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Custom Tank vs. Pre-built?

kinetic

Supporting Member
I'm doing a little home remodel at the moment, and I'll have space for a 4' peninsula style tank in the home. I was thinking of the Waterbox Infinia 4825, but I'm not a fan of black stands or even their aluminum ones. I'm hoping for a white or maybe even the oak. The current plan is to get the infinia, strip the cabinet paint and repaint a white frame and get custom walnut or oak stained doors (to match the rest of the house).

I think Waterbox would be nice, mostly because the plumbing is all nice and neat (I suck at and really dislike plumbing), the build of the tanks are nice, and the stands are solid. I have a Red Sea Reefer and I have a bunch of issues with it (like the valve for the drain keeps getting clogged and is very inconsistent).

The other way to go is a custom ReefSavvy, but it's not a very big tank so I'm not sure if I want to go to such lengths. I do, however like the external ghost overflow, which would even further cleanup how the tank looks. I can also offset the overflow to one side of the shorter glass to give space for a pair of gyres. I don't love their stand designs I've seen on their website, but it sounds like I can get them custom to whatever I'd like.

I've already priced things out, it's going to be A LOT, but I have time to plan and save up.

What do you guys think about waterbox? Is the hassle worth it to make something custom?
 
Time and money...
Off the shelf or standard is always cheaper
But...
Thanks capt obvious!

Really depends on what you want, and how bad you want it
It’s your tank
You have to live with it
 
If you don't anticipate moving anytime soon, I like my custom build. The tank is rarely the largest cost of the system. Check out my tank journal and let me know if you have any questions.

That's true. It doesn't really need to be as custom, other than the stand and maybe overflow. I'll keep looking for other possible pre-made just in case. Waterbox/Red Sea are the usuals, but maybe there's something else that's high quality. I've had an ELOS tank before, but that company seems to have fallen off.
 
I don't know who was here back when I had an ELOS 120, but I just went down the ELOS rabbit hole again. The ELOS 120XL is a beauty, with a very minimal overflow (which the company said they can build to order, which I would probably put in a different corner) and an incredible stand (ELOS Absolute). My ELOS 120 was a work of art in itself, I'll never forget that tank.

I think I might go for the ELOS 120XL, overflow on the right, absolute stand. I do know that my ELOS overflow did have a lot of noise issues at first, but I would probably swap out the plumbing (who wants to do my plumbing for me? I'll hire you) and put in a gate valve.

With the absolute stand, it's pretty pricey. Maybe even more than a custom built one...
 
Thats a lot of coin for a tank with a 1 pipe overflow. Get at lease 2 drain holes or it will never be quiet.

That's very true. I feel like I could get a custom tank for less with a much better overflow.

I reached out to Crystal Dynamics for a quote, we'll see what they come back with. Reef Savvy doesn't seem to respond anymore to requests. Planet Aquarium seems to be a good one too. Any other more local builders anyone knows of?
 
CDA from what I understand has a history of failed seams. If you think red sea is bad, CDA is/was a lot worse. I am not sure if these problems have been resolved.
 
Aqua Lab Aquaria has a white Red Sea Reefer 500 peninsula lower than retail


SCA in SoCal is another option. Not super clean and clear like Elos but their prices are decent and I don't think I've seen a failure story. Lots of people have their plug and play tanks and they also do custom.
 
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Aqua Lab Aquaria has a white Red Sea Reefer 500 peninsula lower than retail


SCA in SoCal is another option. Not super clean and clear like Elos but their prices are decent and I don't think I've seen a failure story. Lots of people have their plug and play tanks and they also do custom.
I have both an SCA and a CDA. Both are nice, the CDA is nicer, but I have no regrets about my SCA tank.
 
Aqua Lab Aquaria has a white Red Sea Reefer 500 peninsula lower than retail


SCA in SoCal is another option. Not super clean and clear like Elos but their prices are decent and I don't think I've seen a failure story. Lots of people have their plug and play tanks and they also do custom.

Oh wow, great find on that Reefer 500. My Reefer 170 is pretty nice, and I never had issues (other than the drain valve being finicky). It's a bit longer than I wanted, but it's an internal overflow so I would make up the space that I would have needed for an external. I'm not ready for it, but I'm sure I can store it somewhere. I don't have a truck that can reliably drive to/from SJ at the moment. I'll have to consider it more.

I'm going to be putting down quite a chunk of change, so hoping to get something pretty good quality. SCA sounds good, but maybe not the exact fit.
 
Oh wow, great find on that Reefer 500. My Reefer 170 is pretty nice, and I never had issues (other than the drain valve being finicky). It's a bit longer than I wanted, but it's an internal overflow so I would make up the space that I would have needed for an external. I'm not ready for it, but I'm sure I can store it somewhere. I don't have a truck that can reliably drive to/from SJ at the moment. I'll have to consider it more.

I'm going to be putting down quite a chunk of change, so hoping to get something pretty good quality. SCA sounds good, but maybe not the exact fit.
Rent a Uhual. : )
 
Alright, the Reefer Peninsula is still a possibility (if it's still available).

I just got a quote back from Reef Savvy for $5500 for a 48"x30"x21" tank (no stand). Quite a bit more expensive, but even if I could save up, is it worth it? I guess that's more of a personal question.

Phantom bottom, rimless, armored seams, ghost overflow, 3-sides low-iron.

I might forgo the armored seams. I don't think I'll need them and they may look a bit too HUGE on this smaller tank.

One idea is I could just see if ELOS will sell me just their Absolute Stand, and then get a Reef Savvy or CDA tank that fits the footprint exactly. At this price, I would just get the ELOS, but I guess the overflow is the thing that worries me.
 
Thanks for the input there! I'm still waiting on CDA to get back to me on the quote. I may go that route afterall.
Art, like I said above there was a bunch of people in the bay area that had their CDA tank blow a seam. They seem to fail way more often than any other tank (I am not sure if this has been fixed).
 
Art, like I said above there was a bunch of people in the bay area that had their CDA tank blow a seam. They seem to fail way more often than any other tank (I am not sure if this has been fixed).
OK, yeah. Blowing a seam is NOT what I want to hear. I'm glad we're having all these conversations, I'll eventually find something haha.
 
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