Blog Comments

I have an app I use too, although there never seems to be much variation in the city, maybe a few cents here or there. I cringe everytime I take my truck to the pumps. Its for a good cause this time so I suppose I can justify it this one.

I hate filling up my gas tank. I completely agree with you, and I actually do shop around. I have an app on my iPhone called Gasbag, which helps locate the cheapest gas in the area, and it is very handy.

No, here's the original info I posted on my site years ago. His username is KentE: http://www.melevsreef.com/pics/07/05/ny/ny2.html

I'll pitch the idea and see what comes of it. Bottom line is that I want something that I can enjoy relatively stress free for a long number of years before I even have to consider removal/update/upgrade/etc.

Just for the record, your not talking about Fudge's porthole tank are you?

Good to see you starting your build.
Can't wait to see your tank running.

That does sound like a dilemma. I don't really have any suggestions, other than perhaps going with a plywood tank you build yourself with a front glass panel. You can use fiberglass and / or resin for the majority of the tank, and glue in the front glass yourself. I have a friend that built a 1000g tank that way, and I'm sure he'd be happy to help talk you through it. Additionally, he has a massive thread with all the pictures on their club's site.

Thanks for the picture. I'm going to be shopping for some type of vessel myself, I just don't know what yet.

Lets start first with why nobody will warranty their work. There are essentially three builders in my area; Bow Valley Aquariums being one, and two other guys who work in conjunction with two stores in our city. All three locations do great clean work, but the prices are vastly different.

Bow Valley; told us last year that they can't warrenty it because they only warrenty tanks they build in their shop. They would offer to come out and build the tank on site in our basement. Our quote for glass + delivery to our house = ~$1400, but there is a huge lead time (2-3 months) because of the length of the tank and him wanting to give us a good deal. The additional rate for someone to come and build was quoted around ~1200 + travel costs. I do understand though that they have adjusted their management style, and we want to go back to them to discuss our current design (from March 2010) further. Ultimately I'd love to go with them because their price is best overall, and I've seen their work, but they have supply chain issues and they won't warranty.

Shop 1: The guy who builds their tanks though will not offer a warranty on his work regardless of anything else. The tank builder says he never has and never will. The price quoted for just glass was twice that of Bow Valley because they do not get wholesale prices on glass. He also refuses to do low-iron for the two display panels saying they can't get low-iron glass in 10.5ft lengths. The cost for this person to assemble the tank on site is almost equal to the cost of the glass.

Shop 2: They make great tanks, but their price was 3x that of Bow Valley's. Also will not warranty and advised us that we should be getting extra insurance (rider policies) to cover ourselves in the event of a tank failure. They will also not build on site, will only build and deliver to my front lawn.

I have faith in our skills, but what I do not have faith in at this point is our design. I also want to overbuild Tibet to a certain degree to help with my comfort level. Bottom line I would rather a tank builder come and build on site for us, and I want a warranty for their work. If warranties are unavailable I still would prefer someone to come build for us, but to pay someone such a LARGE amount of cash to do so isn't prudent in my mind. Yes, I am willing to pay for the skill and techniques involved in assembling, but I'm not willing to pay someone $1,200+ for such a task on top of the base material costs.

Does that explain it a bit better?

We ordered a 200g water containter you can view it here; http://calgaryplastic.ca/LT.gif. It's currently backordered so it could be here anywhere from next week to the 2nd week of September depending on transportation schedules.

Wow - it's a LOT of water. Do you have that much faith in your skill as a tank builder? Are you going to reinforce all the base perimeter with euro-bracing? How long will you hold your breath when it's full?

Why won't they warranty their work?

Can you post a picture or link of the new water container?

Glad to see progress. If no one will warranty their work for on site assembly then I would just as well do it myself. That is if you have the know how.

Midnight,

The display tank volume will be ~470g but the total system volume will be around 700-1,000g depending on our final set up.

I love R.A. its pretty sweet so far. I'm sure its only going to get better from here on out.

I want to order my glass in late October or early November. I'm just waiting to see what tuition will be in September, and if my classes don't get cancelled due to low enrollment. The cash is burning a hole in my pocket, which is a terrible thing for a girl like me who could shop it away in about 30 seconds.

So nice to see you documenting your tank here on R.A.

When will you start the glass tank construction?

I bet it could all be deconstructed, but it'd be pretty time consuming and tedious.

We're young, under 30, and opted to purchase a house that we'll stay in (could stay in) for 40+ years.

wow, So if you ever sell your home, it comes with a tank.

"I'm a visual person so I "convinced" my other half to buy me a replacement hotwater tank and a new TV so I could use the cardboard."

I love it.

I almost cut the side off of a TV box that I have to hang up on the wall to come up with a size reference for a hole I want to cut. I went with painter's tape corners...for now.

Thank you!

I'll start finding photos to post a condensed history of my build up until this point.

Hi Catherine. To add pictures, you want to re-enter the editor of your entry. To do that, roll your mouse over the subject title and click on the crayon that appears. Now the editor is open, you'll click the cursor where you want the image to appear in your blog entry. Click on the small icon that looks like a tree, and you can attach an image or you can select and paste in the URL from a different hosting site.

Once done, click submit. You can edit your entry as often as you like, and put in as many pictures as you wish. When you have a new entry, it is a new blog. Your older blogs will continue to be available in the right column as well as from your profile, so naming each one helps the reader track down the information they seek. Be sure to select a category too, as they can sort that way as well.

I couldn't figure out how to post photos in my original post, but I see it can be done in the comments. I'll try posting a few selective shots when I next get to a computer.

Cool, yeah we would like to see where the progress has gotten you to. How many gallons is that?

Any pics? Sounds awesome.