Large Tank Suppliers

[NH_Reef]

I am building a new house and want to upgrade my reef to a 180-220 gal. It will be an in-wall construction and I'm looking for a supplier. I would prefer an all glass, reef ready tank. Where have most of you purchased your large tanks?

[Mikeydog]

Taggin along

[scotts_001]

http://go.to/interamerican

700 gal, (yes as in seven) reef ready, euro bracing and all bulkheads and drains for 2600$.

oh yeah, and starfire glass on one long and one short side.


tanks are cheap. filling them ain't.

[MAS]

We've used Interamerican for a few customers. Mixed results on both customer service and quality. Yeah the Starphire glass is nice, but the crating and quality of the trim and finish work are OK at best, to sloppy on other occasions.Youll find alot of threads on happy and dissatisfied customers alike. One reason why we really dont push em. Funny thing too is that InterAmerican gets their Starphire glass from Kentucky. You would think there would be a few decent mfg. in the USA who could make tanks out of this glass..........

[VegasMike]

The bigger problem with starphire is that, on bigger tanks, you have to laminate two panes together. That either requires a significant investment or great trust in an out source provider of that service. For the size tank you are looking at, I would try and get a standard tank from either Oceanic or someone similar. I do not think the size you are talking about would require laminated glass so you have more options.

I just received my tank from IA last week. It took around 4 months from time of order to delivery. The tank does look to be built entirely to spec though. The stand I got looks very good. The crating could have been better, but it did the job.

I will know much more when it gets put on the stand in a couple weeks and I start filling it with water.

[Mikeydog]

VegasMike, what size tank did you just get?? By laminate 2 panels together do you mean an 8ft long tank with 2 4ft front panels glued together or whatever?? What kind of price and shippin did you pay.

I am looking at a 220 6'x30"deepx24"tall, starfire front and sides, predrilled, eurobrace, and overflows..

[Nanook]

He takes two pieces of 1/2" Starphire together to make the thickness 1". Some people that have bought laminated Starphire have been happy, others have not. The issue with those who were dissatisfied was blurriness.


nanook

[willis]

There is no blurriness on my 300. It has the laminated starphire front and so far I'm really happy with it.

[MickyB]

Where is a good place to get a 300 gallon Acrylic tank made?

[willis]

Tenecor in Arizona. Try tenecor.com

[MAS]

Yep, Ill 2nd Tenecor. ALl the tanks supplied from Tenecor to our customers have been first rate. Just be sure to have the thickness of the acrylic upgraded for longevity. THey use Polycast brand which is a dense domestic cell cast acrylic.

[MickyB]

Thanks have found James (Acrylicman) at www.envisionacrylics.com
Who builds really nice tanks.

[psycho_clown]

tagg along

[pch90265]

Tagging along also... am looking for a 525 G and am weighing all of my options. LeeMar/Interamerican on the glass front, ClearForLife/Tenecor on acrylic. Anyone have "big tank" experience with ClearForLife?

--Sean--

[Nanook]

All tag-alongers,

Simply go to the bottom of your screen and click on the subscribe to this thread feature. This will prevent unnecessary posting and email notifications to those subscribed to this thread. All of the tagging alongs tend to muddy up the thread and make it more difficult to follow.

Thanks,

Dave

RC Moderator:)

[MAS]

Never been impressed with clear for life. I have acess to them, but probably will never order one. They use the absolute thinnest acrylic you can get away with and have excessive bowing. You can find em in places like Petco etc. Petco used to use them too in their saltwater section. Even with plain NO lighting you could see them discolor and warp over time with minimal light output and heat. They also tend to craze around to top openings too.

[Mrbeachbum2]

what would shipping cost for the 180 gallon tank and the stand demessions 72x24x24 i couldnt find the shipping cost thanks

[Justjoe]

Originally posted by NH_Reef
I am building a new house and want to upgrade my reef to a 180-220 gal. It will be an in-wall construction and I'm looking for a supplier. I would prefer an all glass, reef ready tank. Where have most of you purchased your large tanks?

