ~$800 without shipping
Date of First Tank Completion: Early/Mid February 2019
Issues: Unfinished/polishes edges on starphire glass, scratches on glass panel towards the bottom where the reinforced black ABS material was placed.
Resolution: A new tank was build and I returned the first tank
Date of Second Tank Completion: Late March 2019
New Issues: There are large areas of imperfection between where the bottom glass pane meets the reinforced black ABS material, which is an eye sore since my tank is bare bottom and one of the viewable glass panes was siliconed ever so slightly angeled such that the glass pane is not siliconed at a 90 degree angle
Communication of Manufacturer: decent. They were responsive but sometimes required multiple follow ups to solicit a response
Conclusion: Steer clear of this one and pay the extra premium for a custom Elos tank (I anecdotally heard Reef Savvy is

 

[JoshH]

Unforunately, I cannot really answer your survey because my custom tank experience was not too good. So i'll share in this comment.

I had a relatively small custom tank built by Crystal Dynamics using clear silicone. The tank I received first had some very unacceptable build issues that brought me to question their entire quality check system. How can a glass pane not be machine polished and left with the cut marks, especially on a custom rimless tank. Not to mention major scratches. I had a new tank built at no cost, but this meant me having to haul the tank back into my car, drive 8 hours total to their shop and back home to pick up the new tank. The new tank looked better (relatively speaking) so I accepted it. But this one also had issues, this time with marring or imperfections between the bottom pane and reinforcement material. I have a bare bottom so I can see if every day until coraline algae covers it (looks like spilled liquid on a table). I don't know what the excuse is here... If a smaller tank means less profits for them, just charge me more instead of giving me lower quality product. If clear silicone is hard to use then tell me it's a non-negotiable 'no'. If 3/8" glass require machines to be re-adjusted, then just charge me more to get it readjusted right. I cannot speak of the quality produced by Crystal Dynamics for larger tanks with black silicone but for my tank, it was not that great. I had an ELOS tank at some point in life and while the custom tank would cost an arm and a leg, it probably would have been worth it to shell out the extra $$$$ for the Custom Elos tank since I look at the tank every single day. A nice controller and sump sits inside the stand cover and fancy pumps get covered in algae anyways so why did I skimp on the display tank (who knows... lesson learned).

Manufacturer: Crystal Dynamics
Date of Deposit Paid: Beginning of December 2018
Tank Size: 30"x25"x12"
Silicone: Clear
Overflow: Modular Marine, provided by me
Cost: ~$800 without shipping
Date of First Tank Completion: Early/Mid February 2019
Issues: Unfinished/polishes edges on starphire glass, scratches on glass panel towards the bottom where the reinforced black ABS material was placed.
Resolution: A new tank was build and I returned the first tank
Date of Second Tank Completion: Late March 2019
New Issues: There are large areas of imperfection between where the bottom glass pane meets the reinforced black ABS material, which is an eye sore since my tank is bare bottom and one of the viewable glass panes was siliconed ever so slightly angeled such that the glass pane is not siliconed at a 90 degree angle
Communication of Manufacturer: decent. They were responsive but sometimes required multiple follow ups to solicit a response
Conclusion: Steer clear of this one and pay the extra premium for a custom Elos tank (I anecdotally heard Reef Savvy is

I'm still glad that you are sharing your experience even if it wasn't the best one. I've heard good things about Crystal Dynamics so it is good to see both sides of the coin. No manufacturer is perfect (Even the premium ones) I think we can all agree on that. To me I think and this may explain your issues with scratches anyway, Smaller custom tanks might fall into the "We can use our scraps from bigger builds" category. I can totally see a builder wanting to use up there scraps from other builds to make smaller tanks. Trying to get the most profit out of a sheet of glass as they can for obvious reasons. I know my tank had a fair bit of waste assuming they used 4 x 8 sheets of glass anyway. And I know for me I paid the full price for a sheet of 1/2" Starphire glass 60" x 30" to make my one piece euro bracing and they didn't use the scrap inside piece for my tank. So I can bet they kept it and charged someone again for it lol. Hopefully your bottom gets covered with coral soon!!!

