# Planted Tanks > Beginners' Corner >  Recommendation for a fish tank maker

## cowputer

Hi bro,
I'm planning to start a new 3ft tank after a 'horrendous' failure on a previous 2.5ft tank that I got from a friend. 
Can you please advise me a reputable tank maker for a 3ft tank and what is the price range like? One of my friend recommend me N30, and the price is around 800 for a 3ft tank but I would like to have a second opinion from you guys too.

Many thanks.

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## Urban Aquaria

$800 for a 3ft tank? That seems way too high... you can get a brand new ready-made standard glass 3ft tank (90x45x45) for around $80-$90, or a high clarity low-iron crystal glass version for around $160-$180. Just check at places like Seaview or Rainbow Aquarium.

If you are getting tanks with standard dimensions then it'll be easier (and usually cheaper) to just get from LFS, unless you are looking to get a tank with special or odd dimensions, then no choice have to custom make.

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## Goalkeeper

Other two I heard of is CR and Yong Hua. I had one customised made by CR years ago and they did a good job. Those N30 tanks I saw also very well done. Of course price is steeper. There's also a shop at Lim Chu Kang (inside Fish City) which you can check too. Other option will be to buy second hand from our forum bros who are giving up hobby.

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## ltsai

Check east ocean?

http://www.eastoceansg.com/ans-optic...mm-p-1463.html

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## cowputer

Hi guys,
Thanks for your reply. So sorry that i was not clear enough earlier. Im looking for tank and wooden cabinet and the price quoted above is inclusive of cabinet. Im planning to spend the weekend to look around. I have looked at the second hand market here but most of the time the good ones are sold before i see it haha too fast and furious

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## AQMS

For 800++ with tank and cabinet,that is about right. You need to find out what is the thickness of the glass.
N30 and CR are good tank makers. Usually around that price it will be 322 tank with 10mm glass.
Like UA suggested if you are on a budget get the ready made one from LSF which is cheaper.

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## Urban Aquaria

I see... yeah, a tank + cabinet package would be more in line with the quote you got.

You could check with CR Aquarium too, i got all my cabinets done by them and the workmanship is good.

Maybe you can look at getting quotes for just the custom made cabinet (can specify your own design or go for the ADA-style cabinet design), then get the 3ft tank separately from LFS... that might save you some money.

Check at Seaview and Rainbow Aquarium, they have 3ft tanks avaliable... and do look out for the crystal glass braceless ones (hopefully they still have stock of those, the price and workmanship are surprisingly good).

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## CP

Hi, what about fishy business? Their price seems cheaper. Not sure about their workmanship though... Any bro here got experience?

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## cowputer

I thought Fishy Business only sells premium stuffs? Their stuffs are really nice, especially those display tanks.

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## CP

They do custum make their housebrand tank but not as nice as their ada tanks.

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## cowputer

yeah, let me check with them and share with you guys the costs for further advices  :Smile:

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## ltsai

> or a high clarity low-iron crystal glass version for around $160-$180. Just check at places like Seaview or Rainbow Aquarium.


Half price compared to east ocean for 90x45x45? Such a vast difference?

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## Filet-O-Fish

Hi
You can also try SunPets at 26 Seletar West Farmway 1. I got my 4ft bracless 12mm thick glass with cabinet for $900. The workmanship is spot on and delivered on time. 
Sometime you pay a little more but you get finish and workmanship. Good luck. :-)

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## Urban Aquaria

> Half price compared to east ocean for 90x45x45? Such a vast difference?


Yeah, it was a shipment of high-clarity low-iron glass tanks from Rainbow Aquarium that were retailing at those prices, very good deal. I mentioned it in one of the forum threads a while back and a few chaps here managed to buy them too.

So far, i've only spotted those tanks available at Seaview and Rainbow Aquarium. Not sure if they still have anymore stock left, but its worth checking if you are in the market for those type of tanks.

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## bryan

You can try Elite Tanks.

Gerald Pang 94465883

He has a gallery in Arofanatics, nickname 'Tankmaker'.

He did my 6ft tank. Easygoing guy.

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## cowputer

Actually I'm very keen in getting an ADA style cabinet, but apparently Fishy Business is the only place that I know that sells such cabinet. A 3-feet cabinet is going for about $500 there. Do you guys know any other places that sell ADA-style cabinet too ?
Thanks.

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## Urban Aquaria

> Actually I'm very keen in getting an ADA style cabinet, but apparently Fishy Business is the only place that I know that sells such cabinet. A 3-feet cabinet is going for about $500 there. Do you guys know any other places that sell ADA-style cabinet too ?
> Thanks.


Check with CR Aquarium directly to get a quote, they are the ones who actually custom make the ADA-style cabinets... the other LFS just order from them.  :Smile:

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## cowputer

Just want to share with you guys. I just called CR Aquarium for the quotation. Surprisingly, their tanks are very affordable  :Smile:  They give me a quotaion of 500+ for a 3feet tank + cabinet. The glass is 8mm and comes with 10 years leakage warranty. ADA-style and normal design are at the same price  :Smile:  They have a wide variety of color and customization. I will go down to view the tank this Sat  :Smile: 

Btw, do you think it's worth to upgrade to 10mm glass if I only keep small fishes and plants?

