# Just my little survey (for those with opti-white tanks)



## John Starkey (15 May 2011)

Hi all,could all the members with opti-white tanks say where they had them made please,this is just to see who is out there making opti-white tanks at the moment in the uk,

PS: And please don't turn this into a personal attack on any supplier   ,as this is just for my own interest, 

cheer's,
john.


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## Tony Swinney (15 May 2011)

Hi John, my 100cm optiwhite is from Aquariums Ltd and the quality is excellent - well worth the wait.  My nano is an ADA mini M , and the quality is even better with the finest silicon work you'll see, and superb value for money too.

Tony


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## Johno2090 (15 May 2011)

My Tank was made by http://www.poseidons-palace.co.uk/ Great guy!


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## a1Matt (15 May 2011)

got one of the AE nanos off ebay when they were flogging them cheap as 'seconds' a couple of years ago.
Very happy with it.


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## amy4342 (15 May 2011)

Mine's from Aquariums LTD - fantastic company to deal with and excellent quality tanks!


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## howanic (15 May 2011)

I could only ever dream of optiwhite. I had a search saved on fleabay for about three years and when one finally came up recently i grabbed it.    It was originally from the green machine and is gorgeous


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## John Starkey (15 May 2011)

howanic said:
			
		

> I could only ever dream of optiwhite. I had a search saved on fleabay for about three years and when one finally came up recently i grabbed it.    It was originally from the green machine and is gorgeous



Thanks for posting,i would say that the maker was aquariums ltd if it was supplied by TGM,


Thanks to those who have replied so far,keep them coming   

John.


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## Piece-of-fish (15 May 2011)

john starkey said:
			
		

> howanic said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



This is an interesting statement. I have seen Marks tank which he says was made by aquariums ltd and purchased from TGM but the thing is there is no silicon inside the tanks joints, just between the glass whereas my tank purchased directly from aquariums ltd has thick unsightly white silicon joing inside the tank which is about 0.7wide. I called them recently and they confirmed that the joint would be the same again. 
Now would they make tanks for TGM with different joints?
Looking at some other tanks from aquariums ltd i could notice that silicon is there as well.
Same tanks from Poseidon. Thick silicon joint. But these i have only seen in the pictures.
The joint makes a huge difference in appearance and cleaning as well.
Would be great if people could post closeups of silicon work in here.
Will upload mine tomorrow to show what i mean.


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## NeilW (16 May 2011)

2x AE Nanos that were a good cheap entry into opti-white. 1 x ADA Mini S that is just flawless. Thinking of getting a Do!Aqua 25cm cube to replace one of the AE nanos.


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## Tony Swinney (16 May 2011)

Piece-of-fish said:
			
		

> This is an interesting statement. I have seen Marks tank which he says was made by aquariums ltd and purchased from TGM but the thing is there is no silicon inside the tanks joints, just between the glass whereas my tank purchased directly from aquariums ltd has thick unsightly white silicon joing inside the tank which is about 0.7wide. I called them recently and they confirmed that the joint would be the same again.
> Now would they make tanks for TGM with different joints?
> Looking at some other tanks from aquariums ltd i could notice that silicon is there as well.
> Same tanks from Poseidon. Thick silicon joint. But these i have only seen in the pictures.
> ...



Mine was ordered through TGM, and has very little silicon in the corners, just where the edge meets a face - its very neat and tidy.  I believe there is a correlation between the size of the tank / thickness of the glass / and amount of silicon required.

Tony


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## Stu Worrall (16 May 2011)

As Tony says maybe its because of the size of tank that they have to put the exra silicone on although the ADA tanks this size have minimal silicon?  I would be interested to know if theyve changed their build technique.

My 90x45x45cm came direct from AQ ltd (after a time and two attempts) and is perfect with no visible silcone.  Havent got a closeup picture just now but there are some in the journals on my sig.

I also have an ADA Mini M which is just perfect!  If I was after a 60P sized tank I wouldnt even consider a UK made tank when you can currently get an ADA for £150 as the quality is second to none for the price.  For bigger sized tanks it then gets more restrictive as the price climbs so for a 90P I would probably be looking to compare UK and ADA prices.


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## Piece-of-fish (16 May 2011)

This has nothing to do with the tank size unfortunately. 
Here are the pictures of 2 of my tanks silicon.

1 is a 90x45x45 optiwhite tank imported from Europe. That thin white thing is actually a silicon between the glass polished edge and the other panel. The inside of the tank is completely siliconless.







2 is 120x55x45 tank ordered from aquariums.ltd





The rest of the job is up to the standards, dont get me wrong here but when you can have the tank with no silicon inside i dont think you would want that extra thick white frame which attracts algae 

ADA and TGMs optiwhites has the same neat silicon (at least in the past). 
It would be interesting to see the close ups from Poseidons and AE tanks.

There was cheap Raq Aqua tanks in London. There silicon work is in between but they lack the quality on polishing the edges and aligning the glass panels.


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## Stu Worrall (16 May 2011)

ouch, that is a lot of silicon, might be worth starting a new topic on it though so johns doesnt go too OT.  

My AQ tank is the same as your top picture by the way so im not sure why there's so much on your 120cm


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## Piece-of-fish (16 May 2011)

Hehe, dont think its offtopic.
Have you ordered your directly from them and when?
I was happy with it until i saw how it could be   
I think many people just dont realize what quality could be achieved.


