Calling anyone who has bought a tank from: Glasscages or GreatLakes

[Heidi]

So now that I had started looking for a larger tank I have decided that I am very picky. :) There was one used tank I was very interested in however that deal doesn't seem to be panning out so I have decided to build. I want to stay under a grand on the tank and stand. Here are 2 places I have been looking into. GreatLakes Aquariums and Glass Cages. They have what I am looking for and they are in my price range Great lakes seems to be less expensive but I am not sure because they dont have a build calculator online. We are going for a 100+ cube glass, and may also invest in the star glass if the price is right. So fill up this tread w/ some vendor experiences please! If there is another company that you have used that is in this price range and you loved let me know that too! :fish2::fish2::big_grin::fish2::fish2:
Thanks Friends!
Heidi

[korndiddy20]

I got my tank from great lakes and im very happy with it. its 48W"x30"Dx12"T

[tankdude]

I also got my tank from GL, it's 48x24x22 110 gallons. I've had it for over 4 years now and I'm very happy with it. Steve and Brad are easy to talk to and are always willing to help with any problems you might have. They also have a good warranty on their tanks if you buy one of their stands.

[henry hill]

Im sure if you hold out and keep checking the seller forum you will find a great deal on a used one and save a ton of $.

[binford4000]

for that kind of $$ you can get a very nice tank,great lakes does nice work too.Might want to call Tom at the Ypsilanti fish doctors.He gets great prices on glass and acrylic tanks

[Heidi]

So the thing is I want a cube tank, but cut off so its over 25 but under 30 inches deep. Some dimensions I have seen and loved are 36x30x26 or close to that. There is a used one I want but the guy wont budge on price and I don't wanna pay more then 900$ for a used tank when I can just get a new one for about that. So it is mostly the pickiness that is stopping me from saving money on a used tank. SOO if anyone knows anyone who wants to sell they 100g+ cube tank for a reasonable used price let me know. Also if I build I get to put the holes where I want them and pick out my whole set up. A lot of people want you to buy the whole shebang with their tank and I have a very personalized system in mind.

[HappyCoral]

One thing to consider is. The taller the tank gets the thicker the glass. You can make some really big jumps by adding a couple inches of height.

[rmalone]

I would cut it to 24" tall, Im 6'2" with monkey arms and I find my 180g at 24" tall a PITA to reach to the bottom. Accessibility has its upside.

[jay13]

i bought a used glasscages 180 gallon. it is built like a tank. taking it down to the basement was very difficult. i don't think it will ever come back up, at least in one piece. heavier than any other tank i have ever moved, all the edges are doubled with another piece of 3 inch glass. except the vertical corners that is.

[Mike]

Bought from greatlakes. There was a flaw in the glass (not their fault) but they fixed it with no issues. Stored the tank while I was figuring out some personal stuff. I say keep the money local and go with them. Steve and his son are good guys. I don't endorse just anyone. I researched like crazy before I got my tank from them. They are as good as their word and then some.

[cephalotus]

I have moved this tank and the polished edges are awesome. Unless you want bare bottom(his tank has two weird support strips along the bottom front and back wich would be covered by 1/4 inch of sand) this tank is just sweet, and keep your money local.
And 36x36x24 would be sweet.


Bought from greatlakes. There was a flaw in the glass (not their fault) but they fixed it with no issues. Stored the tank while I was figuring out some personal stuff. I say keep the money local and go with them. Steve and his son are good guys. I don't endorse just anyone. I researched like crazy before I got my tank from them. They are as good as their word and then some.

[Hal3134]

I can't help you with Great Lakes, but I have heard an earful about Glass cages. In short, a select few have a wonderful experience: good service, timely, good quality, cheap price. Unfortunately they seem to be a tiny fraction of people who buy from them. Granted, the complainers always post more than the happy customers, but I've heard enough to know that it is more common than not. Also, the "complainers" have written about some pretty egregious issues: extreme rudeness, tanks months overdue, wrong dimensions, holes in the wrong place, etc. As with any opinion, I urge you to do your own homework and decide for yourself. Maybe you'll be one of the lucky few.

I'd check with Miracles in Glass in Toronto for a baseline cost. I've never heard anything but the highest compliments about them. Shipping isn't too horrible from there either.

[John]

You hear bad stories about a lot of tank manufacturers.

If you go with Great Lakes make sure you buy the stand from them as well. Otherwise it won't be covered under their warranty if something does happen.

Which it is pretty much the same for any aquarium company. They want to make sure the stand is done by a professional. (Warped and crooked stands sink tanks.)