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## Urban Aquaria

Thats a good quote... i guess you opted for normal glass? If so, then 8mm thickness would be sufficient, since they are willing to give warranty on it too. 

One of the reasons why people might choose thicker glass (other than added durability) is to improve insulation, thicker glass helps to reduce heat or cooling loss, so if you use a chiller the tank will be able to stay cooler for longer... but with thicker glass, the clarity may also be reduced slightly and the tank looks abit bulkier and heavier.

10mm thickness glass is usually recommended for 3ft tanks that are made from high-clarity low-iron glass, that type of glass needs the extra thickness for more strength.

Btw, if you are looking at ADA-style cabinet design and want to replicate the cabinet color too, the laminate texture and color that i've found to be closest to it is called "Taurus Grey" (i spent a long time going though their stacks of laminate samples trying to choose the right color too).  :Smile:

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## cowputer

Thanks bro. That's very helpful  :Smile:  I will surely go for that "Taurus Grey" to replicate ADA-style cabinet  :Smile: 
Btw, can I side track a little bit. I'm familiar with CO2 and Filter setup for planted tank but not so in lighting equipment because my previous tank comes with built in light.
Can you advise me:
1. Do you think LED is strong enough for carpet plants e.g. HC, Glosso. In my previous attempt, my 2 T5 tubes failed to delivery enough light to the bottom carpet and as a result, they keep crawling upwards for light.
2. If LED light can do the job, do you have any recommendation on the brand, power and price range for the LED light set up for a 3feet tank.

Thanks a bunch.

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## ltsai

What about N30 cabinets? Made by themselves or CR?

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## Urban Aquaria

> Thanks bro. That's very helpful  I will surely go for that "Taurus Grey" to replicate ADA-style cabinet 
> Btw, can I side track a little bit. I'm familiar with CO2 and Filter setup for planted tank but not so in lighting equipment because my previous tank comes with built in light.
> Can you advise me:
> 1. Do you think LED is strong enough for carpet plants e.g. HC, Glosso. In my previous attempt, my 2 T5 tubes failed to delivery enough light to the bottom carpet and as a result, they keep crawling upwards for light.
> 2. If LED light can do the job, do you have any recommendation on the brand, power and price range for the LED light set up for a 3feet tank.
> 
> Thanks a bunch.


There are many LED lights which are strong enough to effectively grow carpet plants in a 3ft tank... its mainly about choosing the right models which are suitable for the tank height and size, and which produce the optimum spectrums for growing plants.

For a 45cm height 3ft tank, you should look at the LED light sets that use individual 3W LEDs for higher intensity performance at depth, like the Odyssea EVO LED 36" or the Odyssea MHX LED 36". If you have a bigger budget, you could also go for the range of MaxSpect Razor LED lights too.

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## Urban Aquaria

> What about N30 cabinets? Made by themselves or CR?


N30 makes their own cabinets too, they have an in-house carpentry team.

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## cowputer

A friend of mine just got a 2ft MaxSpect Razor for about $600. It is costly but have to admit that the money is well spent  :Smile: . My budget is not there yet so let me take a lot at Odyssea. Do you have any recommendation of the shops that have more variety of lights? I stay near Sea View so I will drop by this weekend too but I think they don't have that many choices. 
Many thanks,

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## Urban Aquaria

You can check at places like East Ocean or SunPets, they have a variety of LED lights in use on their own aquascaped tanks, so you can see the design and light performance of those lights.

For reference, here is a link to various brands and models of LED lights at East Ocean: http://www.eastoceansg.com/led-lamp-...tml?view_all=1

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## Urban Aquaria

Popped by Seaview over lunchtime to get some aquarium supplies... checked out the braceless high-clarity low-iron 3ft crystal glass tanks available:





Yeah, they have stock now retailing at only SGD$145. 

I also confirmed with the staff that the tanks are still eligible for the additional in-store 15% discount on equipment too, so it works out to only SGD$123.25... very nice deal, better grab one soon.  :Grin:

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## cowputer

Hi bro UA, very nice of you to spend the effort taking the pictures and share with us. That is a steal deal  :Smile:  I will drop by to take a look later. 
Btw, will appreciate it very much if you can help illustrating a bit on what is difference between " high-clarity low-iron" and the normal tank? Which one will be more suitable for planted tank?
Thanks a bunch  :Smile:

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## Urban Aquaria

> Btw, will appreciate it very much if you can help illustrating a bit on what is difference between " high-clarity low-iron" and the normal tank? Which one will be more suitable for planted tank?
> Thanks a bunch


Here is a photo showing the difference between normal glass and low-iron/crystal glass (glass shown on top is low-iron, glass shown on bottom is normal glass):



Its quite easy to tell the difference, just look at the edges of the tank's glass against a white background, if you see a deep greenish tint, then that is normal glass... if you see a bluish or clear tint then its low-iron/crystal glass.