If you're in wall and need only the front glass for viewing, large tank builders like Fiberglass Specialties in Bedford, Mass are good. They and other tank builders can put as many windows as you want, but for one sided viewing on large tanks, you can't beat the fiberglass for strength, etc.
Coming from the public aquarium end of things, many large tanks are built this way and incorporate exterior overflow boxes, etc. WAY TOO many folks out there are losing large amounts of tank space by simply sizing up/ scaling up standard tank designs and building massive internal overflow boxes in their larger tanks, there is no need for this at all.
Joe

[pmrogers]

I'll third the Tenecor recommendation if you go acrylic. They did a great job on my 700 and delivered it 4 weeks, comfortably ahead of the promised 5-6 week delivery. Their standard tolerance allows for up to 1/2" of bowing along the 10' panel, so I upgraded 1 thickness on the acrylic. With the upgrade there was zero visible bowing/deflection during the water test.

On the other hand, my Inter-American built stand (Tenecor didn't offer a steel stand) took 3.5 months instead of the promised 2 weeks.

Regards,

[MAS]

WAY TOO many folks out there are losing large amounts of tank space by simply sizing up/ scaling up standard tank designs and building massive internal overflow boxes in their larger tanks, there is no need for this at all. Not true. Most people in this size range use EXTERNAL overflow boxes which take up NO internal space.

I am familiar with FIberglass specialty in Bedofrd. Decent work from the limited few tanks I have seen in the past, but pricing I feel is skyhigh for what you get.

MAS

[Hamlin Aquatics]

I still prefer glass, but I don't think they are safe in very large tanks.

[Justjoe]

Originally posted by MAS
Not true. Most people in this size range use EXTERNAL overflow boxes which take up NO internal space.

I am familiar with FIberglass specialty in Bedofrd. Decent work from the limited few tanks I have seen in the past, but pricing I feel is skyhigh for what you get.

MAS

Maybe their pricing is too high on some of the relatively smaller tanks, but their larger tanks are worth the cost in both workmanship and durability. Their tanks have been in public aquarium use for years and years and you simply can't hurt these tanks, dare I say they are built like a tank. There are other fiberglass companies out there, if anyone is interested I could supply some manufacturers contacts. The nice thing about fiberglass tanks is they can be made in modular sections, then easily bolted and fiberglassed together so you don't have to worry about doorway size restrictions, etc. The fiberglass tanks are easily drilled for all the plumbing needs as well.
MAS, I'm glad to hear that you're seeing folks not making the internal overflow box mistake, I've just seen too many people on RC posting pics of their new large tanks filled with 2 or 3 overflow boxes and just wanted to point out to other folks who may be considering a large tank that there are other more favorable options available.
Joe

[MAS]

Joe: No problem, yeah I personally hate internal overflow boxes, they make sense on smaller tanks where space probably is a consideration, but if you got the cash and room for an in wall project or something similiar, you want to see nothing more than slots wherever they may be. I absolutely HATE seeing plumbing in a finished tank. The less seen plumbing the better.

[Justjoe]

Originally posted by MAS
I absolutely HATE seeing plumbing in a finished tank. The less seen plumbing the better.

I think this is one of the most overlooked aspects of setting up a reef tank. I know I'm a bit biased since I come from the public aquarium end of things and you do what you can to minimize/eliminate pipes, pumps, etc but I'm often amazed at how often beautiful tanks are set up with little to no consideration to the aesthetics of the plumbing. I think more folks are paying attention to it now which is good to see.
Joe

[NH_Reef]

Some good feedback.
John, after we spoke on the phone the other day I got word that we'll be finally breaking ground this week. Excited about the new house and new tank! One thing I was thinking was, if I go with a 2 sided view install, what have you seen out there as far as getting access to the tank for cleaning and feeding? I'm sure there's been some innovative approaches to conceal the access to the top of the tank. Unlike weatherson's install which had a dedicated room behind the tank, I'll have my equipment in the basement. I'd hate to have some big honking set of doors looming over the tank. It'll be an interesting part of the design process I think.

[MAS]

Did you happen to find out what the tank "depth"(between the viewing sides)will be by any chance?

As for equipment in the basement, thats not a concern at all. We just need to make sure the return pump(s) have plenty of head pressure ability and that the main sump will handle any back flow from a potential power outage.

As for acess doors, we can do quite alot of different things. Something we would need to discuss at your convenience of course. Just make sure the top acess to the tank is large enough to get live rock(which Im assuming your going to have)into the tank. BUt the top acess can be made to look like a piece of room trim to blend in.Cleaning the tank like this would be a snap too, Lots of different options here. As for having the filtration below, I already have a really cool idea brewing in the head! =) PM me or give me a jingle when its convenient for you.

cheers
MAS