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## Stu Worrall (16 May 2011)

Oct 2009 seems to be my first post with it here - http://www.ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=8448


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## Garuf (16 May 2011)

It's worth noting ADA changed their warranty to the shorter 3years from 5 years at the same time they "increased" the quality of the seams on their tanks. I'm guessing this means thinner silicoln means a shorter working life?


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## Radik (16 May 2011)

I have from RAK aqua haven't seen other opti-whites so can't compare but silicon is fine, polishing is fine and panel alignment is also fine.. When I get to you I'll be maybe able to tell if I see yours tanks 

My tank is made by machine and silicon is not flat on edges but as you squeeze silicon tube and move over edges it leaves 2x2mm rounded silicon. It is not distracting as it is made clean.


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## Piece-of-fish (16 May 2011)

I have one tank form them as well Radik. Yes you can compare them when you come. Mine had some minor alignment and polishing issues. You are right on the silicon. Not much but still present. Little rounded silicon sausage   
Worth mentioning as well that aquarium ltd tanks are made with side panels sitting on top of the bottom.
ADA and some other manufacturers, TGM and Rak Aqua included are making the bottom inside the side panels.


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## Radik (16 May 2011)

I paid for my 80L 45,- pounds so no quality improvement would justify 5x cost from another provider


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## Piece-of-fish (16 May 2011)

You got lucky then because other people they charge more.
Why?

Heh i must apologize to John as turned this thread a bit of offtopic.
Forgot that the initial question was just who makes them and not how well.
Anyway the quality comparison in my opinion is also very important topic.


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## viktorlantos (16 May 2011)

ADA gives 3 year warranty to Japanese tank only as i know. So only for Japan (local) customers.
Because of the transportation risk to EU there are only 1 year or no warranty between the importer and ADA Japan.
So whatever happens with the tank the importer need to cover it on its own money.

This was a new thing in the past half year or so, shortly after ADA moved the production to another place.

But there's nothing to do with the quality. ADA put extremely high effort to do the best tanks on the planet with great QC.

They increased the glass thickness in the past year based on the users feedback to provide longer life on the large tanks above 90P. Also the new provider for their tanks just perform really well. They even changed their glasses to a nicer one.

On the silicone work we also produce tanks localy. Imported the German tanks too and seen the ADA ones.
German silicone work is the best in EU. This was the reason why ADA used the manufacturer for their tank before.
This is a bit thicker but super strong. Probably they do this with a machine as so even and perfect everywhere without any bubbles in it. We have an 120x45x45 with 8mm glass in our gallery with 4-4mm bow on both sides and the silicone works without any bubbles. However when we produced the other 120P tank we used 10mm glass for safety reason, but also because i was sure the local manufacturer will not be able to provide the german quality to me.

Old tank makers using internal silicone since the black silicone work. There was not really a request to have the minimal silo around the tank edges. But with the transparent this looks ugly. However above a size still many manufacturer use this for safety reason and for long life. But as we can see on the ADA on German tanks this is possible without that internal stuff too. Maybe they not take the risk.


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## Johno2090 (16 May 2011)

to be quite honest id take the extra silicone and the peace of mind over 200litres of water all over my floor!

And really how many people come and see out tanks, look at the silicone and say...hmm thats shoddy! If the Plants and fish aren't captivating them, then were not doing our jobs right!


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## ghostsword (16 May 2011)

I saw Edie's tank, the one with almost no silicone, and my worry if I had a tank like that wouldn't be how nice it looks but how little silicone is there to hold the tank together. But it does look nice, very nice.

A true dilemma.


.


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## John Starkey (17 May 2011)

Hi Guys,i like the debate but i was just asking where you people got yours from,so can we just stick to that please,but personally i dont mind some silicone showing,i would rather have a safe tank than 120 ltr's of water all over the place,

john.


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## Piece-of-fish (17 May 2011)

How long it lasts is a good point. There is only one way to find out i guess 
Would be interesting to hear professionals view on this.
I have not actually thought about the safety assuming if manufacturer makes them that way it has to be safe.
So to sum up 5 places at the moment?

Aquariums ltd
TGM
Aqua Essentials
Poseidon Palace
Raq Aqua


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## LondonDragon (17 May 2011)

I have two 15l AE Opti-White, I did spend 3 hours in each tank cleaning up the silicone, was happy for the price (one free).


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## sanj (17 May 2011)

ND Aquatics made me an optiwhite 365 litre reef tank. I have since moved away from the dark side. Tank quality great, but the design was standard braced. However I found that the guys were flexible.

Coventry Aquatics since changing glass supplier are now able to offer opti white and braceless tanks. The Godiva range are very popular with reefers.


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## howanic (17 May 2011)

My lfs has an opti-white on display. I think the manager has a friend that makes them to order. All the glass has mitered edges and really neat silicone, which look amazing. Although I have never seen this anywhere else so wonder if this is for a reason.


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## greenink (17 Dec 2013)

Just spoke with aquariums.ltd.uk to order a new 140w*55h*60d optiwhite tank for a new project. This one is going in the wall, so will be braced as it doesn't need to look so pretty. They said they can do either 'minimal' or 'standard' silicone work, and that 'minimal' silicone requires 12mm glass, whereas the 'standard' . Seemed good value to me: about £400 plus £45 delivery to London.

(I've asked them to send a couple of photos of the minimal silicone work before I pay up! Will post these up if people would find useful).

My current 120w*45d*55h braceless optiwhite was a shoddy disappointment. Silicone very visible inside the tank, and panels not level at the top. Was from a supplier that hasn't been mentioned in this thread. Still - taught me to go through the details carefully when ordering the next one!


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