Once they are filled with water and placed side-by-side, the difference is even more noticeable, the normal glass tanks will look less clear and the contents will have a noticeable greenish tint, while the low-iron/crystal tanks will look much clearer and the contents will have a more accurate color rendition.

For planted tanks (actually for any tanks for that matter), its always better to get high-clarity low-iron glass tanks, so that all the plants and fishes in the tank can be seen clearly and with accurate colors (not affected by a greenish tint). 

The reason why people don't get those tanks is mainly due to cost, low-iron glass tanks usually cost much more than regular glass tanks... though there are exceptions (like in the case of good/special deals on certain tanks).  :Smile:

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## cowputer

Thanks a lot UA. I will shop around this weekend and share with you guys if I spot any steal deals like this. Have a blast Friday guys.

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## blue33

From the colour of the glass, don't thing is true crystal glass(could be low grade crystal glass, less iron), most time the silicone they use is not so good also. IMO




> Popped by Seaview over lunchtime to get some aquarium supplies... checked out the braceless high-clarity low-iron 3ft crystal glass tanks available:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah, they have stock now retailing at only SGD$145. 
> 
> I also confirmed with the staff that the tanks are still eligible for the additional in-store 15% discount on equipment too, so it works out to only SGD$123.25... very nice deal, better grab one soon.

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## Urban Aquaria

> From the colour of the glass, don't thing is true crystal glass(could be low grade crystal glass, less iron), most time the silicone they use is not so good also. IMO


Its definitely made from high-clarity low-iron glass (i own enough of similar tanks to recognize it... not sure about different grades though), the background and angle that such tanks are viewed at the LFS does influence the visual perception of the glass color, but when comparing with the other normal glass tanks side-by-side, can see a big difference.

Do go and check out these tanks, the silicone workmanship is very neat and clean... even i was surprised at the quality.  :Smile:

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## blue33

Good silicone/crystal glass alone is not cheap. Especially the silicone, it has to withstand the pressure act on it, normal use might be ok, when we do scaping with high slope etc... acting pressure on it. Good quality tank seriously don't come cheap. So far commercial tank like CADE is pretty good but they also don't come cheap, their 2ft cost more than the 3ft tank you shown.

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## Wallus

Coral Reef. Thumbs up for their tank! durable, affordable. I will give them a rating of 10/10

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## Wallus

CR is better trust me. experience tank maker that can gives you an affordable price.

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## Wallus

Coral Reef. Thumbs up for their tank! durable, affordable. I will give them a rating of 10/10

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## Wallus

IMG_0416 - 1.jpgMy 3ft CR tank. Super thick glass, the type of wood they used are those for making ships one, very solid and can touch water  :Smile:

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## cowputer

Nice tank bro. Do u mind sharing how much does it cost for your tank?

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## Wallus

My tank with cabinet is $850  :Smile:  I bought 2 years ago. My is a bit expensive is because, my glass I used 10mm, Glue is black silicon, The interior of my cabinet is I got add extra things (Example: the interior top is totally solid wood no open hole, etc My top cover is customized with hindge, etc and many more  :Smile:  Overall I am very satisfied with my tank. haha!! As it is one and only type of design by me in the market  :Smile:  If I go N30, it will be $1000++

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## Wallus

By the way, my friend. If you want to buy things like stones, air pump, air stone and other aquarium stuffs let me know. In case I have I can sell you. haha!!  :Smile: All Brand New. PM me at [email protected]

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## cowputer

Sure bro. Let me get my tank first then i can see what can i grab from u  :Smile:  thanks

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## mUAr_cHEe

Are 4 feet tank considered 'stock' tanks? Are they readily available?

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## Urban Aquaria

> Are 4 feet tank considered 'stock' tanks? Are they readily available?


4ft tanks are less commonly displayed at most LFS, mainly because they take up alot of space and people need alot of help (and suitable transport) to carry it home. Usually have to arrange for deliver service.

To see actual ready-made 4ft tanks on display, you can check at the larger LFS like Seaview, Rainbow Aquarium, Qian Hu... or just order it through any LFS, or custom make it with the tank makers.

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## Wallus

I am not sure ! I only know that they custom tank maker. Maybe you can email or give them a call  :Smile:

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## skrukawa

Hi, does anyone has Yong Hua Tank maker contact? Seems like his old number no longer in use.

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## Dscheng

Forget about Yong Hua, he never answer phonecall one. Checked with CR and N30, both are high price.
Anyone know what is the price range for 4x2x2 with sump tank setup?

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## Filet-O-Fish

> Forget about Yong Hua, he never answer phonecall one. Checked with CR and N30, both are high price.
> Anyone know what is the price range for 4x2x2 with sump tank setup?


Hi,
why not give a call to Gabriel tel: 9830 1423. He's from AA.
I'm sure he can give competitive prices.
Cheers.

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