Need tank maker reference in Bay Area, CA

[lakersfan0014]

jmc74:

Well I feel the need to jump on here and defend our pricing. We gave you our MINIMUM pricing for that tank. We have to keep a shop minimum because of how we are set up. We are a small operation that specializes in custom tanks. At some point it doesn't matter how small the tank, the time involved in manufacturing it is the same, which is why we have a minimum.

I know it seems as though out prices are really high, but that is only for very small tanks, as we are not geared to be building hundreds of small tanks. We feel that once you get past the minimum our pricing is very competitive for the quality you get. Hope this makes sense.

I'm not sure on how another company can build this tank for such a cheap price, I'm guessing that they are either using inferior acrylic (import or extruded) or they are building a very poor quality tank (not going to last very long) or both. We build our tanks to last forever, and they are built from quality acrylic (cell cast). Like Art mentioned above, to most just looking to get a cheap sump or frag tank, this probably doesn't matter much, but when it comes to a display tank of some size I think the piece of mind in a quality tank is worth every penny.

Sorry for such a long post, but thought I would try to clear up some of the pricing questions.

I will try to monitor this thread if anyone has questions.

Randy
Owner-SoCal Creations

[bookfish]

If visual quality is not an issue, try a sealed plywood tank w/ an inset glass viewing pane. The cost is extremely low and they can come out looking ok.

[Thales]

Or use a bucket or kiddie pool if visual quality isn't an issue.

[klam114]

For small sumps/frag tanks, WMS should be find. For display tanks, go with one of the other 3 or 4 fabricators is my rule of thumb. Even for the small sumps/frag tanks, make sure the corner edges are supported correctly/adequately or it may burst sometime down the line.