And FWIW it sure does seem like most manufacturers steer clear of the clear silicone for some reason, as far as I know black silicone is standard and clear is special request only. No idea why and hopefully someone can enlighten us to the reasoning behind it.

 

[mfinn]

My only experience with a custom tank was with a local to me company called Crystal Reef Aquatics.
https://crystalreefaquatics.com/

My experience was more with the head tank builder.
My 233 was built by him.
Excellent work.
Great communication.
And they do ship.

I think mine was in the $1800 range, give or take a few $.
Starfire glass on 3 sides.
It took about 5-6 weeks from the day it was ordered until it was sitting finished in his shop.
I took possession of it 4 weeks later.
External overflow box with 3 drains.
5 holes for closed loop.



Since I posted this, I learned Crystal Reef Aquatics has closed it's doors and are no longer in business.

 

[JoshH]

My only experience with a custom tank was with a local to me company called Crystal Reef Aquatics.
https://crystalreefaquatics.com/

My experience was more with the head tank builder.
My 233 was built by him.
Excellent work.
Great communication.
And they do ship.

I think mine was in the $1800 range, give or take a few $.
Starfire glass on 3 sides.
It took about 5-6 weeks from the day it was ordered until it was sitting finished in his shop.
I took possession of it 4 weeks later.
External overflow box with 3 drains.
5 holes for closed loop.

I'll be honest it's the first I've heard of them but they are added to the poll!! Thanks for sharing your experience and thoughts of them, I'm definately a sucker for a closed loop system!

 

[DaneGer21]

I to had Crystal Reef Aquatics build mine, and also had verbal communication with the lead builder, and shop owner.

60”x36”x24”, 3 side starfire. Two holes drilled for my custom MM overflow, and two more for my pass through returns.

I had some imperfections in the seams and also a few in the glass itself(not their fault). Was the tank perfect, no. Is it nice, absolutely.

I had all the add ons, double pane bottom, acrylic side seam strips, ABS bottom, black vinyl background, and top eurobracing.

Shipped from Washington state to me in Ohio the complete total was $2250.

Build time plus shipping for me was 12wks.

Pics 1&2 are the CAD files for my build.
Pic 3 is finished at the builders shop.
Pic 4 is when it arrived at my house.
Pic 5 is when my buddies and I carried it in.
Pic 6 is after I transferred from my old tank.
Pic 7...to come as I haven’t “skinned” the stand yet or hung my lights from the ceiling haha

 

[WVNed]

Custom Aquariums 8 x 2 x 2 with wood stand. I chose black to match my other stand.

Everything seems well made but it doesn't have water in it yet. It is drilled in a standard pattern but they will do whatever you want. You may have to provide drawings. I got their overflow box with it.
ordered around 3-20-19
Arrived 6-12-19
During the process to order it we spoke several times and they called me twice to clarify things.
They then email you a contract that says exactly what you will get. You sign it and send it back to them and pay.
Once the paper work was done I did not hear from them until it shipped. It arrived in a bomb proof casing. The nice men that delivered it sat it in my garage with a pallet jack.
on their stand it has a lifetime warenty but I have to pay to ship it to them.
I did upgrade some of the glass.
$4600

Edit 8/1/19
It is full and I am extremely happy with it. Working on getting it going. The rock should come next week.

 

[ca1ore]

Of those listed, I have direct experience with one, fishtanksdirect, and was very pleased with the tank I received. I have indirect experience with another, C2C, based on a friends tank. I’d have no qualms about them. I did own a glass cages tank years ago and was also pleased with it, though the fit/finish is probably below some of the other choices ..... but so is the price. But it was long ago enough that I’d not feel comfortable saying yes or no at this point. Otherwise, no experience with the other vendors means no opinion.

 

[Don Lidtke]

My experience dealing with Crystal Dynamics Aquariums was extremely enjoyable and without any issues. The tank I ordered was a custom 72x30x27, ½ thickness, starphire glass, eurobraced, Synergy Overflow overflow, with a stand with side doors and an additional electrical panel on the right side.

