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tank prices


Steve24

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I have a related question... would the SP900L 300lph work by its self in a 2' tank? Right now I have a cylindrical sponge filter + UGF.. but the UGF is going, and I'm thinking wether or not to keep the sponge filter.. looking for a internal power filter that could handle everything on its own.

cheers

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the cheapest are not always the best. but on the other hand my mate has 6x2x2 he got from "not just fish" and it has never leaked

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im sure there is someone who can do it alittle cheaper, i rang a ffew stores and the prices vary alot on large tanks, even for same size tank.

One thing to look out for is the thickness of the glass and the quality of the joints; a cheaper tank of poor quality may save you money now, but cost you heaps more a few years down the track.

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..a little advise, don't always go for the cheapest option. Be careful of LFS that tell you what you want to here just to get your business. Something of 6' in length will need a minimum of 10mm float glass. Anything larger will need to be 12mm or thicker, depending on the height.

A tank builder friend of mine made a large tank some years ago for a customer, and three years later the corner popped open. The eventual damage bill throughout the customers house was seventy thousand dollars plus. They sued him for the damage. Luckily he was insured!

The cause for this was the silicone, he thought he would try a different brand (cheaper).......silly man!! :):):B

My point is just be weary of the way some people try and sell you a large tank. If it was to break, think of the fish. Spend some descent money. And remember you only get what you pay for!

HTH :D

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Hi,

I totally agree with "not to look for the cheapest", especially when buying tank that size. You'll be very very sorry if something goes wrong.

From experience, you can get a well made tank for very reasonable price. Few things to look for:

- the glass thickness on all the panels

some use thicker glass for the base, some use 2 pieces joined for the base

- the braces and joins

some use all glass and some clear plastic tubes

some use thinner glass for the braces and strips and some use same thickness as the panels

also look if the joins are really square

- the silicone applied

some really messy and some neat, look for consistency

Whether or not they use brand new glass? For you to find out...

HTH,

DD

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Hey Steve24

I agree with everybody about the thickness of the glass. I made a mistake with the first tank I bought which has thin glass so it's alot more fragile but luckily it was only a 4 footer. Its holding up but I do feel insecure about it sometimes. From what I've heard, thicker glass also keeps the tank well insulated (can someone let me know if there's truth to this please) so that plus peace of mind are good enough reasons to get quality tanks, not a cheap one.

I do recommend Atlantis Aquariums (http://www.atlantisaquarium.com.au) as well. They do beat any prices so just specify what you're after and they'll accommodate to your needs.

Cheers

Paul

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thanx for all the advice guys! yeh im not justlooking for cheap, i also want good quality, however one thing i heard off a tank maker from a store is that some stores use used glass and not brand new which is pretty shonky, and he told me that some use glass that has deep scratches and they somehow get rid of scratches and that makes the glass thinner in that part of the sheet.

has anyone heard of these practices or anything like this??

i know this is gettin picky, but i just want it made out of good quality brand new glass and with a large tank like im lookin at i want it to hold up. i will give atlantis a call and see

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  • 2 weeks later...

Yeah make sure you check the thickness of it. I thought I want to go cheaper way by buying a second hand 5ft fish tank with thickness of 6mm. After I filled the tank with full water, the tank was cracked due to the water preasure :o . And a second later it was broken :oops: , which it caused me a lot of trouble with 300lts of water on the carpet ;).

I ended up buying a new one from st george aquarium with 10mm thickness :w:. I hope it won't happen to me again ;)

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If it any help to you there is an 8 foot tank in the trading post with hood but no stand for $180, just go to the trading post web site and search for fish!!! I'm sure someone could get a stand together for you!!!

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Yes, thicker glass does have better insulating properties. It attains the same temperature as the water (more or less) and it's slow to cool compared to thinner materials.

In a large tank with multiple heaters, that could add up to some good savings across the many years you would have it.

Out of curiousity, what (if any) is the objection to re-using glass in tank making? One of my old ones was made from old shop windows (like 1930 old) and it was great, except that it was more challenging to get a good seal owing to the glass being thicker at one end than the other (only a few thou') - we just rotated the panels so that the thick and thin were up and down and effected good seals that way.

Cheers - OziOscar.

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