[rosebud161616]

This is a great thread! We just ordered a couple of tanks and here is my experience from the order process:

Great Lakes: I tried to do as many quotes through email as I could due to my crazy work schedule. They were very short in email and wouldn't really answer many of my questions (basic questions that everyone else could answer) or referred me to their poorly design website with conflicting information from page to page. In the end they told me I needed to call the shop. I explained that due to their business hours and my work schedule, it wouldn't be till the end of the week and I had hoped to have a tank ordered by then. They were willing to lose the business than to answer questions through email. So... I moved on.

Miracles: Extremely prompt in replying to my emails and I had a very detailed quote within 12 hours. Their prices were higher than GC and from what I can tell, more than Great Lakes. I have heard nothing but great stories about them so I think the price justifies itself.

Glasscages: I have only ever had a good experience with them with the little business I have given them. They do have a unique way of talking to customers, but I think they're just rough around the edges (think hillbillies :redneck:). I can see how this can be seen as rude and I have been put off by some of what they had said, to only find out a moment later that they were making a good point and never meant to be rude. Their prices are great and we were able to get the tanks fastest and cheapest through them. This is the route we went. Hopefully the tanks come out nicely! I can report more at the end of this month.

[Hal3134]

You hear bad stories about a lot of tank manufacturers.
True, but some more than others.:(

[Heidi]

So just so you all know I ended up buying that tank from the dude. It is a Marine Land, very nice and perfect size. I think this is a great thread and definitely will be following along to see how your tanks come out Erica!
Great thread.

[bluwc]

This is a great thread! We just ordered a couple of tanks and here is my experience from the order process:

Great Lakes: I tried to do as many quotes through email as I could due to my crazy work schedule. They were very short in email and wouldn't really answer many of my questions (basic questions that everyone else could answer) or referred me to their poorly design website with conflicting information from page to page. In the end they told me I needed to call the shop. I explained that due to their business hours and my work schedule, it wouldn't be till the end of the week and I had hoped to have a tank ordered by then. They were willing to lose the business than to answer questions through email. So... I moved on.

Miracles: Extremely prompt in replying to my emails and I had a very detailed quote within 12 hours. Their prices were higher than GC and from what I can tell, more than Great Lakes. I have heard nothing but great stories about them so I think the price justifies itself.

Glasscages: I have only ever had a good experience with them with the little business I have given them. They do have a unique way of talking to customers, but I think they're just rough around the edges (think hillbillies :redneck:). I can see how this can be seen as rude and I have been put off by some of what they had said, to only find out a moment later that they were making a good point and never meant to be rude. Their prices are great and we were able to get the tanks fastest and cheapest through them. This is the route we went. Hopefully the tanks come out nicely! I can report more at the end of this month.
I had a similiar experience with Great Lakes. I called them, they were short and told me to email them what I wanted. Referred me to their website rather than answer my quote questions. Almost a week later, they finally gave me a quote. I got tired of waiting so ordered my tank through Andy at Reef Paradise the day Great Lakes decided to email me back. My thought was, it must be nice to pass up work in today's economy. Glad their business is booming where they don't need any more.

[jay13]

like i said. i bought my glasscages tank used. i was very worried about it till i set eyes on it. it is built like a tank! having had perfecto aquariums and such in the past and looking back at them now i can truly say they are built much cheaper than glasscages. my tank is a solid part of the house now. the stories are out there though about bad experiences with glasscages.

[rosebud161616]

Well I thought I would post an update on our experiences since we got our tanks on Friday.

We ordered 2 tanks from GlassCages. The tank quality looks awesome. The silicone work is very nice and you almost can't see it. We will need to do some cleaning up along the bottom because it doesn't look like either tank got trimmed. That's not too tough to do though.

I have talked to Donna many times at GC and she's always very nice. You have to get passed her rough demeanor but I feel like she really goes out of her way to make sure everything runs smoothly.

The truck driver was interesting. Typical hillbilly but very nice. The website says that he will not help you move tanks, so be expected to move them yourself. He helped quite a bit and picking up the tanks didn't take much time at all.

The only part I don't like is the overflow. They used 1/2" glass for the overflow also, and I feel like the overflow is just overly big. Then if you want teeth on your overflow, you can purchase an acrylic piece that slides over the glass. So we're talking 3/4" thick overflow and a really big box. Each overflow is 10.75x7 to house a 1" and 1.5" schedule 80 bulkheads. I kind of wish I had asked them to skip the glass and I could just silicone in an acrylic box after the fact... and save a ton of room.

Now I also got the chance to see a Great Lakes aquarium and I have to say I was not impressed. The silicone work was very rough and the black trim on the sump could almost be lifted right off. I would have been very upset if I received tanks of that quality. I'm very glad we went the GlassCages route rather than GreatLakes.