Going big, need advice on equipment

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rallykid

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Nov 12, 2008
Messages
9
So far we have my 30 gallon and my wifes 20 gallon up and running and I still have my first 29 as well as a second 29 I am going to setup in a seperate room from our upcoming 55 gallon showpiece project.

We have been discussing ideas for our basement finishing project and were looking at possibly designing the main ecntertainment room downstairs to accomodate 2 larger freshwater tanks in the 180-220 gallon range.

I have not started getting too deeply into comparison shopping on pricing on the large tanks as the basement project is still in the planning phase but did get a quote on the tanks and tops.

Where are some good places to start and reputable companies to deal with for larger tanks and equipment? This is going to be a huge project for us so I don't want to use substandard equipment but I also don't want to pay more than I should.
 
100 is as big as I went so I can't offer much advice on a 200 gallon unit.

It will be heavy and require some serious maintenance, I' sure.
 
At that size, you will want to shop local for the tank (and prob custom order/made) ..... If you will post where you live, maybe someone will know of a good custom tank maker in your area.

As for filters & stuff, the usual reputable online sources is your best bet. People will usu. get 2 or 3 standard filters/ heaters to handle the tank rather than go for special supersized equipment. <Unless you are thinking a fish room with a sump & filter to service both tank, in which case you are back to your custom tank builder again.>
 
We were actually thinking of having the front of each tank mounted on opposite walls with an access passage behind it for storage and to be able to get to the tanks for maintenance. This way we could have the appearance of it being mounted flush with the wall but still be able to access the tanks from the rear passage. It would just be a matter of building the walls of the finished portion of the basement a few feet out from the existing concrete walls.

I live in Michigan so if anyone knows of a builder in the area that would work even better as we could maybe have it built to specific specs.

I got a quite from a guy that works at Petco when I went in to pick up a few small items.

$799.99 for the 180 gallon and $84.99 for the top
$949.99 for the 210 Gallon and $84.99 for the top

That is the only place I have checked so far so I am not sure if that is in the ballpark or not. It could be a great deal, it could be severely overpriced but I need to get more quotes to know for sure.
 
Where at in MI?

My LFS in Battle Creek has a guy that builds tanks up near Saginaw IIRC.

OH I found it, its called Aquatic America:
4291 Badour Rd
Hemlock, MI 48626
Phone: (989) 643-0904

Nice guy, give him a call and see what he says.

Also I found that my LFS had better tank prices then even Petco's sale prices on tanks(on the same exact tanks), YRMV
 
Check out Glasscages.com for the aquarium. They have deliveries (there is a fee) to lots of locations.

I have a couple tanks that were built by them and they are really nice quality at decent prices.

As for filtration, your best bet is either a big wet dry filter (75g+) or a couple FX5 Canister filters. Ultimately it comes down to your stock list.
 
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