I personally have never dealt with Mitch, but can say it isn't the edges that make the tank, it is the seals... So if he does that properly, then great!

But I can say I do have the polished beveled edges on everything. All holes and curves are C&C'd (or something like that) so everything is precise and you do really notice it. Many have commented on the quality finish, that being said I wouldn't think twice about paying extra for that again. More importantly, I would love the one piece Euro, mine isn't that as Jay didn't do one piece at the time I got mine. But the next tank will have it!

Personally, I think it all will come down to what you wish to have as a finished product... If you don't care about the polishing, etc then someone like Bow Valley may be just fine, but if you want that little extra then maybe Jay or Concept. I myself, like the extras, it really makes the tank POP!!! And no that isn't like POP, there goes my tank all over the floor! :lol:

what im getting at is out of the builders who have been mentioned in this thread, red coral, concept, elite, bow valley, they all have good and bad reviews but has anyone here had a tank fail from one of them? Not that anyone has mentioned and yes maybe BV has had a tank fail but look at how many they put out compared to everyone else statistical they are going to have more, hell I bought a premade standard 10gal one time and it leaked so everyone has one or 2 that just dont work.

So has anyone here had a tank fail from any of the builders listed?

Lol I might have to lol. But once I have everything in and settled down. :lol:

BV can also polish edges encase anyone was wondering, you just have to ask for it and be very specific on what edges to polish.

Frankly, it's amazing that this thread his reached 10 pages?! - It's really not that difficult of a choice. For the record, Red Coral and Concept don't build aquariums. They simply broker the deal. The question is who you would prefer to deal with and for me the answer is entirely obvious. Elite used to have an exclusive arrangement with a builder (Jay) but from what I understand this arrangement is no longer in place, so by whatever means contact him directly.

There are only three builders in Calgary - Gary, Jay and Bow Valley.

However, you've completely answered your own question. DON'T buy a custom tank. They can and do fail regardless of the builder. The most common cause of failed custom tanks is the stand not being perfectly flat (planar). Let me tell you how difficult it is to build a perfectly flat stand.

The best advice that anyone could give you is to buy a manufactured tank from a reputable supplier. I would suggest looking at Marine Land. While it's probably bigger than you were thinking, I really like the Marine Land deep dimension tanks!

Case in point - Marineland will not honor the warranty on their tanks if you do not also buy their stand. The stand and the floor it sits on are what generally cause the tank to fail.

I've never seen a custom tank fail because of this reason, I've seen many tanks fail for a number of other reasons but not stand related. I also don't see what is so difficult about building a flat stand, it's pretty simple actually and using foam or rubber will insure the tank is properly supported. I would think that standard tanks fail more often from a result of a poor stand because they are typically used with store bought stands which for the most part are garbage MDF and don't offer adequate, long lasting support. The larger metal stands typically in stores are also uneven on occasion and usually require additional work or materials to provide even support.

Lol this thread is getting really long did magma get a tank yet lol

http://calgary.kijiji.ca/c-pets-anim...AdIdZ249585194

I came across this add on kijiji, some one bilding tanks in okotoks.
Looks like they are fresh.

Marineland tanks, hagen and whatever are all built by humans just like custom tanks in town. There have been issues with these tanks as well. While I don't think it's hard to build a flat stand I do think that when people have issues for the most part it is due to the stand. I think the biggest issue is people want access to underneath and forgo suitable support in the middle. The stand is flat or flat enough with foam upon initial completion but the thing ends up sagging in the middle under full load.