Glasscages.com review
Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2014 10:19 amMy experience with glasscages.com. Started September or October 2013 and ended December 2013. What I ordered from them was a 240 gallon tank and stand with a condo, with delivery. I will use a star rating system 1 - 5, with 1 being the worst and 5 being the best.
Ordering process: 3.5
I have very mixed thoughts about this one. I emailed them only having a vague idea of what I wanted. I wanted a 240 long, stand, and 2 condo's build into the canopy. I talked to Tom, and he said that he could do it. Then a few weeks later the lady called me back and said the we couldn't. Ok, so we changed the order to a 240 long with a few holes cut in the bottom, and regular 4 foot condo, and a stand. After reading and talking here I dumped the holes. The company says "custom" tanks, but I ended up with a standard tank even though I wanted a custom. They came off as short and disinterested. Obviously having never dealt with a tank this large I had many questions and concerns. 2 - 3000 dollars is a huge investment for me, and I was very interested in making sure that my money was spent and right, but they didn't spend the extra time making sure that I was very comfy with my purchase. If you want a standard tank, and know what you need, none of this will matter to you. If that was me, the score would have been 5 stars.
Build Times and Price: 5.0
These are the areas that glasscages.com excells at. The build time for this tank was 2 weeks from order to delivery, the closest local competitor was 3 months, and the longest was 6 months. A huge difference. Next is the price, the final price tag was 2000$. That included the condo, tank, stand, upgraded glass, screen over the condo, and delivery to Indianapolis. I called around as mentioned before and the best price I found was 2500$ just for the tank, if I had kept talking no doubt I would have been at 5 grand at the other places. Can you do this cheaper, yes. If you are looking to buy a new large house for your turtle friend though, I doubt that their prices are beatable for a new aquarium.
Delivery: 4.5
I had my tank delivered. 150$ for delivery of everything. I was very happy with their delivery service, even though doth times the driver was late. The first time due to a wreck, 3 hours late, and the second delivery 1 hour due to traffic. My deliveries were pretty easy for them because they go to Chicago alot and I am on the way. I had a very odd request for them which not only did they honor, but did not charge me for. I had no place to store the tank while the stand was stained. Bad so I asked them if they would deliver everything but the stand in November, and the tank in December. To my surprise they did this for free. The worst part about their delivery for us is that they do not do to your door service on the larger tanks, bummer.
Quality: 4.5
I was elated about how the tank turned out. It looks amazing there is no doubt. The seals all hold water, it is very solid, even the stand which to be honest scarred me to death and still does. 240 gallons of water on my living room floor would make for a bad week I imagine, but this seems unlikely as both the tank and stand are very well built. The stands do not come stained, just plain oak. This was annoying to me even though my wife enjoys painting and staining things, but with them holding the tank for a month, it worked out very well. The tank has a lot of reinforcement bracing on it to support the weight of over 1 ton of water. Using 3/4" glass this sucker is heavy at over 500 pounds and looks and feels like it could take a very good hit without breaking, no I will not be testing this hypothesis.
For a week or so after I filled the tank, excess sealant was found floating in the tank and had to be removed. Not sure if this is normal. Last I come to the condo. It is 5 pieces of acrylic cut to size and glued together with 2 frames. The ladder going into it is very thick acrylic that I wish they had made a few inches longer. It is structurally sound and works well, however it just doesn't look good. I probably should have built my own for the 400$ they charged.
After delivery support: 3
Again with the short disinterested feel. They will answer your questions, but it feels like it annoys them to have to do so.
Overall: 4
If you know what your after and want a quick and good job for realatively cheap, this is a good place for you. The only downside really is the customer service. I can't really say that it is bad customer service because they do answer your questions, and usually very quickly via email. You just will feel as though you are bothering them with what they think are dumb questions. This may be my bias, but I have heard this about them from others. I would however recommend them to everyone who is looking at getting a large tank. The small stuff, stick to Petsmart or wherever.
Live Well
Starscream
Ordering process: 3.5
I have very mixed thoughts about this one. I emailed them only having a vague idea of what I wanted. I wanted a 240 long, stand, and 2 condo's build into the canopy. I talked to Tom, and he said that he could do it. Then a few weeks later the lady called me back and said the we couldn't. Ok, so we changed the order to a 240 long with a few holes cut in the bottom, and regular 4 foot condo, and a stand. After reading and talking here I dumped the holes. The company says "custom" tanks, but I ended up with a standard tank even though I wanted a custom. They came off as short and disinterested. Obviously having never dealt with a tank this large I had many questions and concerns. 2 - 3000 dollars is a huge investment for me, and I was very interested in making sure that my money was spent and right, but they didn't spend the extra time making sure that I was very comfy with my purchase. If you want a standard tank, and know what you need, none of this will matter to you. If that was me, the score would have been 5 stars.
Build Times and Price: 5.0
These are the areas that glasscages.com excells at. The build time for this tank was 2 weeks from order to delivery, the closest local competitor was 3 months, and the longest was 6 months. A huge difference. Next is the price, the final price tag was 2000$. That included the condo, tank, stand, upgraded glass, screen over the condo, and delivery to Indianapolis. I called around as mentioned before and the best price I found was 2500$ just for the tank, if I had kept talking no doubt I would have been at 5 grand at the other places. Can you do this cheaper, yes. If you are looking to buy a new large house for your turtle friend though, I doubt that their prices are beatable for a new aquarium.
Delivery: 4.5
I had my tank delivered. 150$ for delivery of everything. I was very happy with their delivery service, even though doth times the driver was late. The first time due to a wreck, 3 hours late, and the second delivery 1 hour due to traffic. My deliveries were pretty easy for them because they go to Chicago alot and I am on the way. I had a very odd request for them which not only did they honor, but did not charge me for. I had no place to store the tank while the stand was stained. Bad so I asked them if they would deliver everything but the stand in November, and the tank in December. To my surprise they did this for free. The worst part about their delivery for us is that they do not do to your door service on the larger tanks, bummer.
Quality: 4.5
I was elated about how the tank turned out. It looks amazing there is no doubt. The seals all hold water, it is very solid, even the stand which to be honest scarred me to death and still does. 240 gallons of water on my living room floor would make for a bad week I imagine, but this seems unlikely as both the tank and stand are very well built. The stands do not come stained, just plain oak. This was annoying to me even though my wife enjoys painting and staining things, but with them holding the tank for a month, it worked out very well. The tank has a lot of reinforcement bracing on it to support the weight of over 1 ton of water. Using 3/4" glass this sucker is heavy at over 500 pounds and looks and feels like it could take a very good hit without breaking, no I will not be testing this hypothesis.
For a week or so after I filled the tank, excess sealant was found floating in the tank and had to be removed. Not sure if this is normal. Last I come to the condo. It is 5 pieces of acrylic cut to size and glued together with 2 frames. The ladder going into it is very thick acrylic that I wish they had made a few inches longer. It is structurally sound and works well, however it just doesn't look good. I probably should have built my own for the 400$ they charged. After delivery support: 3
Again with the short disinterested feel. They will answer your questions, but it feels like it annoys them to have to do so.
Overall: 4
If you know what your after and want a quick and good job for realatively cheap, this is a good place for you. The only downside really is the customer service. I can't really say that it is bad customer service because they do answer your questions, and usually very quickly via email. You just will feel as though you are bothering them with what they think are dumb questions. This may be my bias, but I have heard this about them from others. I would however recommend them to everyone who is looking at getting a large tank. The small stuff, stick to Petsmart or wherever.
Live Well
Starscream
