Custom Tank builders - who’s everyone using?

[Joe Glass Cages]

Mostly build quality over all,
Are all the panes of glass square?
Silicone nice and even with very little to no bubbles in it?
Silicone is applied clean and tightly on inside edges of glass
Are all edges of the glass polished smooth and clean?
Any holes are drilled neatly with little to no breakout on the edges
Return and overflow holes are drilled to spec?
If internal overflow, is it siliconed properly to the tank?
Is it made to the right specs and located properly?
Any additional bracing/corner reinforcement is applied cleanly

Spot on @JoshH

 

[UCF Alum]

Thanks for the responses.
I have mostly everything I need. I am looking for a quality finished product and I’m extremely meticulous with attention to detail. This will be my final tank. I will not go bigger than 425 (I said that about my current tank too). This will be my “tank for life.”
I will check out a few manufacturers and get quotes, but in the end I’m looking for perfection.

 

[GMF21]

Surprised to see only one mention of Crystal Dynamic Aquariums (CDA). Trent and Zoya were fantastic to work with and the finished product is top notch. Had them build a custom 135G to fit an alcove in my living room. Not only is the tank a tank, but the stand is beautiful and they customized it to put shelves and doors where I wanted them. You can send them your sump and other equipment (I had mine delivered to them) and they will set up all the plumbing for you. When you take delivery you only have to put the pieces together. Throughout the entire process they offered helpful advice and pointed out certain aspects of the setup that I should incorporate into the build that I had not thought about. Wouldn't consider going anywhere else if I had to do it again.

 

[JoshH]

Surprised to see only one mention of Crystal Dynamic Aquariums (CDA). Trent and Zoya were fantastic to work with and the finished product is top notch. Had them build a custom 135G to fit an alcove in my living room. Not only is the tank a tank, but the stand is beautiful and they customized it to put shelves and doors where I wanted them. You can send them your sump and other equipment (I had mine delivered to them) and they will set up all the plumbing for you. When you take delivery you only have to put the pieces together. Throughout the entire process they offered helpful advice and pointed out certain aspects of the setup that I should incorporate into the build that I had not thought about. Wouldn't consider going anywhere else if I had to do it again.

Mind sharing more about your experience with CDA here... ?

Your thoughts on custom tank manufacturers?

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...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[GMF21]

Mind sharing more about your experience with CDA here... ?

Your thoughts on custom tank manufacturers?

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...

www.reef2reef.com

anything specific you are looking for? Tank, stand, canopy (with lights installed), plumbing all done to my exact specifications. Here are a few pics from when I first set it up.

 

[JoshH]

anything specific you are looking for? Tank, stand, canopy (with lights installed), plumbing all done to my exact specifications. Here are a few pics from when I first set it up.

In the thread I linked I had a list of things someone could share about there build. If you wouldn't mind sharing your experience in that thread it would be greatly appreciated

Up to you though that is one beautiful tank!!

 

[j0359m]

I don't think you will be disappointed, I will say from a recent experience they seem to be either really busy or they have reduced there staff as a build that was just completed last week for someone here took about a month and a half longer than originally quoted. Not too big of a deal and certainly worth the wait, just good to know in advance.

good to know, thanks. no big deal it’s an upgrade

 

[turfster26]

About to take delivery of a 280g from Miracles, they’ve been fantastic to work with and wait time was reasonable.
I’ve also had a Reef Savvy 225g, it was a great tank but your going to wait a long time for one.

This is a SICK looking tank. Best of luck. That one is a winner and you're going to have many years of great reefing to experience with that build.

I second Miracles. I had Miracles build my custom 180-gl in 2008 and it has performed great. Only wish those acrylic black back panels were around when I did mine. Unfortunately mine is glass and you can see the external overflows which is a bummer. Other than that Miracles was outstanding to work with and I am sure their tanks have only gotten better over time.

 

[Ocelaris]

I went with miracles for my 250 and they were great, but the stand wasn't covered, so it's still metal until I get around to wrapping it. I really like the metal stand as I can get into it easily.

I really appreciate Joe from glass cages chiming in, great to have a vendor looking out for us. Maybe next tank!

