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How would you rate tank quality - I have been told that Oceanic tanks are the best but have received differing opinions on whether Perfecto tanks are better/worse than All Glass - opinions/thought welcome - thanks

As far as I know, Oceanic is about as good as it gets... AGA after that...everything else below that

I can't speak about Oceanic, because I have never bought one. Although, this time around and about 10 years ago when I was into the hobby and had about 5 tanks, I have always bought new AGA's and never had a problem...ever.

my 2 cents

Working in the biz, I know a little bit about the brands. Oceanic is basically the best. They use thicker glass, and have better silicone work. They are, however, owned by All Glass. All glass tanks are great too. They use good sized glass, and their silicone work can be a little sloppy, but never seen a problem. Perfecto tanks are fine too. They use a little more than the minimum thickness glass, and their silicone jobs can be sloppy, and when they come out with new tank designs (hex and wave), they can be a little leaky. They generally fix the problem though.

As a compairison, at my store, we have a Perfecto 265, and an Oceanic 270. The oceanic's glass is AT LEAST double the thickness, and it also has an iron frame. However, we have sold MANY perfecto 265's and never really had any issues with them.

In my opinion, all-glass and perfecto are fine for home use. Oceanic is best used in display purposes (Doc's office, dentist, library, etc.).

I'm basically with Racso here. Oceanic tanks are high quality, but are marketed towards being display models. Worth the price if you want something besides a standard rectangular setup, if you ask me. As for them being owned by All-Glass, well, just about all the aquarium supply companies are owned by another. There are two major corporations (can't remember their names, but they are better known through their holdings) which compete with each other and own just about everything else. Tetra, Perfecto, and Marineland (among others) are owned by the same organization. TFH, All-Glass, and others fall into another group.

All-Glass and Perfecto are both pretty decent and worthy purchases. They're the two major tankmakers in the U.S., and possibly in other countries as well. The only problems I have noticed with either company is that (as said above) sometimes silicone can be unevenly distributed, or messily applied. Nothing major.

One important note- both of these aquarium makers offer limited warranties on their tanks, but Perfecto's warranties have a longer duration.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Regardless of brand of the tank. Thicker glass can also be a cheap second grade quality glass. This can be picked by looking at it from the side, if it is a good quality you will see no imperfections in the glass.

There are also many grades of silicone sorry I can not tell the difference here but a glazier can.

Also check if there is a minium of a two year full replacement gurantee and get it in writing.

Look to see how they are constructed if new take a experienced person with you.

Listen to good advice not sales talk.

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Keith

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so, where does glasscages fit into the mix? I've only bought 2 tanks brand new. one was a 29 which was my very first kit and I bought it as part of a kit at wal-mart. the other was my 75 gallon and I'm pretty sure it was a perfecto. I've had absolutely no trouble out of the 75, but the 29 leaked when I first got it. I resealed the 29 and it has been fine since. the rest of my tanks, I have no idea what brands they are but have only had trouble with 1 other tank leaking and it was a second hand 29 gallon I got from a guy in Chicago.

Keith is right that thicker glass doesn't always mean better quality, but I belive Oceanic uses the same quility glass that AGA does. Also, Oceanic also makes a "starfire" or something like that glass which is crystal clear. We have samples in the store, and when looking through the glass lengthwise, with normal glass, it is green, but with this stuff, it is crystal clear!

Greenish tinge usually means recycled glass. Good quality glass can only be made with good clean high quality raw materials. This does not usually apply with cheap imported glass.

Thank you for the back up Racso.

Have a look in [link=My Profile]http://
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Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW