Glasscages feedback

[marino420td]

I am considering a tank from glasscages and I have read tons in the feedback forum. Some good, some bad (mostly customer service problems and personality conflicts with Tom).

Since this is the local club to their location, I thought I would ask your opinions of the structural integrity of their tanks. I will be building a customer stand and hood that will cover the trim.

Any feedback will be appreciated. Thanks.

[rm41400]

I just bought one of there 120rr tanks about three weeks ago (picked up).

It is true that the trim on these are very cheap. Since, you like me have a stand and canopy you will never see that. C-

Silicone seems a little sloppy but very acceptable. B

The Black acrylic overflow is not very impressive but I modified it by cutting every other tooth out and siliconing gutter guard on instead. I get about 2000gph through it now. B ( A after mod)

The tank itself seems very very built. It easily weighs 300#. The bracing looks very secure. A+

I will buy my upgrade tank from him if that day comes (as long as nothing happens in the next couple years lol)

Regarding Tom's personality, I think he is very nice. You just have to remember that you are buying factory direct @ factory direct prices. At the LFS they are more than willing to spend a couple hours over a couple days discussing all of your ideas on options and etc...because they are charging you for that in there markup. With Tom you are getting at a price that does not account for extensive amounts of cutomer service. You get what you pay for.

Hope that helps

you should do a search though as we have discussed this topic a bunch.

[logman17]

I picked up my 90RR 3 weeks ago, just put water in it yesterday.

It is built like a tank. Very heavy, euro braced on the top and botton, and 3/8" glass. His overflow holes are standard 1-1/2" drain, 1" return (larger than oceanic).

The overflow cover is OK ( I agree with rm4100 on that point) and the silicon is not 100% perfect, although I probably wouldn't have noticed if there had not been so much bad press on RC about it.

All in all, I got a custom drilled/built 90gallon tank, stand, canopy, black acry. overflow cover, black acrylic background, and all the bulkheads I'll need for the price that oceanic wanted for just the tank.

And it was ready in 3 days (though you can't put water in it for 3 weeks).

Long story short-

Every bit of this tank that you can see with the stand and canopy on is perfect. I am glad I got this tank and estatic about the price I paid. I will definately purchase from Tom again.

Also - I had no personality or customer service issues with Tom. I ordered a tank, he called to confirm, then I picked it up and paid. Simple, easyt transaction. Tom couldn't have been nicer.

[danieljames]

Cool. Nice to hear about people getting decent tanks/stands/hoods at decent prices. We're lucky to have a place so close to us.

[musicman]

Originally posted by logman17

It is built like a tank.

hahaha! I sure hope it is! Better than a tank built like a sieve!

:lolspin: :D

[picture the reef]

I also recently purchased a 180 with low iron glass from Tom. Very well built tank. Trim job is fair but everything else is extremely well made. Tom, although a a bit blunt, was very helpfull and definitely kept me from making some mistakes with the tank design. Basically he would not do things that might jeopardize the integrity of the tank. I also picked up my tank and really enjoyed getting to see his operation. By the way I also purchased one of his stands which are also well constructed.:)

[logman17]

I got the low-iron (starphire) glass as well. I really like it. I'll be putting the rest of the water & live rock & (maybe) substrate in this week. I will take more pics then. Whenever I have the time, I will post some pictures of the process ( and what a long, difficult process it was.)

[picture the reef]

Tell me about it. My project has been under developemnt for about 5 months. Various things have slowed the process. The last item to be added was the new H&S skimmer. It came in with a crack and now I am waiting on a replacement, would you belive it had to come from Germany.:rolleyes:

[jman77]

Well I just placed an Order for 36 x 24 x 24 tank ( low iron glass), a hood, and a stand with GlassCages. I will give you a review on it when i pick it up next weekend. So far the person I spoke with was very helpful with all the questions i had and the price i ended up paying for the whole setup has me pretty happy so far :)

[jfolley67]

I am going to glass cages on Saturday, will let you know how that goes with just trying to get info and a possible order.......
Julie

[Countzer0]

i wouldn't go .... he is in Smyrna with a BIG LOAD of tanks .... its an Reptile Expo but i saw alot of fishtanks rr and regulars ... plus 2 more tracker trailer trucks full comming in tomarrow. http://ebayfish.com/php/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=3

talked to Tom tonight in fact ...so i doubt that you would find much in dickson....