I went with a Geosreef (46RD-PRO-AFR) which I had shipped to Crystal Dynamics who than did the plumbing for me.

I had excellent communication with Zoya and the rest of the crew. The ordered was placed on 28 Sep 2018 and was received 11 Jan 2019.

The quality of my build is outstanding! I suppose I sound a bit like a fanboy but this aquarium is stunning. There’s nothing that I would change on the tank or sump for that matter. I am extremely pleased with the entire system.

Here’s the link to my build:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/my-first-reef-tank-is-a-crystal-dynamics-250-gallon-build.558288/

 

[JoshH]

I to had Crystal Reef Aquatics build mine, and also had verbal communication with the lead builder, and shop owner.

60”x36”x24”, 3 side starfire. Two holes drilled for my custom MM overflow, and two more for my pass through returns.

I had some imperfections in the seams and also a few in the glass itself(not their fault). Was the tank perfect, no. Is it nice, absolutely.

I had all the add ons, double pane bottom, acrylic side seam strips, ABS bottom, black vinyl background, and top eurobracing.

Shipped from Washington state to me in Ohio the complete total was $2250.

Build time plus shipping for me was 12wks.

Pics 1&2 are the CAD files for my build.
Pic 3 is finished at the builders shop.
Pic 4 is when it arrived at my house.
Pic 5 is when my buddies and I carried it in.
Pic 6 is after I transferred from my old tank.
Pic 7...to come as I haven’t “skinned” the stand yet or hung my lights from the ceiling haha

Excellent review, I think that's kindof where I am with my Miracles tank, was it perfect, no. BUT it was pretty darn close to perfect and I love it either way! Thank you for sharing all the info and pics, looks like a pretty amazing tank to me. Was it stock clear silicone or did you ask for clear specifically? And did you receive the CAD file to look over before finalizing? This was something I never got with mine but I did provide some REALLY specific drawings and spent a while on the phone.

Custom Aquariums 8 x 2 x 2 with wood stand. I chose black to match my other stand.

Everything seems well made but it doesn't have water in it yet. It is drilled in a standard pattern but they will do whatever you want. You may have to provide drawings. I got their overflow box with it.
ordered around 3-20-19
Arrived 6-12-19
During the process to order it we spoke several times and they called me twice to clarify things.
They then email you a contract that says exactly what you will get. You sign it and send it back to them and pay.
Once the paper work was done I did not hear from them until it shipped. It arrived in a bomb proof casing. The nice men that delivered it sat it in my garage with a pallet jack.
on their stand it has a lifetime warenty but I have to pay to ship it to them.
I did upgrade some of the glass.
$4600

That is one beautiful stand and you honestly can't beat a lifetime warranty. My tank came with pretty solid packaging as well on a hardwood Blueskid which aren't cheap so I was pretty impressed with that although I don't think Miracles ships all there tanks on the same type of skid. Fantastic dimensions as well, I've been watching your thread waiting for the new tank to get wet, HURRY UP!! (Kidding I know you have a lot going on right now). Thanks for sharing!

Of those listed, I have direct experience with one, fishtanksdirect, and was very pleased with the tank I received. I have indirect experience with another, C2C, based on a friends tank. I’d have no qualms about them. I did own a glass cages tank years ago and was also pleased with it, though the fit/finish is probably below some of the other choices ..... but so is the price. But it was long ago enough that I’d not feel comfortable saying yes or no at this point. Otherwise, no experience with the other vendors means no opinion.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts @ca1ore, seems you have been around at least a few of these manufacturers which is always good as long as they were positive experiences. Glass cages from what I have read anyway seems to be slipping up lately, I have no personal experience with them but just from what I've been seeing on the forums lately.

My experience dealing with Crystal Dynamics Aquariums was extremely enjoyable and without any issues. The tank I ordered was a custom 72x30x27, ½ thickness, starphire glass, eurobraced, Synergy Overflow overflow, with a stand with side doors and an additional electrical panel on the right side.

