Buying new tanks

[Ceez]

I'm gonna be expanding breeding operations a bit so over the past few weeks I've been doing a lot of window shopping. New tanks have been the main focus. I've been drooling over the Zoo Med 50g low boy but ultimately I decided it wasn't gonna be in the best interest of my laziness. The dimensions are 48x24x10" and trying to catch fish in that isn't gonna be fun not to mention being vertically challenged (the tank not me LOL) brings on an entire new set of problems.

So I started looking at the Aqueons. Right now they're half off this entire month and the 40g breeders come out to $60.00 no lid. Add another $25.00 for the lid. After reading the reviews i was horrified. Seems like about 70-80% of the reviews all complained of leaking tanks with pics to prove their stories. Many of the complaints pointed to the same flaw, the bottom wasn't sealed correctly and that's where the leaks stemmed from. Imagine coming home to thousands of dollars worth of dead fish and floor damage.

I have a couple Top Fin 50 gallon aquariums and they're well constructed. The glass is 3/8ths thick, sealed with black silicone and they look fantastic. Unfortunately I don't care for the footprint. It's 48x12x20". I looked high and low for a 40g breeder size in this style aquarium but they don't make one. They do make one with a thinner glass thickness and regular clear silicone (isn't a deal breaker) that looks very much like the standard issue Aqueon. I found a local dealer who had them available for $50.00e.

Today I called another local shop. I bought a custom made tank from him in the past and wanted to see if he had any 40g available. He has Visio's with a footprint of 36.5x15.5x17.5. The price with a lid brand new is $75.00. I've had Visio's in the past and they were great. Held up well and never leaked. These have always been quality aquariums and everyone that i know personally that has them hasn't had any leak issues. Friend of mine has 3 of them set up as reef tanks and has had them for at least 7-8 years.

Twotankamin mentioned glasscages.com but after looking at the prices for a breeding sized tank it was obvious I couldn't afford them. Theyre beautiful tanks no doubt but just using them for breeding isn't in my budget.

I also looked in my usual online used, get your fix places and didn't see anything that I could duplicate in the future so I can kind of standardize my fish room moving forward. So if any of you have any suggestions I'm all ears. If not I'm going to pull the trigger on the Visio's. Seem like reasonable quality at a good price point.

Future tank inhabitants:

 

[Seisage]

Honestly, give a quick glance at FB Marketplace. Some people sell "used" tanks that are basically brand new for very cheap. If you're lucky enough to stumble across a listing from someone who knows their stuff, they'll often show pictures of the tank holding water and tell you how long it's been filled. But it is more work to look through listings and reach out to people, so I understand buying new. Sounds like the Visio's a pretty solid deal.

Something to consider with the Aqueons is that they probably sell vastly more units than other brands. They're the go-to in the US. Anything that sells in massive quantities is going to have quite a few bad reviews, just as a law of large numbers. Also worth noting for products like that, that online reviews, especially directly on the brand's website, select for those who have very strong opinions. It's basically a survey. People only ever answer surveys unless they feel very strongly about the issue, and people are more motivated to fill out a survey when they have negative opinions than when they have positive ones. The Aqueon tanks do have warranties. I want to say for a 40g it's something like 5 years. But, if you find a very similar tank for cheaper, or a better tank for a similar price, then don't bother.

 

[Back in the fold]

I always fill a new aquarium and let it sit for a couple days and check for leaks . Only once since 1965 have I ever had a leaker . I’m skeptical of online reviews that claim leaky faulty aquarium seals . I think they mishandled the aquarium and did it themselves . No shortage of ham handed buffoons around these days . A little tip : I always get those Aqueon glass tops for my aquariums but the last one I went to a glass shop and bought a piece of glass to fit but one inch short in width to allow for feeding , airline tubing and heater cords . Cheaper and looks nicer without the plastic hinge .