[jfolley67]

grrrr, frustrating. He only has showroom hours on saturday which is nuts....so very limited and last saturday tried to go but construction traffic had 40w STOPPED. Would they not be there for their showroom?

[SRT80]

do you mean he will only be at the expo on Saturday or only time you can go to the shop in dickson is on saturday?

Steve

[jfolley67]

no his showroom hours are only on saturday......in Dickson.....this expo show you have to pay to get in and it is mostly just reptiles..not for me....does anyone know if there is someone else who can help us in dickson?

[Angela Short]

Just call and see if his wife is there or some hired help.

[jfolley67]

tried calling twice, no answer.......

[SRT80]

I plan on going to the show tomorrow. I like reptiles and sometime next month I plan to get a leopard tortoise. Maybe glasscages might have some aquariums there for fish too. I'm ready to upgrade....

Steve

[jfolley67]

Steve, did you see that 240 gallon he had up against the curtain where he had his stuff....that is what I am looking to get....pretty cool, eh?????

[SRT80]

yea, its really nice. Id love to have a 240 gallon or 300+ freshwater tank. Ever since I seen Reewiks 120 gallon planted tank, I want one. I could never afford the live rock and lights for a tank that big.

Steve

[just dave]

Originally posted by SRT80
I plan on going to the show tomorrow. I like reptiles and sometime next month I plan to get a leopard tortoise. Maybe glasscages might have some aquariums there for fish too. I'm ready to upgrade....

Steve

You might want to check on the tortoise ownership. Not legal in TN.

[SRT80]

i never heard you couldnt own turtles/tortoises, just couldnt sale em. Are you sure you cant own them? Why would all the pet stores sale turtle/tortoise food? When I checked the TN wildlife site, it just said its illegal to take animals from the wild in TN. Didnt say anything about owning.

Steve

[Countzer0]

it is .... illegal to own, sell, buy, trade, capture ..... very very strict on that in fact .... thats not to say some of us don't have any ;)

[wooglin]

They sell tortises at Petco. I saw a russian tortise, that has a lifespan of over 80+ years there. I was thinking, yeah thats a smart buy, like anyone can keep an animal that long.

[c_stowers]

In AL you can have them, you just have to apply for a permit and prove that you can care for them properly. Is this not the case in TN?

[wooglin]

No, they are illegal here due to the salomanila outbreak years ago.

[eyebedam]

I ate a turtle

[rcmike]

um okay :lol:

[SexiShrimp]

You mean the chocolate ones or the meaty ones????
:)

[fishdoc11]

mmmmmmmmmmmmm meaty chocolate turtles.......

[sunamoon]

ewwwww on eating turtles of any kind! unless of course its the pecans, caramel and choclolate covered ones...



i got my glass cages tank two years ago. a 90 gl. I have been very happy with it! except how i have scratched the heck out of the glass. but thats my fault for not knowing any better, but as far as the tank workings go, mine is great and an awesome price. I even got my corallife pc's from him at a great price.

[gflat65]

I may talking to Tom soon about a 180.

[spjeff69]

I have been pleased so far. I just bought a 120 gallon tank from him.

[luckyfish]

Gary,
I thought you just picked up a 180?

[gflat65]

It didn't make it into the truck unbroken:(. I went ahead and got everything else, though, so I can still set up a 2' wide tank...

[c_stowers]

How did it break Gary? I'm just curious because I frequently have to move my tank and have always been frightened of the thought of it cracking.

[gflat65]

The bulkheads for the closed loop could not be removed without cutting, so we didn't cut them out. The tank was in a lower level garage, so to prevent trying to move it up a steep hill, we loaded it into his pickup. When he started moving to go around the house, it slid into the fender well. I should have gotten in the back of the truck to keep it steady, but hindsight... He knocked the price down, so I still have a good start towards the new tank.

