Your thoughts on custom tank manufacturers?

[JoshH]

George built it for me before he sold it. contact them to see if they will be able to answer your questions if they still build them. Here is a few from when I was setting it up .

corey

That tank is AMAZING!!!

 

[samson78945]

Is that a 48" tall aquarium??

That is correct! I am replacing the wet bar area "cutout" with a tank. That size would fit pretty perfectly there. My only concern with a tank that tall is cleaning towards the bottom. I had a 90 gal tall, roughly 31" to the bottom, that was easily cleaned. We will see how challenging the additional 17" are.

 

[redfishbluefish]

So my original tank busted a seam...eventually two seams...that I was lucky enough to hold together with pipe clamps. However, when it first happened, I went around in a panic looking for an immediate replacement. I couldn't find a proper sized tank anywhere....new or used...even a local guy who has a warehouse of used equipment.

So next step was considering a custom order. I won't mention names, but a more local builder wanted over two grand...a bit too rich for me. Continuing to look, I discovered Glass Cages, and read a number of reviews, some not so nice. Bottom line, I took my chances with them, placed and order, and couldn't be happier.

So I placed my order for a 60x18x20 with low iron glass on the front panel, and euro bracing all around. I'd be installing my own Glass-Holes overflow when the tank arrived. Two or three days after I placed the order, I had a major DOH! moment. I totally forgot to mention the overflow, with the tank being made with euro-bracing around the entire top. I called GC, hoping that they hadn't started making my tank. The owner was extremely accommodating, calming me down, and assuring it wasn't an issue, and recommended the opening size for the overflow.


TANK INFORMATION

Size: 60 x 18 x 20
Cost:
Base Price (60 x 18 x 21)...........$528
Low Iron Glass (front only).......$..92
Shipping......................................$125
TOTAL..........................................$745

Time it to complete build and ship: I don't believe they are doing it this way now, but at the time you had to look at their delivery schedule and when the truck would be in your area. I think it was approximately every two months it would be in your area. So worst case was two months. You'd pick the city closest to you and go pick up your tank. For me, it was about 30 minutes away in a Home Depot parking lot.

Quality of your build: I'm happy! Appears to be a nice silicone job...and the best part, it doesn't leak.

Things you loved about the build: Wasn't expecting this, but they also included an inner frame of glass, approximately one inch wide, around the internal base of the tank.

Things you might have done differently: I don't think I'd get the low iron glass. I'm not convinced it does anything but give you a softer piece of glass that scratches easier.

What overflow and return options were you given: Anything you wanted, including their own. I already had the Glass-Holes overflow that I was going to install myself. They could have drilled for me as well ($75), but I did the drilling myself.

Did your builder offer you to build/supply a stand: Yes, they also build custom stands, but I already had the stand, considering this was a replacement tank.

Any warranty information you're aware of on your build: 90 days, no leaks.

Tank sitting just inside my front door, after picking it up:

 

[Eudaimonia1]

I purchased my first tank (72" x 24" x 30") from Miracles. Great tank and stand combo. Derek is easy to really easy to work with. I highly recommend them. I'm now working on my second tank and will go with Miracles again.

Mark

These are the exact dimensions I need. May I ask how much you paid? Did it include overflow and Starphire? Thx!

 

[Ross Petersen]

You've got Concept Aquariums out of Calgary BC Canada on your list. I returned a tank they sent me recently. I made the mistake of asking them to build a stand. They said they would but evidently have limited experience/expertise doing so. They sent me a few MDF boards that had exposed MDF. The metal frame had about a dozen holes in it. The overflow drilled holes had clam-shaped chips, the tank arrived with an inch of dust and grime, and there were a few 1'' scratches and half-dozen small 1/4'' scratches all inside the tank. A few of the ball valves were cemented shut with PVC glue.

On the positive, the owner reimbursed me without hesitation. He was a champ and I respect him for this.

The front desk lady was exceptional throughout the order process.

 

[Ross Petersen]

Surprised elos got no votes. I haven't used them... but their all-in-one newer (?) metal stand, magnetic panels, and tank look really nice. TBD I guess.

