Tanks from Source Aquatics Calgary? Too good to be true??

[zum14]

Originally Posted by whatcaneyedo

Like globaldesigns was pointing out Red Coral in Calgary makes aquariums so they would be worth investigating. I've never heard anything negative about them. If all you want is a standard 180gal with a basic overflow you might want to consider a Marineland tank as well. I dont know who has the best price for them but the craftsmanship looks nice from what I have seen and a lot of retailers carry them.

Does the tank have to be new? There are always a lot of people shutting down and selling off everything in the for sale section of this site as well as in our local Bargain Finder.

Absolutly not, Im looking for a 180 with overflows because after listing the freshwater tank i changed my mind and i just couldnt go through with it, i want them to go in the fish room and i want to get a nicer tank. The tank they're in now is fine but one its a major pain moving a tank when you need to use the same tank on the other side and two it would be nice to upgrade them a bit and use the 125 as a freshwater sump for the heaters and such. (i will never own another tank without a sump now that i have seen the light) I have a marineland tank 46Gal and it is very nice (tempered so not sure about the bigger ones) but im not a huge fan as its a bowfront and its kinda distorted when you look, not huge but you notice it moving a bit, plus its just me but now that ive owned one im not a huge fan of bowfronts.(lighting and cleaning the curved glass but thats just my excuse i think) You dont know who sells them round here do you? The bargain finder is ok but you have to be patient. Im always cruising the sale ads for tanks too. The more i read up about all this it might just be easier to go that route but new is just quicker thats all. Sometimes i need to sit back and relax instead of jumping the gun and spending lots of money.

Originally Posted by Eb0la11

Got my 165G DT and 60G sump made at Bow Valley and love the quality of both. Perhaps theyve cleaned up their image as both my purchases were in the last 6 months.

It is quite possible but its still a gamble for me. Theres a reason i dont go to casinos. haha. People always tell me that im a pessimist and stuff but i remember when i first met my now brother in law and he was all "no it cant be that bad" and " oh come on now" and if you ask him now its closer to " no you really dont have any ******* luck" haha. i laugh about it. So i take the safe routes.

[mycat99]

hehe i had my sump built bye these guys they put baffles in the wrong way and tryed say it was my fault .good thing i had drawing of sump design that i had them sign before getting it built

[DiverDude]

I had the exact same thought as GlobalDesigns. However, this is perception and may not hold true but history shows that reputable businesses spend money to do things right so I'd be a little hesitant based on that alone.

Moreover, your tank will be holding 180 Gallons of salt water and all your expensive livestock. If there is ANY chance that could let go, you will rue the day you decided to save $200 or whatever on a high quality tank.

Just my $0.02

[Arok3000]

I was looking at buying a tank from these guys about 12 months ago when I first saw their ad on Kijiji.
I called the guy, we talked and settled on a very reasonable price.
He said to swing by the shop, gave me the address, and I was on my way.

When I got there, he wasn't there (I believe it was Ray) and there was just a lady at the front desk. She said he wasn't available and wasn't involved in sales but asked if she could help me. I told her the tank and price I was quoted and she said she would never sell me that tank at that price.

I gave up at that moment and never thought twice about going back. Then again, I really like to deal with people who have all their cards lined up, not all over the place.

That being said, I have never bought a tank from Red Coral, but I have bought quite a bit there, and I have never had even the smallest negative thing to say about them.

[zum14]

Any threads with these guys names in it seems to spark quite the debate. I definitly agree that a company that is very organized and prompt seem to always be the better choice.

[zum14]

Ok so mulling over this a bit more and i think i should put this out there to see what people think because its one thing that i kind of have trouble with. I find that once a company knows that they have the repor to do so they will bend you over a barrel. What i mean is that you have a company such as source aquatics, they may not have such a good track record, they prob spend $100 on glass and $100 on man hours to make a tank say 180 gal. They then turn and sell the tank for 450$. I will not deny the chances of getting a sub par product because, to a point, it is true you get what you pay for. But my problem is you get places that have a good repor with everyone and all the sudden there stuff is gold. They may spend $200 for the same amount of glass but better quality, and maybe $250-300 for man hours for better built product, But they then turn and sell it for $1500-$2000 for there name and because they basically go well its this or the bad stuff. I just have trouble trying to figure out wether or not the extra 1000 is worth the bragging rights. In the end i will prob spend the extra for the peace of mind but its just something that i find troublesome.

[Namnuta]

There is a lot more work that goes into tanks that are more expensive. I have a bow Valley tank, and it has rough cut edges, bubbles in the silicone and overall is a very very entry level tank.You could almost say low quality. (I have a 165G tall)

Then you can take a look at Jays tanks at Elite. The care and attention to detail is amazing, he offers things no one else is offering like his amazing 1 piece Euro Bracing. Honestly they are some of the nicest tanks i have every seen.

Bow Valleys tank cost me $500 when i bought it 6 years ago. Jays tanks @ Elite are almost 4 times that amount. But you get what you pay for.

Also price can also depend on the buying power of the maker. Bow valley makes a lot of tanks vs jay at Elite is a one man show, so obviously his costs are going to be way higher.

When i upgrade im getting a tank from jay or something comparable.

IMHO bow Valley tanks are good for new people in the hobby, but i would never upgrade to one. This post was in no way meant to be a plug for Elite or jay, it was just an easy example.