I went with a Geosreef (46RD-PRO-AFR) which I had shipped to Crystal Dynamics who than did the plumbing for me.

I had excellent communication with Zoya and the rest of the crew. The ordered was placed on 28 Sep 2018 and was received 11 Jan 2019.

The quality of my build is outstanding! I suppose I sound a bit like a fanboy but this aquarium is stunning. There’s nothing that I would change on the tank or sump for that matter. I am extremely pleased with the entire system.

Here’s the link to my build:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/my-first-reef-tank-is-a-crystal-dynamics-250-gallon-build.558288/

Nothing wrong with sounding like a Fanboy if you love your tank sounds like you went all out as most of us often do. First time I've heard of a manufacturer doing all the plumbing for a customer and shipping it out good to go. That's pretty awesome, I'm relatively OCD so things like plumbing I prefer to do myself But I can totally see the draw to having someone do it for you, it really makes the system you get plug and play much like Innovative Marine, Red Sea and Water box, only better!

 

[DaneGer21]

Excellent review, I think that's kindof where I am with my Miracles tank, was it perfect, no. BUT it was pretty darn close to perfect and I love it either way! Thank you for sharing all the info and pics, looks like a pretty amazing tank to me. Was it stock clear silicone or did you ask for clear specifically? And did you receive the CAD file to look over before finalizing? This was something I never got with mine but I did provide some REALLY specific drawings and spent a while on the phone.

I had the choice, same price, for clear or black silicone. I prefer clear and it’s what I choose.

The files were for “sign off”. They were sent to me from the builder for verification of exactly what I wanted.

 

[malacoda]

I too recently set up a custom tank from Crystal Reef Aquatics.

48" x 18" x 18" rimless. (65g)
Front and sides in starfire. ABS bottom and seam guards were included.
External overflow with three holes for a bean-animal-style plumbing. 30" long weir on the inside to maximize skimming will taking up as little internal DT real estate as possible. (I had originally listed 24" in my quote request, but the lead builder mentioned I would have room for 30" and I jumped at the chance to have the extra surface skimming capacity.)
2 return holes.

Very good email contact with lead builder. And the owner also sent me a couple emails as well as a phone call to keep me updated on the build.
Tank itself was just over $1,200.
But I also ordered on of their sumps, and some dosing dosing containers.
All in it was ~$1900 including freight cost from WA to my garage door in VA.

Build time was 14 weeks -- at my request. Their quoted lead time was a standard 8-12 weeks. But I wanted to build the stand myself and needed a little extra time due to some travel around Christmas. So I asked if they could delay shipment a couple weeks to a date I specified. They kindly accommodated my request.

The quality is fantastic -- on both the tank and the sump and dosing containers. I did see one or two tiny bubbles in one of the silicon seams ... but I had to get out a flashlight and magnifying glass to find 'em.

Put simply: I'm thrilled with the tank and would order another one from them in a heartbeat. In fact, my wife and I plan on moving in 2 years. When we do I'll be upgrading to a larger tank -- and I plan on reaching out to them again to build it.

What would I have done differently? Too be honest, there is nothing I would have done differently. The tank was easy to set up. Fits the space the way I wanted. And functions the way I wanted.

Tank thread is here if you want to see some pics: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/malacodas-65g-long-from-crystal-reef-aquatics.533883/

 

[Braves Fan]

I just got a Miracles Aquarium 60x30x20 external Reef Savvy Over flow box ,, nothing I can say bad about it ,, its custom , built like a tank and only took 3 months to get it Looks like everyone is picking the same 3 or 4 companies

 

[mfinn]

I'll be honest it's the first I've heard of them but they are added to the poll!! Thanks for sharing your experience and thoughts of them, I'm definately a sucker for a closed loop system!

I almost forgot, Crystal Reef Aquatics is a sponsor here.

 

[JoshH]

I had the choice, same price, for clear or black silicone. I prefer clear and it’s what I choose.

