Tank Builders Calgary
 

Anyone have contact info for Calgary Tank Builders?

I'm looking for this as well.....so


free Bump

you can contact either elite aquatics or the user reefcanada to reach a tank builder by the name of jason.
he is the builder of the ever so famous "lastlights 225 gallon" and also has full access to a cnc machine. yes people that means 1 piece glass eurobraces.
i personaly wouldnt get a tank built by anybody but him due to the fantastic work he has done for me and the amazing work i have seen him put out.

Anyone...Anyone...??

+1 one elite. just google elite aquatics calgary.

Elite does make some of the best tanks, mine is from him, but however I won't deal with him again. If you do, be very careful about pricing and do your research and shop around.

Denis at Gold aquariums is doing some nice work, they are replacing many of their tanks and what they have built are very nice and well designed.

i understand Gary builds tanks for Golds Aquarium. Anyone know if he does side jobs and if so what is his contact??

Thanks

Check out Red Coral.

deleted post.

Glad to see you swallowed your words there.

Bow Valley Aquatics has been great in my history with them and good for a price conscious aquarist.

Didnt swallow any words, my words were meant for pm.

Actually Bow Valley is now building Gold's tanks. I have dealt with him on a professional basis and wont deal with him again... ever.

I 2nd Carmen here about checking out Red Coral.

Really!!! I will have to ask Dennis about that, as they don't look like Bow Valley tanks that I have ever seen. They look better than any Bow Valley tank I have actually seen.

Hmmmmm....

I would talk to Kevin @ Red Coral also, if that is the case.

I can say the tanks that Dennis @ Gold's is getting look very nice. They even have small spacers inbetween all seems in order to get proper silicone connections between glass. Very nice work there.

I think you mean 1 piece acrylic eurobraces.

no my good sir one piece glass eurobraces.
can onlybe done by a very skilled man on a very expensive machine, but we got em.

So it's a CNC laser cutter, or water jet cutter? That's an expensive eurobrace when you look at the cutt-off, labour and machine time.

its a cnc. prices can be negotiated with jason the tank builder.

yup, i've seen it, and it is definitely one solid piece of GLASS eurobrace goodness :-) It is gorgeous but very expensive!

Also saw it the other day. VERY sexy... if you want a brace on your tank that is, but I'm sure it's pricey.

170g
 

I also picked up my 170g from Colby @ Elite, Jays work is one of a kind and in my opinion the best in Calgary. The price was fantastic and Colby stands behind all of his work, there are a few other places in Calgary but Elite takes the cake.

Few older photos of the tank:
http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/3410/p1110168.jpg

http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/157/p1110188.jpg

I believe that is the Euro bracing Evan is talking about in the second photo but I might be wrong.
Levi

wow, quite the jungle you've got going there Levi! All you need in there is a banana tree and you're set! Actually, I have a banana tree I'm trying to get rid of, you want it?? :lol:

Actually, is your eurobrace 4 strips of glass? That's what it looks like in the photo. Mine is like that too. What Evan is talking about is, imagine that eurobrace as one continuous piece of glass (like a sheet of glass with a giant hole cut out of it), not 4 pieces glued together.

My 150g tank was built by Elite as well and I love it. The craftsmanship is excellent.

Does Mitch still work there? I wish more detail was paid to my tank that I got from there. Discovered a deep 2" scratch on the front panel that was invisible until it was filled with water.

No more plants please... all it has equated to is more places for my cats to **** :neutral:. That's about 2 months ago the basement is less green now but still maintains its rainforest feel (I just bought a veiled chameleon too :biggrin:). Yes the glass on mine is 4 different pieces, with the beveled edges and seamless silicone job it might as well be 1.

Max I heard some interesting stories about Mitch from Fire & Sputum (Derek and Kris), I don't know if he still works there but that sounds like something he would pull.

Did you mention it to anyone at the shop?
I'm sure they would have resolved the issue for you.
Can fix a problem till you know it exists.

Mitch does still work there, just not nearly as much.

CNC means computer numeric control, this is what controls the left, right and vertical moves of a system, the cutting tool could be a router, a large spindle , a water jet or a flame cutter or laser, he is asking what is the actual cutting mechanism.

I suspect water jet.

Nope because it sat empty for a year. Like I said, I only noticed it after it was filled.

if anybody wants to see bow valleys aquariums in vancouver check out munstertanks as they are getting their tanks made by them.

Are they still using shower doors for the bottoms of tanks?

The tank builders have been mentioned, so I have no names to add. I did, however, stop by Elite a few days back. I had a few minutes and was driving by- so I thought I would look at the livestock. Instead I spent the whole visit drooling over the tanks that were sitting on the floor. The attention to detail, the beveling of the surfaces and yes, the one piece euro braces were amazing. The other shops mentioned do fine work as well and I would not hesitate to buy a tank from most small shops as the owners will do what is necessary to make you happy. Having said that, some of the features that I saw on those tanks are not (as far as I know) available from other builders and it is actually worth stopping in just to see them and look at the features.

LOL we have some terrariums that are 1 way glass all the way around or dark tint. We didnt order them like that either.

Geez.....for a couple shops that dont wanna pay to advertise here they sure dont mind when they get it free. :wink:

removed

You're right, no more shower doors. Just a hugh headache and lots of frustration. I got Mitch to build me a 300g, what a mistake. I thought since Rahim had joined the team that things would improve, but not the case. Every few days I would call and Mitch he would give me a different excuse as to why it's delayed. When I finally got my tank, the overflow dimension was incorrect and there was an 1" chip in one pane. Other than that the tank was build fine. The price was the main attration to using Bow Valley,

I've learned the hard way a few times... You get what you pay for 99.9% of the time.

I had my 1st tank built by golds, I considered the nice shop and the amount of business that went thru the shop. I made that mistake. I requested starphire front, but didnt get it. Too many air bubbles within the seams. Also the edges of the glass are rough not polished. The glass it self is very thick. I met a person who had thier tank made by gary, the person who builds for red coral and ocean city. Its better than bow valley, but also there are some imperfetions such as bubbles within the seams. The next time i have a tank built, i would go to elite, Its nice they can display the product on the floor so you can see what you are getting. The tanks there are very nice. smooth lines and edges, seams are nice and clean. If price is not an issue!

You will always get some bubbles, in the seams. My tank, from Elite, has some... As long as the seams are strong, no worries. When they delivered mine, there was also some damage (can't say it was there in the store or from delivery), but it was the back corner. It was chipped away, not enough to be a structural problem. I just put some crazy glue on it to clean it up some. It has been almost 2 years with no issues.

I think all tank builders have their pros and cons, and everyone can probably say something negative about all. Best bet is to do your research see some examples and make your selection from there.

As most know, I majorly dislike Colby @ elite, as he ripped me off too many times before I started to smartin up and so many other things. But I will commend him and more Jayson for the quality of tanks they produce. I will eventually want another tank, would love to have another from him, but of course refuse to give him anymore money. So I don't know what I will do, maybe build my own?

I agree that Elite's tanks have very nice details, but there is a HUGE cost for the CNC machining. I priced out my new tank through Elite and it was 3-4 times the cost of Golds. With the way my tank is set up I wanted 2 of the edges to be beveled and polished, I got what I asked for.

Sitting on the shop floor Elite's tanks look great, but IMO once the tank is set up I doesn't justifiy the extra cost.

FYI - gary build the tanks for Golds. When/if I am looking for another tank I wouldn't even shop anywhere else.

Wow I think we have a mystery on our hands! Who builds tanks for Golds?? Does anybody really know?! :lol: