Ordering New 440/480 any advice?

[The-Almighty-Zugs]

using local guy,

it’s all 3/4” hand polished...

That's good. 3/4 should fit the bill.

 

[Cardeater]

You have some interesting points. Fishtank direct seems to use thinner acrylic for tanks 24" tall and under where some others would use thicker. I've seen in threads though that people have gotten quotes for upgrading to the thicker acrylic so maybe that's the way to go.



I'm still in planning stages but Ive heard good things about ftd but depending on price, on something like this I wonder if I'd consider upgrading to say 3/4" for this tank even though they believe the 1/2" is fine:

Tsunami 440-Gallon 96"Lx48"Wx24"H Rectangular Acrylic Aquarium Setup

Tsunami U420 In-Stock Now. Buy Your Tsunami 440-Gallon 96"Lx48"Wx24"H Rectangular Acrylic Aquarium Direct and Save. Free Shipping on Orders Over $75. Tax-Free.

www.fishtanksdirect.com

I have done a ton of research into tank makers in both the US and Canada. Got in touch with pretty much every well known one that I could find. Learned a lot in the process of what to stay away from and what subtleties to watch out for. What you will see, is some places are okay with using thinner acrylic and some others are not. My advice would be to stay far away from the ones that are okay with using thinner sheets as you really want to use thicker acrylic in the bigger tanks. I know you already know this but just thought it should be said. If American is using thicker acrylic I would go with them just on that fact alone. Using thinner acrylic allows the company and you to a certain degree to save money but any tank maker worth his salt would not take a risk. And there is a risk in using thinner acrylic. How thick are the sheets anyway from each company?

Edit:

Reading into this some more and it looks like a lot of people are having issues with American. What I would do is keep looking into other companies if you can that still do thicker sheets. As I said before, I wouldn't trust a company that would be willing to use thinner sheets on a big tank like this. They either don't have enough experience in the business to know better or don't care enough about the customer to recommend thicker acrylic. A lot of times you will see these companies tell you over and over again that thinner is okay that it would be fine etc etc etc. They are just trying to make a sale. Because if the other companies are using thicker acrylic at an obvious higher price, and a newbie comes onto the scene and compares prices, who do you think they are going to go with?

 

[The-Almighty-Zugs]

You have some interesting points. Fishtank direct seems to use thinner acrylic for tanks 24" tall and under where some others would use thicker. I've seen in threads though that people have gotten quotes for upgrading to the thicker acrylic so maybe that's the way to go.



I'm still in planning stages but Ive heard good things about ftd but depending on price, on something like this I wonder if I'd consider upgrading to say 3/4" for this tank even though they believe the 1/2" is fine:

Tsunami 440-Gallon 96"Lx48"Wx24"H Rectangular Acrylic Aquarium Setup

Tsunami U420 In-Stock Now. Buy Your Tsunami 440-Gallon 96"Lx48"Wx24"H Rectangular Acrylic Aquarium Direct and Save. Free Shipping on Orders Over $75. Tax-Free.

www.fishtanksdirect.com

It's great that you are doing your research. I wholeheartedly commend you for that. I would not do 1/2" at all. Stay far away from that thickness. It's just not enough for bigger tanks. Some companies feel comfortable doing it at that size but a good company will tell you to do the 3/4" at least. That's one good way of filtering through the good and bad ones. And again, the ones that say 1/2" is fine, are either not experienced enough, don't care, or are just trying to make a quick buck. Because the ones that know what they are doing charge more for the thickness obviously because it costs more and these companies try to undercut them by using thinner sheets. And this is a terrible business model in my opinion because it leads new tank owners down a dangerous road. They don't know the difference and when they compare prices they go with the thinner sheets because they are told that it is fine. But to end that rant, if going with FTD definitely upgrade to 3/4" if it is an option. Trust me, it will be worth it in the long run. And anything big and 24" tall should be 3/4".

 

[The-Almighty-Zugs]

You have some interesting points. Fishtank direct seems to use thinner acrylic for tanks 24" tall and under where some others would use thicker. I've seen in threads though that people have gotten quotes for upgrading to the thicker acrylic so maybe that's the way to go.