 

[Ceez]

Honestly, give a quick glance at FB Marketplace. Some people sell "used" tanks that are basically brand new for very cheap. If you're lucky enough to stumble across a listing from someone who knows their stuff, they'll often show pictures of the tank holding water and tell you how long it's been filled. But it is more work to look through listings and reach out to people, so I understand buying new. Sounds like the Visio's a pretty solid deal.

Something to consider with the Aqueons is that they probably sell vastly more units than other brands. They're the go-to in the US. Anything that sells in massive quantities is going to have quite a few bad reviews, just as a law of large numbers. Also worth noting for products like that, that online reviews, especially directly on the brand's website, select for those who have very strong opinions. It's basically a survey. People only ever answer surveys unless they feel very strongly about the issue, and people are more motivated to fill out a survey when they have negative opinions than when they have positive ones. The Aqueon tanks do have warranties. I want to say for a 40g it's something like 5 years. But, if you find a very similar tank for cheaper, or a better tank for a similar price, then don't bother.

Youre right about the reviews as far as people are more apt to respond when something goes wrong. Petco.com has all the reviews/pics for this 40g breeder and the majority of them were people who's tanks had leaked but very few were satisfied customers. There are probably 100Xs more people who were happily content with the same tank.

I use marketplace and offerup all the time. In my area offerup tends to have more adds locally to me than marketplace. Used to use Craigslist many years ago but it became irrelevant once a lot of these apps started popping up in the age of the smartphone, that and all the fraud attempts.

 

[sharkweek178]

I always fill a new aquarium and let it sit for a couple days and check for leaks . Only once since 1965 have I ever had a leaker . I’m skeptical of online reviews that claim leaky faulty aquarium seals . I think they mishandled the aquarium and did it themselves . No shortage of ham handed buffoons around these days . A little tip : I always get those Aqueon glass tops for my aquariums but the last one I went to a glass shop and bought a piece of glass to fit but one inch short in width to allow for feeding , airline tubing and heater cords . Cheaper and looks nicer without the plastic hinge .

Here's the thing about online reviews. People are much more likely to complain about a negative experience than to report a positive one.

 

[anewbie]

My view on marineland, aqueon and topfin tank is they are all the same; though some of the larger marineland aquariums seem better made. They were always cheaply made but since the pandemic they have been horrible. The glass is thin the silicon is very cheap. When i moved after draining my 29 (which was 3 years old) and removing all the substrate; it fell apart at the seams; the silicon just lost the ability to hold the panels together. I had a custom made 65 and was shocked how much thicker the glass and silicon was on that aquarium but yea it cost a lot more. I sometime see old tanks - esp the really old ones with steal frames and they are well made with quality glass and silicon.
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Doesn't help you much for something critical that you expect to last 10 years I would seriously considered a custom made job or maybe even acrylic aquarium - esp in the smaller size if not too expensive. I don't like acrylic for display aquariums since they scratch and i know sometime the larger aquariums use acrylic that is too thin and they have burst. Also for breeding many of them are a pain since they add wide rims around the top for support. I do have 4 aqueon aquarium in service - 2 20 long (one of the safest models since low pressure per square inch); 40b and 2 29s. And yes i do fret on the 29s (the 40b is in the basement and if it leaks it won't be the end of the day other than the work to replace it).
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Basically i give them an D- these days; having said that reviews will always be tainted towards failures as people who problem complain; so an important data point would be number of complaints vs unit sold. Having said that i would only buy a used aquarium if it were a custom job or one of the really old models that was well made.

 

[Back in the fold]

I have said this before on this Great TFF Forum and I will now go into broken record mode and say it again . Keep a big tube of silicone aquarium sealer in your arsenal for emergencies . Someday you may need it . Learn and know how to seal an aquarium . It really is very simple and every aquarist should have that skill .

 

[Ceez]

I have said this before on this Great TFF Forum and I will now go into broken record mode and say it again . Keep a big tube of silicone aquarium sealer in your arsenal for emergencies . Someday you may need it . Learn and know how to seal an aquarium . It really is very simple and every aquarist should have that skill .

