180 gallon tank pricing

[dax29]

I've been pricing tanks. I went by the lfs and the owner looked up a price in a book for a 180 (72X24X24) and came up with $550.00 for a drilled tank with overflows. That is just the tank and not the top or anything else. The top for the tank at my lfs is $37. Glasscages.com has the tank for $350.00 on the net. The glasscages people just called me. They gave me the an $80 delivery price if I pick the tank up at a show nearby. They are going to charge me $120 for drilling the tank and providing overflows. The top cost $50.00. They don't have an oak trim tank. So once I pay for the tank, drilling and overflows, the top, and Atlanta delivery I'm at $600.00. The drilling and overflows are what killed me. Glasscages said the glass is 1/2 inch thick. I'm gonna wait around, talk to my wife's cousin that runs the aquarium business, and see what comes up. I may take whatever 6-ft tank he can give me a deal on. He gets deals on used tanks all the time. There is just something about getting a new tank that makes it seem better. I'm not sure what that is. :?

Any thoughts on tank prices?

 

[greenmaji]

it does seem that drilling does rack the price up quite a bit.. you can go with a overflow box but im sure it just wouldnt be the same to you.. they sell decent ones with 1200gph max flow on ebay for less then 60 bucks.. seems to me to be a better way to go price wise. did you get a quote from the LFS on a tank that wasnt drilled and overflow installed?
and.. if you decide to go planted twenty years down the road with canister filters and CO2 injection the drilling of the tank and built in overflow is going to be in your way. just a thought.

 

[dax29]

Thanks for tall the feedback. After more consideration, I'm leaning in the direction you have mentioned. Here is the website for the company that makes the overflow box and media box for the sump. http://www.aquacrylics.com/aquarium_filters.htm
I'm planning on putting this in one of my 29 gallon tanks. That box holds 6 gallons of bio-balls so if you expect to get 30 gallons of biological filtration out of each gallon of bio-balls (FW mainly), then this system is adequate. I plan on using a 1000 gph pump. What I'm trying to figure out is why I see dividers between the sump pump area and the biological filter area in so many commercial wet/dry models and in the schematics I've found online? Maybe I should get a more powerful sump pump. I'd like to back this up with my Penguin 350 BioWheel HOB and maybe an AC 110 (500 gph). Many people keep saying to cycle the water 1.

 

[greenmaji]

It looks like there overflow boxes look to only be the 600gph max flow variety.. If you looking for 10 X water cycling you would might want to look for one that has dual J-tubes and bulkheads.. something like this
that would get you close.. 1200gph max flow

 

[dax29]

They said they can build about any type of overflow box. I think if I tell them what I want they will build it.

 

[greenmaji]

hay.. if there building them they sure could make it for whatever amount of flow you want..
Im of the opinion you dont need uber flow for this kind of setup but thats just me I suppose.. HOB's that's a streach in my mind but sure.. wet/dry overflow at ten times per hour that just seems overkill in my mind.