[c_stowers]

That really stinks. I hope that you can find another 180 soon enough.

[Angela Short]

Man What a bad break after the drive up there :(. Sorry to hear.

[fishdoc11]

That sucks:(

[eyebedam]

Meaty turtle made a stew out of it. Kinda tasted like tough roast.

[Mdwannabe]

My Glass Cages tank is approaching 1.5 years old. It's a custom (duh) 180 RR.
I have been quite happy with it. While I have to admit I was less than happy with the comb cuts in the acrylic for the overflows, I had no other issues, and even that was easily fixed.
Silicone work on my tank was perfectly fine for me, though I'm no professional. I'm still (after 1.5 years) not sure what all the posts are about concerning the silicone work.
Trim work was acceptable, considering it is just plastic angle cut to go around a corner, and the cut parts are never seen.
As for Tom, my hats off to him. He spent enough time with me on the phone to make sure the tank he built was the tank I wanted. I do have to admit giving him numbers for tank dimensions, and seeing it in real life were were very eye opening. When I went to pick it up, the only thought that went through my mind was "I'm in trouble when the wife see's this". Somehow numbers on paper, and glass in reality, are very much different!
And going to his factory was interesting to say the least. Seeing the number of tanks in various stages of completion is impressive.
Spanish is the language of choice, yet Tom does not speak it. But from what I saw, communication was no problem.
He tried local labor, but was always dealing with call-out's.
He hired 2 Mexican Families (yes the entire family's), and had no problems. No this is not meant to be a slam to either US, or Mexican labor.
Housing became a problem for them, so Tom bought a Mobile Home Park that was for sale, and now rents the homes to the employees. That's a business man, with insight! At least that's the story I got.
I will happily do business with him again, and may recommend him for one of the top 20 business men of the year in the "Nashville" area. :D

[turboex901]

im glad to hear everyone is happy. im looking at ordering the 175 semi cube. i hope all goes well :)

[just dave]

I would do a search in the Vendor Feedback forum on them.

Here is one (http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=794917&highlight=Glass+cages) with multiple links.

Research ,get informed ,and make the call.

[danieljames]

Indeed

[Mdwannabe]

Followed several of the links, I stand by what I said.
JMTCW

Rick

[forensicdoc]

I recently purchased two custom sumps from GC. Due to delays in the construction of our new home :-( I have not yet been able to set the system up, so I cannot tell you if they will hold water. But, I had no trouble in speaking with Tom and his wife on the phone. They were pleasant, reviewed my faxed sketches, asked appropriate questions about the design and quickly produced the sumps. I went out to Dickson to pick them up and got the grand tour, including the expansion, not to mention many licks from their dogs. The tanks that had been built in their factory looked well made. The sumps look good and were made to my specs. I would use them again.

Here is a sneak preview of my tanks to come. We hope to move in within 8 weeks, but as I have learned, who knows for sure.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/50158Outside1.jpg
view from the family room

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/50158Inside1.jpg
view from inside the fish room

[CKreef]

wow forensicdoc thats an amazing set up cant wait to see it finished

[gflat65]

Good googity. Now that is a tank:).

[danieljames]

Very nice. Looks like times are hard over there Bruce??....lol. The oceanic is coming along nicely. Much appreciated.

[fishdoc11]

Nice forensicdoc....do you have pics of the sumps?

[forensicdoc]

Thanks for all the nice comments. I plan to start a thread once I get the systems put together. Fishdoc11...the sumps are sitting in a closet right now with the blue protective film on and I have not yet taken pictures of them. Once I get them in place I plan to do so.

I look forward to showing off the systems in their infancy when I host the September meeting.

[Aquaticman74]

Is the low iron glass Tom uses worth the extra money?

[rcmike]

Is it just me or did everyone get about a dozen notifications of this post?

[Pickupman66]

OK, now that this thread has come up, I feel like an idiot from my other post. I think I am going with their stock design for hte sump and letting tom guide me on how to put it together. looks like we will not be upgrading the stand this time round as the one I can afford with the sump is EL CHEAPO, so when we get settled, then I may just build one. the hard slow way so it looks nice....