I'm still in planning stages but Ive heard good things about ftd but depending on price, on something like this I wonder if I'd consider upgrading to say 3/4" for this tank even though they believe the 1/2" is fine:

Tsunami 440-Gallon 96"Lx48"Wx24"H Rectangular Acrylic Aquarium Setup

Tsunami U420 In-Stock Now. Buy Your Tsunami 440-Gallon 96"Lx48"Wx24"H Rectangular Acrylic Aquarium Direct and Save. Free Shipping on Orders Over $75. Tax-Free.

www.fishtanksdirect.com

I tried to find the writeup a great tank maker gave to me when I first started out but I can't seem to find it. Email won't go back that far for whatever reason. If I do end up finally getting it, I'll post it here or PM you. But really, go 3/4. Trust me. It's worth it. If anything, the peace of mind that it brings is well worth the price.

 

[dr exum]

You have some interesting points. Fishtank direct seems to use thinner acrylic for tanks 24" tall and under where some others would use thicker. I've seen in threads though that people have gotten quotes for upgrading to the thicker acrylic so maybe that's the way to go.



I'm still in planning stages but Ive heard good things about ftd but depending on price, on something like this I wonder if I'd consider upgrading to say 3/4" for this tank even though they believe the 1/2" is fine:

Tsunami 440-Gallon 96"Lx48"Wx24"H Rectangular Acrylic Aquarium Setup

Tsunami U420 In-Stock Now. Buy Your Tsunami 440-Gallon 96"Lx48"Wx24"H Rectangular Acrylic Aquarium Direct and Save. Free Shipping on Orders Over $75. Tax-Free.

www.fishtanksdirect.com

They have a broken 600 they gotta cut down to 28”.... making it 500 sumthin....

It’s same price as 440... was gonna buy that tank before found current guy....

It’s 3/4”

 

[Tj203]

They have a broken 600 they gotta cut down to 28”.... making it 500 sumthin....

It’s same price as 440... was gonna buy that tank before found current guy....

It’s 3/4”

what was broken and how did it happen? if the tank was dropped even just a few inches and it broke the top support or cracked a seem or something like that i would not get it. this is just my opinion but i would not trust the rest of the seems. if it was a smaller tank yea but once you get above maybe 300 gallons they have to hold a lot of force back. i know i just called my insurance company and asked if i was covered for a fish tank. i was not and they had to add something on to my policy only changed mt premium by like 5 dollars money well spent for that piece of mind. i have saw someones 29 gallon tank crack, it happened when they were not home they were out to dinner and by the time they came back it was too late and it caused about $5000 for the clean up because it wrecked the floors the Sheetrock and some things in his basement and he was not covered. just some food for thought also i know when i called my insurance company they asked if it was new or used mine is new. good call on the reinforcements.

 

[dr exum]

what was broken and how did it happen? if the tank was dropped even just a few inches and it broke the top support or cracked a seem or something like that i would not get it. this is just my opinion but i would not trust the rest of the seems. if it was a smaller tank yea but once you get above maybe 300 gallons they have to hold a lot of force back. i know i just called my insurance company and asked if i was covered for a fish tank. i was not and they had to add something on to my policy only changed mt premium by like 5 dollars money well spent for that piece of mind. i have saw someones 29 gallon tank crack, it happened when they were not home they were out to dinner and by the time they came back it was too late and it caused about $5000 for the clean up because it wrecked the floors the Sheetrock and some things in his basement and he was not covered. just some food for thought also i know when i called my insurance company they asked if it was new or used mine is new. good call on the reinforcements.

freight carrier broke top brace was my understanding, they were going to cut off 2” from the 30” tank and Re do tops

 

[TheWolfman]

28” is a good height it fits through doors nicely. After moving the 450 I’m glad that it wasn’t a 30” tank.

 

[Tj203]

freight carrier broke top brace was my understanding, they were going to cut off 2” from the 30” tank and Re do tops

3/4 acrylic dont brake that ez did you see pictures of the damage? are they warranty the tank? if so how long?

 

[dr exum]

3/4 acrylic dont brake that ez did you see pictures of the damage? are they warranty the tank? if so how long?

This was a tank I was going to purchase, I was sharing the info for another member who posted on the thread here for their benefit, I didn’t purchase it personally, my understanding is they did replace the tank for that customer and now have this laying around.

mine will be 30” - going through 33”slider ?...

costs 1/3 more than FTD but , support local or so they say....