If you are doing an in-wall tank, I would go with the starphire glass. That way, you won't have to worry about every little scratch and you get the clarity of acrylic.
Tenecor or Aquart?
- Thread starter Clay
- Start date
I'm an acrylic guy and I have three Tenecor tanks and never had a problem with them. The scratch thing does suck, I scratched mine with a paper towel once! But if your going large, like 600+ gallons nothing beats Acrylic IMO. Acrylic is very very strong and your chance of a catastrophic failure is much lower than glass. Anyway my vote is Tenecor 
After talking with the owner, I'm also considering Midwest custom aquariums. They are from Minnesota. Anyone know anything about them?
I slept on it, and I think I'm just going a little bigger to a 96x30x30 375g. Gives me the best footprint I can do with the space it's going in, as well as gallonage. It's .75" at this size, so I'm leaning towards the midwest custom aquarium build. Wish me luck. I'll put a build thread together as time permits. I have a bit of construction to do when the tank arrives.
Yes. I did some research, and here are the reasons I chose them.
Tenecor - I heard some potentially unsettling things about Tenecor - not just from ATM. I don't like the idea that the tank can be of differing qualities based on person making the tank in the shop. I would like to believe that a company as large as Tenecor is putting out the best quality every time. I heard that some of their long time staff (sales and manufacturing) have left recently, and there is a problem afoot in the comapny. Maybe just not the right tank manufacturer for me at the moment. It might be all rumor and inuendo, but it was enough for me to choose another manufacturer.
Aquart seems to not make all of their tanks. I bought a 300g from them about 10 years ago, and I thought I would repeat that experience, but I read some of the experiences here, and coupled with the fact that they don't make all of their tanks, I decided to pass.
ATM was kinda dickish. The guy I talked to at ATM (Dennis) was first to jump on reasons why Tenecor is terrible, blah blah blah. "They're going out of business and won't be around in another 6 months. I have 3 or 4 Tenecor tanks here now that I'm repairing." He then went on to tell me how "I want a racetrack tank for rays (bullnose at both ends so they don't develop nose cancer), and that acrylic needs to be thicker the wider it is." (No, it needs to be thicker the DEEPER it is.) It was easy to take this company and write it off. No way, no how.
Midwest Custom Aquariums - Chris was very pleasant each time I spoke to him. He said he makes each and every one of the tanks, and that occasionally, he is asked to make tanks for other manufacturers (hint, read above). He and I talked about the tank specs, thickness of acrylic, and that he takes pride in every tank he makes. He makes sure everything is right, and the process can take 3-4 weeks, but he doesn't rush it along for the sake of getting it out of the door. I had some good conversations with him and I definitely felt like he was a solid manufacturer with a good warranty. He said that in his 10 yrs of doing this, he hasn't had any leakers yet, so I went ahead and placed an order. I'll be sure to document everything, but I have a good feeling, for sure.
Tenecor - I heard some potentially unsettling things about Tenecor - not just from ATM. I don't like the idea that the tank can be of differing qualities based on person making the tank in the shop. I would like to believe that a company as large as Tenecor is putting out the best quality every time. I heard that some of their long time staff (sales and manufacturing) have left recently, and there is a problem afoot in the comapny. Maybe just not the right tank manufacturer for me at the moment. It might be all rumor and inuendo, but it was enough for me to choose another manufacturer.
Aquart seems to not make all of their tanks. I bought a 300g from them about 10 years ago, and I thought I would repeat that experience, but I read some of the experiences here, and coupled with the fact that they don't make all of their tanks, I decided to pass.
ATM was kinda dickish. The guy I talked to at ATM (Dennis) was first to jump on reasons why Tenecor is terrible, blah blah blah. "They're going out of business and won't be around in another 6 months. I have 3 or 4 Tenecor tanks here now that I'm repairing." He then went on to tell me how "I want a racetrack tank for rays (bullnose at both ends so they don't develop nose cancer), and that acrylic needs to be thicker the wider it is." (No, it needs to be thicker the DEEPER it is.) It was easy to take this company and write it off. No way, no how.
Midwest Custom Aquariums - Chris was very pleasant each time I spoke to him. He said he makes each and every one of the tanks, and that occasionally, he is asked to make tanks for other manufacturers (hint, read above). He and I talked about the tank specs, thickness of acrylic, and that he takes pride in every tank he makes. He makes sure everything is right, and the process can take 3-4 weeks, but he doesn't rush it along for the sake of getting it out of the door. I had some good conversations with him and I definitely felt like he was a solid manufacturer with a good warranty. He said that in his 10 yrs of doing this, he hasn't had any leakers yet, so I went ahead and placed an order. I'll be sure to document everything, but I have a good feeling, for sure.
Sounds like you chose well in my opinion. For what its worth, I would rather support the smaller, less known guys than the big brands anyway. Some out there make works of art. Now, I do have to admitt I would like to build tanks one day, so I hope someone out there shares the same views I do 
