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

John Starkey

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Joined
8 Jul 2007
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Location
worcester
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 :thumbup: ,as this is just for my own interest,

cheer's,
john.
 
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.
 
Mine's from Aquariums LTD - fantastic company to deal with and excellent quality tanks!
 
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. :D It was originally from the green machine and is gorgeous
 
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. :D 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 :thumbup:

John.
 
john starkey said:
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. :D 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 :thumbup:

John.

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.
 
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.
 
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.
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.

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
 
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.
 
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.

1silicon.jpg



2 is 120x55x45 tank ordered from aquariums.ltd

2silicon.jpg


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.
:thumbup:
 
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 :lol:
I think many people just dont realize what quality could be achieved.
 
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?
 
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.
 
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 :lol:
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.
 
I paid for my 80L 45,- pounds so no quality improvement would justify 5x cost from another provider :)
 
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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