Inter-American Starphire tank in 20 days

[Bryan]

I was in the market for a new tank. I planned on having one of the local builders’s make me a custom 60X20X23 tank. But after reading the posts about the Inter-American Starphire glass tanks (calgary, Alberta)I thought I would give the company a call. Spoke with a fellow named Mitch, who I believe, is the owner. Mitch sounded very knowledgeable and quoted me a price slightly cheaper than what I could get built locally including the shipping. I generally don't like dealing long distance on something like this, but what the heck. The only downside I could see was the backlog of custom tank; the expected delivery time would be 4-6 weeks.

Mitch asked that I fax him a detailed description of what I wanted.

So I decided on a 60l X 20w x 23h
Euro Bracing
Black Silicone
Starphire glass on front and side panes
Ground and polished edges on Front sides
One hole drilled for a 1.5" bulkhead.
Trim on bottom cut down to one inch.
1/2" all around 5/8" on bottom (Recommended by Mitch)

(Mitch told me that he can't guarantee a clean cut on the trim if it was reduced, didn't matter to me as the tank stand would completely hide the trim, thus the request to cut it down to 1" from the standard 2" trim)

50% down and the balance on completion of construction.

Faxed my order on September 29th

Decided to check my credit card on October 4th and was kinda shocked that the whole cost of the tank was charged. Oh oh! Called Inter-American, which by the way is actually Bow Valley Aquarium and spoke with the secretary. Mitch was sick and wouldn't be in for a couple of days. She apologized and said accounting must have made an error. Mitch would call me back. This was ok with me as I decided on a minor design change and I wanted to talk with Mitch before the tank was built

Took a couple of days to hear back from Mitch and he told me that they would start building my tank right away. Fine with me. Mitch went over the details of my plans and I am glad we did. What I wanted wasn't completely explained in my drawings. I asked Mitch about the credit card charge and he apologized (Accounting error). I wasn't going to make a big deal about it as the tank was going to be built in a week. I think because of this I jumped the line. Sorry guys!!.

Received another call on October 15th from Mitch that the tank was built and would be shipped tomorrow.

Canadian Freightways called me on the 18th and I arranged to pick it up at their shipping terminal. They prefer not to deliver to residential addresses, they will just drop off at front door. Grabbed a buddy with a truck to help me.

The tank was shipped on a pallet and completely covered in wood and plastic for protection. Forklift driver carefully placed the tank in the back of the pickup truck. Thanks driver you were great. Two people couldn't carry it Oh Oh! Took us over half an hour to get the tank uncrated. Two big hammers and a crowbar. I was very impressed at the care that was taken in crating the tank for shipping. We dragged and carried the tank up to the condo and began unwrapped the plastic and cardboard.

WOW, very impressed with the craftsmanship. InterAmerican did a spectacular job. The ground and polished edges were very well done. Looked just like a coffee table with a bevel on the end. All the silicone was straight. Hole was drilled exactly where I wanted it. Top trim was very nice and clean. Bottom trim was a little uneven at sides, but this was to be expected as Mitch explained that cutting it down from the standard 2" would show some unevenness.

Honestly I don't notice much difference in the Starphire glass. Probably more apparent on 3/4" glass. It is clearer, but I don't think as clear as acrylic in my view. I think it's still worth the extra money though.

All in all I am very impressed with the tank (haven't water tested it yet<g>) and the dealing with Inter-American. Recommend them highly. I wish I had ordered an overflow box as well.

Some words of wisdom though. Make a VERY detailed drawing of what you want and in BIG letters request that they CALL before building so you can go over the plans. What you may put on paper may not be what the builder interprets.