Where to get a custom tank

[O]

Hi guys!

Where can i get a tank made to my specs? Any idea how much that'll cost?
How are these things usually shipped?

Thanks.
O.

[Denny]

What do you want? I can probably take care of it.


Denny Jahnz
Denny Jahnz Cabinetry

[Denny]

As far as cost, That depends on your specs. As far as shipping, there are a few options but usually it will be crated and delivered by truck. the cost of that depends on weight and distance. Sometimes it will pay to drive the distance and pick it up so you can look it over and ask any questions you may have. the other way is to pay someone to deliver it to you and set it up.

[Carol_Roberts]

Your local fish store may be able to order a custom sized tank. I see you are from Staten Island, NY. You should be able to get bids from several places. Freight amounts vary just as Denny said according to weight of tank and distance shipped.

Denny builds beautiful custom cabinets for tanks. Can you post one here Denny?

[O]

I'm just exploring this option. I've heard that the cost of shipping and building such a tank may proof prohibitive.

DJ, I will post my specs later today.

Thank you for you response.
O.

[slicksta]

House of Fins in Greenwich CT makes custom tank, but they are expensive.
A very nice LFS..............

http://www.houseoffins.com/

http://www.houseoffins.com/Pages/map-directions.html

[Mr. Limpet]

I just recently came to my senses after looking into a custom acrylic tank. I was looking into a 60x30x36 tank. If you search on custom aquariums, you get tons of sites that are really high end. Most of them don't give an address, so it's hard to find one close. Try looking for a plastics fabricator near you. Again, you get a lot of listings with no area listed. The biggest cost is is material. If you can keep it under 24 inches tall, you can stay with thinner acrylic, like half inch. If it gets taller, it gets much more expensive very quickly. If you can design it to efficiently use 4' x 8' sheets, it is also cheaper, because there is less wasted material. The DYI section has some links that give you an idea of what's involved. Good luck, Paul.

[O]

Paul,

Thank you. This is very helpful.

O.

[Denny]

Expense is always a relative thing, and with custom work the labor in my business is always at least 2x more than materials because for the most part I make each piece of a cabinet excluding hardware by hand one at a time and that is time consuming but you get a finished product that you can't get when you mass produce.

when you get into manufacturing in volume, you greatly reduce labor costs but reduce the flexibility that you can offer your customers.

BTW if it is acrylic work you are looking for I am not the right person. I work with wood. if you need acrylic fabrication there is a guy on aquabid that does acrylic work and maybe someone can post his email address on here

[Mr. Limpet]

DJ, you are right on when you talk about cabinet work. Building or I should say assembling, acrylic tanks is fairly straight forward, once you are set up with the tools and jigs, as are most fabricators. I was only speaking to the assembly of the tank. Don't get me wrong, it still requires a lot of skill, but once the pieces are cut and finished, it is pretty straight forward.
I have seen your work over at the DYI section, it is really very nice. Craftsmanship seems to be a dying art. Too bad you are so far away, I am trying to design an entertainment system around a 120 tall, and I am strugging with it. Paul.

[paulmat]

I know of quite a few here on the west coast.I had one made last year and it came out wonderful. If you can't find any on your end I would be glad to help you find what your looking for,I know some of the companies will cover the shipping.
Paul :guitarist:

[Denny]

Mr Limpid

I don't want to turn this into an ad but what the heck, I have a design program that will do the entertainment center. I would just need your room dimensions, a general sketch of what you would like, and a dollar amount you want to use as a budget. after that it's a piece of cake ;)

send me an i.m or email

[Willie]

The nicest part about DJ's stuff is that he understands the requirements for raising discus, e.g. water changes, tank cleaning, so the tank setups are designed with those requirements in mind.

Willie

[O]

Hi DJ,

It took me a few days, but here are the specs 36L x 16W x 20H. Should come to about 50 gallons, i think. I don't need a stand for now.

Thanks.
O.

[Denny]

O,

as stated earlier, i only work with wood. There is a guy on aquabid that does acrylic work. You may even be able to go to a local glass shop and have them fabricate it for you out of glass pr acrylic.

Is there a reason why you are prevented from buying an all-glass 65g tank? the dimensions are 36 x 18 x 24. and oceanic has a 58 that is not quite as tall. is there a restricted space it must fit in?