 

[JoshH]

Surprised elos got no votes. I haven't used them... but their all-in-one newer (?) metal stand, magnetic panels, and tank look really nice. TBD I guess.

I think the reason Elos hasn't had any votes is purely volume, I only know of one custom Elos tank on R2R. After reaching out to them for a quote it's not hard to see why they are limited on there custom work. I had a 30" × 30" × 24" cube priced by Elos and it was $2990.00 US + Shipping, for JUST the tank.

Also just wanted to give you a slight correction, Concept Aquariums is out of Calgary, Alberta not British Columbia. That is SUPER unfortunate your build turned out like that man. Atleast you managed to get the refund but now you basically have to start from scratch looking for a new builder.

 

[Ross Petersen]

I think the reason Elos hasn't had any votes is purely volume, I only know of one custom Elos tank on R2R. After reaching out to them for a quote it's not hard to see why they are limited on there custom work. I had a 30" × 30" × 24" cube priced by Elos and it was $2990.00 US + Shipping, for JUST the tank.

Also just wanted to give you a slight correction, Concept Aquariums is out of Calgary, Alberta not British Columbia. That is SUPER unfortunate your build turned out like that man. Atleast you managed to get the refund but now you basically have to start from scratch looking for a new builder.

Seems logical with Elos and tank volume. They look high quality - but I also noticed the price is almost prohibitive. Hopefully they rack up sales and can drop prices. They need a frontline person with English as a first language to help with communications - stated respectfully.

Really tough going through Concepts in... Alberta... whoops.

I ended up buying a Red Sea (P500). Pros and cons for sure - nervous about structural integrity over time but we will see. For my next tank (will be adding one shortly) I'm looking at Crystal Dynamics.

 

[JoshH]

Seems logical with Elos and tank volume. They look high quality - but I also noticed the price is almost prohibitive. Hopefully they rack up sales and can drop prices. They need a frontline person with English as a first language to help with communications - stated respectfully.

Really tough going through Concepts in... Alberta... whoops.

I ended up buying a Red Sea (P500). Pros and cons for sure - nervous about structural integrity over time but we will see. For my next tank (will be adding one shortly) I'm looking at Crystal Dynamics.

Well they were about $1000 more than Reef Savvy so I would hope they were immaculate lol. I don't think there prices will ever change, they have always been pricey and seem to do enough business to keep there prices up there where I'm sure they like them to be.

I hope that you are happy with your Red Sea long term, Crystal Dynamics is a great option for custom as well, although there have been a few people with issues from them. I think you will find that with just about any manufacturer these days, what matters is what they do to fix things when they go wrong.

 

[ReeferTX]

So far I have mixed feelings in regards to Planet. I have yet to receive the tank I have ordered, and do look forward to eventually receiving a great tank from them...it's just been a long road to getting it.

I started in August with a local retailer in Houston and after almost 2 months of negotiation I was unable to get a good quote from Planet, there was always one thing wrong...we would request a change, and wait a week, and when the document came back something else would change, then repeat and something else previously agreed upon would be changed...we tried another builder, but made little progress there either. At that point I went to a different retailer and in 3 days he was able to get me 90% of what I wanted from Planet, so I placed the order...

After a MONTH of nothing happening, Planet came back and demanded that I send them the as yet unbuilt custom overflow or they would not drill the tank (Couldn't they have made this demand a month ago when I ordered the tank and agreed to build it?)! I offered to guarantee in writing that I would not reject the tank even if the overlflow didn't fit as long at it was drilled to spec...they refused. So, I contacted the guy making the overflow and he agreed to expedite the build and send it to Planet.

Two weeks later, still nothing from Planet, so we contacted them. They said they had the box, but hadn't done anything with it yet. Eventually they sent the CAD with all the measurements EXACTLY as I had specified, so we approved them.

Wait another week or so and I asked for a progress update and pictures of the build in progress. They replied that they had just ordered the Sapphire glass and was backordered so no idea when it would arrive...seriously? They didn't order the glass when I placed the tank order so many weeks ago?

So, the build they originally promised would arrive before the end of November is delayed indefinitely...