I dont disagree but I shouldn't have to come home from work 6 months from now to find my tank leaked and dead fish either after I bought a new tank. Not gonna lie, I do sometimes worry about my fish while I'm away and whether or not those reviews are false or true it was enough for me to spend a little more and get something I have a little more faith in. No one should have to fix a new tank period. If what was said was true about these people coming home to this scenario that's very unfortunate and Aqueon needs to get their QC process together and stand behind their product or anyone else for that matter.

 

[Colin_T]

large plastic food grade storage containers make great rearing tanks and can be stacked away when not in use.

 

[GaryE]

I lost a few 10 gallon aqueons when I moved - the glass itself cracked in the cold (to be fair, it was -27 and I had a 10 hour drive). Older tanks generally held, although I had a seam leak on one that I easily repaired. So the glass on the tens was pretty bad.
I have half a dozen other aqueons that are over ten years in use. No issues.
We had a local store that only sold no name Chinese brands (the guy had boxes and stickers with his own store brand) and they have stood the test of time. They could well be the same tanks that get American brand stickers on them in the US. I'm not a forensic aquarium buyer...

I have the unfair advantage of a fishroom. It's far less scary than an apartment for taking chances with. That issue you talked about with leaks at the base is real though. It hasn't happened with me, but friends who have taken apart tanks to reseal them (from a number of manufacturers) have noticed skimping on silicone in the joints. It's an extraordinarily short sighted cost saver - silicone is cheap.

 

[anewbie]

I have half a dozen other aqueons that are over ten years in use.

The problem here is the ten years; there has definitely been (imho) a decrease in quality of aqueon/topfin/... aquariums the last 5 years; a couple of years before the pandemic they were dipping but during/after the pandemic i noticed a steep drop both in the quality of materials AND workmanship.

Food grade containers are a good suggestion; the key thing is to make sure they are food grade as some of the other plastics have a high degree of leaching. Even then really high end quality material (polyp is very high on the list) can be expensive (but a *lot less* than custom made aquariums). The one negative is they are not glass. I noticed with my angel-frys when i tried to raise most in a 5 gallon pail they become less calm and every sound/movement really scared them. Not being able to see outside the container seemed to impact them as much as hinder my ability to check on their health. So there is that consideration. I think for fishes like guppies and probably tetra it is less of a concern but i will never try to raise cichild or cichild frys in a container that block their vision (though to be honest not all species are created equal in this regards).

 

[GaryE]

That's a food for thought post, @Newbie. I don't use plastic containers for fish, but the vision thing caught my eye (sorry). Cichlids are extremely visual, with very developed eyes. Hmmm.

A lot of breeders leave a light on in the room when Cichlid pairs are in the early phases of broodcare. I do that. The parents are calmer when they can see. So I guess the fry are too.

I have a couple of garage sale or repaired 10 gallons I only use to raise fry in. If you looked at them, you'd swear some idiot grabbed a silicone caulking gun and slathered sealant on all the seams, especially on the bottom. I dunno who would have done that. I'm like a craftsman...

 

[Ceez]

I have the unfair advantage of a fishroom. It's far less scary than an apartment for taking chances with. That issue you talked about with leaks at the base is real though. It hasn't happened with me, but friends who have taken apart tanks to reseal them (from a number of manufacturers) have noticed skimping on silicone in the joints. It's an extraordinarily short sighted cost saver - silicone is cheap.

If QC and a bit more silicone is gonna cost more to give me a product that I can count on than for heavens sake charge me more!! I'm gonna be as straight forward as I can be right now, if I had guppies in a tank that cost me $20 and the tank leaked and they all died I wouldn't be nearly as upset as having $4k worth of fish in that same tank. My child might not see it the same way and be devastated "BoBo" the guppy was now a raisin. That's assuming I got the tank home in a careful manner and held up my end of the bargain as well. Heck, some manufacturers might as well just sell all the glass, plastic parts and a tube of silicone in a kit at this point than I'd only have myself to blame and I could live with that.

The term "they just don't make them like they used to" seems applicable here