 

[cmaxwell39]

I used customaquariums.com to build my latest tank (still dry, waiting on the stand to be remade.... Long story see my build thread to see the whole thing) The tank is very well built. Here are a few pictures of the tank.

 

[JoshH]

This is a SICK looking tank. Best of luck. That one is a winner and you're going to have many years of great reefing to experience with that build.

I second Miracles. I had Miracles build my custom 180-gl in 2008 and it has performed great. Only wish those acrylic black back panels were around when I did mine. Unfortunately mine is glass and you can see the external overflows which is a bummer. Other than that Miracles was outstanding to work with and I am sure their tanks have only gotten better over time.

It's actually not acrylic atall but smoked glass although I'm sure they could do the acrylic if asked it would probably be a cleaner look with the current way they do there external overflows. Heck they might even be able to water jet the overflow right into the glass, now that I think about it and have seen examples of it I'm kindof mad I didn't go that route with mine.

 

[Ocelaris]

The weir on miracles is acrylic, but my internal overflow is mostly smoked glass. I plumbed the overflow and returns internally and it's a real pain. If mine wasn't visible on all 4 sides I wouldn't have done it that way. It's a real pain to clean the overflow area and takes up a great deal of space.

 

[dreamcatcherr9]

I was in a similar boat. I considered more than 6 custom tank manufacturers; some much more expensive, everyone seemed knowledgeable but some stood out over others, and some are just out of my price range!

Reef Savoy
Tank Me USA
Miracles
Custom Aquarium
Planter Aquarium
Glass Cages
SCA
Crystal Dynamics

While I acknowledged Reef Savoy and Tankmeusa being the top of the line, they are double the price of the others.

I personally went with and recommend Glass Cages! Joe is a great guy who is super patient with newbs like me who had no idea what I really wanted.

I had to find a balance between quality and efficiency and I felt Glass Cages was the happy middle. Response time is outstanding and like I said, I had no experience with drilled tanks and DYI stuff and Joe @ Glass Cages has been super patient and understanding.

You will be happy with any of them, at the end of the day it’s what fits your needs the best. But for me, it was the beyond excellent customer service, Glass Cages made me feel the most confident with the purchase. Good luck!

 

[Ultra Aquatics]

It's actually not acrylic atall but smoked glass although I'm sure they could do the acrylic if asked it would probably be a cleaner look with the current way they do there external overflows. Heck they might even be able to water jet the overflow right into the glass, now that I think about it and have seen examples of it I'm kindof mad I didn't go that route with mine.

The back is black vinyl sticker, the overflow on my tank is Reef Savvy Ghost which I believe is Acrylic and polycarbonate.

 

[JoshH]

The back is black vinyl sticker, the overflow on my tank is Reef Savvy Ghost which I believe is Acrylic and polycarbonate.

Interesting, you sure it's vinyl? Mines smoked black glass with an acrylic weir siliconed over the cutout in the glass. Will be interested to see if yours is actually vinyl

 

[FFFishy]

I love that stand as well! It’s beautiful woodwork!

The stand is a beautiful piece of custom furniture made by Benner's Woodworking of Ohio. Chris Benner was awesome to work with. See some of his work at:
BennersWoodworking

 

[45ZoaGarden]

The stand is a beautiful piece of custom furniture made by Benner's Woodworking of Ohio. Chris Benner was awesome to work with. See some of his work at:
BennersWoodworking

He’s done some nice work!

 

[CALI2949]

Glass cages have two.

 

[WVNed]

Custom Aquariums. The tank was in production before I got emails from other builders I contacted.
Lifetime warranty when on their stand. This is an all wood stand. They also have steel and both.
Metal framing on the tank

I also rented their moving kit to get it in the house.

This stand has 4 doors in the front. A solid top and bottom and smallish oval openings on the back. There is nothing wet under my tank so this didn't matter to me. Everything is in an adjacent fish room.

They have a nice online configurator where you can cost out a tank with upgrades.
https://www.customaquariums.com/configurator/

 

[vetteguy53081]

I know you said glass. Glass cages and Planet aquariums (Formerly oceanic aquarums) Planet like oceanic Overbuilds their tanks which are built to last.
For acrylic- Reef Savy and believe it or nor Acrylic Tank Manufacturing.