So, malefic and i got a new tank. it's a 150g, 5x2x2'1".
First problem we had - It's ridiculously heavy. I'm talking somewhere around 350 lbs or so. I know tanks are heavy, of course, but this tank has so much extra glass all over it to reinforce the top and the bottom. It is definitely a big difference from a store-bought kind of tank.
Instead of having a solid rim all around the tank, there are gaps in the back of the tank to put HOBs in. This means that if something happens, like the front of the tank gets huge scratch on it somehow, I can never turn the tank around and view it from the other side. This is okay to an extent, except. . . these cut-outs are not wide enough to accomodate an Emperor 400. Which is what i planned on using for this tank. Yes, I know in hindsight that we should have double-checked the measurements and made sure the filters would fit (we bought them a couple months ago) but I had assumed that the tank openings would be compatible with such a common filter brand.
Also, we got the tank because the price of the tank was good. We wanted it. But then, we added a stand. . . and the glass tops. . . and a delivery charge. . . and the truck rental to go get it. . .and furniture dollies to move it into the house (and the bottle of fake champagne to celebrate getting it into the house without breaking it). After all that, it cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $1160.
Last week we went to PetSupermarket or some such place and saw a Perfecto 220 with stand and tops for $1173.

First problem we had - It's ridiculously heavy. I'm talking somewhere around 350 lbs or so. I know tanks are heavy, of course, but this tank has so much extra glass all over it to reinforce the top and the bottom. It is definitely a big difference from a store-bought kind of tank.
Instead of having a solid rim all around the tank, there are gaps in the back of the tank to put HOBs in. This means that if something happens, like the front of the tank gets huge scratch on it somehow, I can never turn the tank around and view it from the other side. This is okay to an extent, except. . . these cut-outs are not wide enough to accomodate an Emperor 400. Which is what i planned on using for this tank. Yes, I know in hindsight that we should have double-checked the measurements and made sure the filters would fit (we bought them a couple months ago) but I had assumed that the tank openings would be compatible with such a common filter brand.
Also, we got the tank because the price of the tank was good. We wanted it. But then, we added a stand. . . and the glass tops. . . and a delivery charge. . . and the truck rental to go get it. . .and furniture dollies to move it into the house (and the bottle of fake champagne to celebrate getting it into the house without breaking it). After all that, it cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $1160.
Last week we went to PetSupermarket or some such place and saw a Perfecto 220 with stand and tops for $1173.