The files were for “sign off”. They were sent to me from the builder for verification of exactly what I wanted.

Oh awesome, good to ensure that everyone is on the same page with things especially with something as important as a custom tank build. And a professional drawing makes it REALLY easy to see any flaws or other issues, even in the original design right off the bat. I'm not sure if it would have cost any extra for me to go clear on my silicone but I preferred the black anyway

I too recently set up a custom tank from Crystal Reef Aquatics.

48" x 18" x 18" rimless. (65g)
Front and sides in starfire. ABS bottom and seam guards were included.
External overflow with three holes for a bean-animal-style plumbing. 30" long weir on the inside to maximize skimming will taking up as little internal DT real estate as possible. (I had originally listed 24" in my quote request, but the lead builder mentioned I would have room for 30" and I jumped at the chance to have the extra surface skimming capacity.)
2 return holes.

Very good email contact with lead builder. And the owner also sent me a couple emails as well as a phone call to keep me updated on the build.
Tank itself was just over $1,200.
But I also ordered on of their sumps, and some dosing dosing containers.
All in it was ~$1900 including freight cost from WA to my garage door in VA.

Build time was 14 weeks -- at my request. Their quoted lead time was a standard 8-12 weeks. But I wanted to build the stand myself and needed a little extra time due to some travel around Christmas. So I asked if they could delay shipment a couple weeks to a date I specified. They kindly accommodated my request.

The quality is fantastic -- on both the tank and the sump and dosing containers. I did see one or two tiny bubbles in one of the silicon seams ... but I had to get out a flashlight and magnifying glass to find 'em.

Put simply: I'm thrilled with the tank and would order another one from them in a heartbeat. In fact, my wife and I plan on moving in 2 years. When we do I'll be upgrading to a larger tank -- and I plan on reaching out to them again to build it.

What would I have done differently? Too be honest, there is nothing I would have done differently. The tank was easy to set up. Fits the space the way I wanted. And functions the way I wanted.

Tank thread is here if you want to see some pics: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/malacodas-65g-long-from-crystal-reef-aquatics.533883/

Awesome build going on there! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on your tank, it seems Crystal Reef Aquatics is rather popular. Also really good to see a manufacturer offer you suggestions outside of your plan, especially with the overflow as the way I see it, the bigger (wider) the overflow the better but maybe that's just me.

I just got a Miracles Aquarium 60x30x20 external Reef Savvy Over flow box ,, nothing I can say bad about it ,, its custom , built like a tank and only took 3 months to get it Looks like everyone is picking the same 3 or 4 companies

There definitely seems to be a little bit of a trend going on. And you know I've been tagging along on your thread as well I do love that you still have an option of the Reef Savvy Ghost overflow with Miracles as the only other way to get them is ordering a custom tank from Reef Savvy themselves because they don't sell them on there own anymore. I'm not entirely sure on the relationship between the two Manufacturers but it's fantastic they can offer the Reef Savvy overflow which is something no one else can. On that note, how are you liking the Ghost overflow??

I almost forgot, Crystal Reef Aquatics is a sponsor here.

Also good to know you have access to a manufacturer on this forum. I'm not even honestly sure of who else is a sponsor here custom tank builder wise;Bookworm

 

[Pntbll687]

I ordered a custom tank through Aqueon about a 2 months ago, and it arrived where I'm going to pick it up today!!

It's a standard 180 with the overflow drilled on the short side to set it up as a peninsula.

I went with the internal overflow because I only have 75" of room where the tank is going, therefore couldn't have an external box.

Any lfs that deals with a distributor that carries aqueon can get a custom drilled tanks. They have a couple set locations where their overflow can go, or you can map youout where want holes drilled to use your own overflow, or closed loop. You can specify tempered or not, and choose hole sizes you want.

Process was quick answer easy to order.

I can't comment on price, I work for a distribution company and I'm getting it at my employee cost rate. But from what I'm paying, I'd say it would go for about 1200-1500 depending on mark up at the lfs.