Of course, none of this is inherently bad, more like just incompetent management, as I'm sure the actually builders are great, and bad management likely not their fault, perhaps the final tank will be awesome, but the nonchalance and the shear uncaring nature of their communication is underwhelming me so far...Not the awesome company that many people online have portrayed to me...

Skicat. Which retailer did you go with in Houston? I'm currently in the process of getting quotes from planet and it might be helpful to know who to stear clear from. was it a an issue with planet or the retailer ? Also, when you say negotiate. Are we talking about prices? or options on your build? I wasn't aware we could negotiate..

I'm curious as how pricing works on these custom planet tanks since they don't deal directly with the public. Does planet quote retailer and we pay quoted price from planet and retailer makes money by paying wholesale price delta or does each individual retailer have their own markup? if the latter is the case, perhaps it'll be worthwhile to find a retailer with smaller markup? Excited about the new build but dayam these large tanks can get expensive. Would you mind sharing the dimensions and price of the tank you ended up going with? Much appreciated.

 

[SkiCatTX]

Skicat. Which retailer did you go with in Houston? I'm currently in the process of getting quotes from planet and it might be helpful to know who to stear clear from. was it a an issue with planet or the retailer ? Also, when you say negotiate. Are we talking about prices? or options on your build? I wasn't aware we could negotiate..

I'm curious as how pricing works on these custom planet tanks since they don't deal directly with the public. Does planet quote retailer and we pay quoted price from planet and retailer makes money by paying wholesale price delta or does each individual retailer have their own markup? if the latter is the case, perhaps it'll be worthwhile to find a retailer with smaller markup? Excited about the new build but dayam these large tanks can get expensive. Would you mind sharing the dimensions and price of the tank you ended up going with? Much appreciated.

First off, I want to say that I have now received the tank, and I am quite happy with it. The silicone could have been a bit tighter, but it's still better than I have seen from others. The glass is flawless, so no problems there. You can find some details and pics in my build thread.

The problems I had stemmed from the fact that Planet doesn't generally deal directly with the customer. So, you have to talk to an LFS, they then send the information to Planet, Planet then replies to the LFS, then the LFS send the response to you. Then, if you have another question that process repeats. So, depending on how fast that round trip takes (which in my experience can vary from minutes to WEEKS), it can take weeks or months to get the tank ordered...then months to get it built after that. It all depends on how particular you are, and how custom the build is. After all, you can actually order some of their tanks I believe from their website if you are OK with some standard sizes.

With the first LFS, that round trip time was about 7 days, so after about 2 months of that I gave up and went looking for someone else. The one I finally went with was Daniel at Fish Gallery Houston. I filled out his their web form and he texted me almost immediately, so after about 30 minutes of texting we made more progress than the previous 2 months. We had the tank ordered in less than a week, and for about $1,000 less than the other place (PM me if you want details, rather not post publicly).

As for your questions, pricing can vary widely from LFS, so shop around and get quotes from multiple places. The price negotiation is with the LFS, as Planet has their internal wholesale prices, which are somewhat fixed based on how many tanks the LFS sells. So a smaller store might give you a higher price, and then might be talked down.

The back and forth, and time consuming part was like "I want this" and they say "We won't build that, but what about this?", and I say "OK fine, what if we do this then?"... and so on. If you just say, "build me this" and they agree, then you can get it ordered in an hour...

Then, if your tank is a standard size and they have the glass in stock and pre-cut, their build time is about a month. In my case they had to order special glass, so it took about 3 months...still good overall when you compare it to someone like Reef Savvy which would take like a year to get built, and cost 3x as much.

I'd certainly order from Planet again at this point if the price is right.

 

[Kyl]

I have a 72 x 22 x 13 rimless starphire + laminated black rear panel custom peninsula coming out of Concept. Ashley there has made things easier, but you still have to keep on top of things.

 

[JoshH]

I am surprised nobody has mentioned Exotic Aquariums out of Miami. I have never owned one but I have heard great things. Does anybody have an opinion on Exotic? Also, could we add them to the voting list?

I missed this comment earlier but I did sneak them on the list eventuallt

I have a 72 x 22 x 13 rimless starphire + laminated black rear panel custom peninsula coming out of Concept. Ashley there has made things easier, but you still have to keep on top of things.

