Long Time Member getting back into the fish world

[Jc1119]

I own a 300 gallon Midwest Custom and its one of the best built tanks I ve ever bought. Chris built it exactly the way I wanted it too. Very good quality tank.
That being said I'm in the process of buying a slightly used Glasscages 410 gallon that's 11' long. Incredibly solid build I have to say and no noticeable bowing which surprised me with it being 130' long. Thing is very heavy though....


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[nmadsen4]

I own a 300 gallon Midwest Custom and its one of the best built tanks I ve ever bought. Chris built it exactly the way I wanted it too. Very good quality tank.
That being said I'm in the process of buying a slightly used Glasscages 410 gallon that's 11' long. Incredibly solid build I have to say and no noticeable bowing which surprised me with it being 130' long. Thing is very heavy though....


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11 ft... holy moly. My wife is already pissed that I'm getting an 8 ft tank. She thought my old 6 ft was too big haha. I'm growing less and less concerned with acrylic vs glass but I still have questions about which company to go with.

I guess I'll wait to see what kind of pricing MidWest comes up with. I really liked the Truvu price but I noticed that they don't sell stands or canopies? Kinda weird if you ask me.

 

[Jc1119]

My wife is less than impressed that's for sure lol.
Chris will build anything you want really. We went tube steel on the stand to save some space underneath.



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[nmadsen4]

My wife is less than impressed that's for sure lol.
Chris will build anything you want really. We went tube steel on the stand to save some space underneath.



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Tube Steel i wouldnt mind it but that would really send the old lady off the deep end haha. I better stick to a nice cabinet and canopy. I got to keep the whole setup under 3k as well. Not exactly sure if that's going to happen though.

 

[tomojsg]

Ok so I've had a look at MidWest Customs and emailed them with a pricing inquiry. Truvu had online pricing and I'm now considering going with them..... I'm not too sure about acrylic though, I've never had an acrylic tank. I know it's lighter, stronger, clearer..... but i do have concerns about scratches. I just haven't maintained one before so it makes me nervous.

With all that being said.... Truvu's acrylic prices are actually significantly better than Glass Cages acrylic prices. Glass prices are still unbeatable at GlassCages though. I'm struggling to decide.

Hopefully I can get some more input on the thread here.... I want to do it right this time, i don't want to feel like i need to upgrade after a year again and i don't want to regret my choice of company either.

Acrylic is honestly the way to go with bigger sized tanks. It's 16-17 times stronger than glass at the same thickness and dimensions, clearer, lighter and much easier to deal with over all.
Maintaining the tank is easy. When you clean the inside make sure you the top first leaving at least 6-8" gap from the substrate if your using light substrate like fine gravel or sand. This
way there are less chances of having fine gravel or sand get between the scrubber or magnet cleaner. After you've worked the top carefully work on the bottom rest, this way you are less
prone to scratching your tank. And if it does some how get scratching light scratches are easily buffed out with some acrylic compound like "novus" with is aquarium acrylic tank made &
some elbow grease. Also when purchasing a tank of bigger size having a acrylic tank will save you some muscle ache lol...
worked the top carefully work on the bottom

 

[tomojsg]

Tube Steel i wouldnt mind it but that would really send the old lady off the deep end haha. I better stick to a nice cabinet and canopy. I got to keep the whole setup under 3k as well. Not exactly sure if that's going to happen though.

If you still have the glass from your old 300g you can also use the undamaged glass panels to make a DIY plywood tank.
Since you already have the glass that would definitely cost under $3,000.00 and you can most likely build something a
lot bigger than a 300g if building a DIY playwood tank, just my 2 cents.

 

[Egon]

I have a old glass cages 120. Maybe 15 years old? It is rock solid. No issues.

That's my smallest tank. Anything bigger I like acrylic. But to each his own. My glass cages tank is solid and that's the answer your looking for...

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[nmadsen4]

I have a old glass cages 120. Maybe 15 years old? It is rock solid. No issues.

That's my smallest tank. Anything bigger I like acrylic. But to each his own. My glass cages tank is solid and that's the answer your looking for...

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Thanks everyone. I like the suggestions and the advice on acrylic maintenance as well. As for the old glass, no I don't have it. I moved and I wasn't confident about the tank surviving the move. The tank was very old and the seems were very bubbly looking. It was only a 180 as well so now that I'm back in the game, I'm looking for a serious upgrade.

Egon yes you're right, that was the answer I was looking for.

So I slept on it and I think I'm going acrylic after all. I've moved real big tanks and my friends always gave me a look like they wanted to kill me. Acrylic would alleviate that. Downside's include being a bit more careful and budget impact. I think i'll need to go with a 240 in order to get the acrylic. That last part disappoints me a little because the extra 6 inch width/depth would have been nice. On a bright note though, It'll be easier for me to clean and maintain!

I'm still waiting on responses from Midwest unfortunately... Can anyone tell me what they paid for a tank from them? I'd also like to hear about costs of cabinet as well.

 

[nmadsen4]

Spoke to Midwest on the phone.... didn't want to wait any more. It doesn't appear that they are competitive price wise. I know that their cabinets are of the best quality material and craftsmanship but the price was nearly triple that of other places. Also... I just discovered that Truvu is in Chandler.... only 30 minutes drive from me. What I think is going to happen is I'll be buying a Truvu acrylic 240 Long and just picking it up from them. Glass Cages still has the best cabinet and canopy prices by a massive margin though so I'll have to order that separate from them..... Anyone oppose that plan????

 

[tomojsg]

nope sounds like a plan! good luck and welcome back to mfk!