I know I've seen the pictures but do you mind sharing here @Kyl??

 

[Kyl]

new_tank_installed2 by Kyl, on Flickr

new_tank_installed4 by Kyl, on Flickr

new_tank_installed1 by Kyl, on Flickr

new_tank_installed3 by Kyl, on Flickr

 

[JoshH]

new_tank_installed2 by Kyl, on Flickr

new_tank_installed4 by Kyl, on Flickr

new_tank_installed1 by Kyl, on Flickr

new_tank_installed3 by Kyl, on Flickr

I must say I really like how they did that overflow, is the weir removable as well?

 

[Kyl]

No, first thing I tried to take off haha. Well, I suppose you could remove it, seems to be held with very little silicone. I expected it to be the same as my DT and literally stuck in place with silicone all over, but this seems to be the new route.

 

[JoshH]

No, first thing I tried to take off haha. Well, I suppose you could remove it, seems to be held with very little silicone. I expected it to be the same as my DT and literally stuck in place with silicone all over, but this seems to be the new route.

I wonder if you could peel it off and have someone 3d print something that's removable once you dial in the water height you want?

 

[Kyl]

I don't see why not. Honestly I see them moving forward with this and going with the insert style that reefsavvy does. That said, I've never had to clean my DT overflow in what, two years I think it is now.

 

[Lonelyreef]

It will be a peninsula style tank, but the primary view will be the long side which will be in wall. The other two sides will be viewable from the fish room.



I defintely will. It should be arriving in the first couple of weeks of January.

Did you ever get your tank and how is it going for you currently. Appreciate any updates on this since i am going to be placing an order with them soon.

 

[Sebastiancrab]

So my original tank busted a seam...eventually two seams...that I was lucky enough to hold together with pipe clamps. However, when it first happened, I went around in a panic looking for an immediate replacement. I couldn't find a proper sized tank anywhere....new or used...even a local guy who has a warehouse of used equipment.

So next step was considering a custom order. I won't mention names, but a more local builder wanted over two grand...a bit too rich for me. Continuing to look, I discovered Glass Cages, and read a number of reviews, some not so nice. Bottom line, I took my chances with them, placed and order, and couldn't be happier.

So I placed my order for a 60x18x20 with low iron glass on the front panel, and euro bracing all around. I'd be installing my own Glass-Holes overflow when the tank arrived. Two or three days after I placed the order, I had a major DOH! moment. I totally forgot to mention the overflow, with the tank being made with euro-bracing around the entire top. I called GC, hoping that they hadn't started making my tank. The owner was extremely accommodating, calming me down, and assuring it wasn't an issue, and recommended the opening size for the overflow.


TANK INFORMATION

Size: 60 x 18 x 20
Cost:
Base Price (60 x 18 x 21)...........$528
Low Iron Glass (front only).......$..92
Shipping......................................$125
TOTAL..........................................$745

Time it to complete build and ship: I don't believe they are doing it this way now, but at the time you had to look at their delivery schedule and when the truck would be in your area. I think it was approximately every two months it would be in your area. So worst case was two months. You'd pick the city closest to you and go pick up your tank. For me, it was about 30 minutes away in a Home Depot parking lot.

Quality of your build: I'm happy! Appears to be a nice silicone job...and the best part, it doesn't leak.

Things you loved about the build: Wasn't expecting this, but they also included an inner frame of glass, approximately one inch wide, around the internal base of the tank.

Things you might have done differently: I don't think I'd get the low iron glass. I'm not convinced it does anything but give you a softer piece of glass that scratches easier.

What overflow and return options were you given: Anything you wanted, including their own. I already had the Glass-Holes overflow that I was going to install myself. They could have drilled for me as well ($75), but I did the drilling myself.

Did your builder offer you to build/supply a stand: Yes, they also build custom stands, but I already had the stand, considering this was a replacement tank.

Any warranty information you're aware of on your build: 90 days, no leaks.

Tank sitting just inside my front door, after picking it up:

Hi! So I live not too far from Glass Cages and am considering them. The top part of this picture above, is that glass bracing? Or just plastic put in for shipping? Why did you choose them over ordering a Seapora or Aqueon drilled tank?