By "one in the same" do you mean that Oceanic was bought by or is owned by, All Glass? When you examine the two brands, you can see that they are constructed differently
I have a 180 all glass, and its sits on a one inch thick pink styrofoam pad, over the stand. Two years now, no problems. Just my opinion, but on a tank this big, no amount of silcone is going to hold that tank together and keep it from splitting unless the stand is perfectly level. The weight is incredible and will blow any seam if the tank is not perfectly supported. I even reinforced the basement joists with another wall beneath the tank and I'm glad I did.
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I thought boats were expensive!
Dave
We have two Oceanic tanks that are close to 15 years old - they have even been moved a few times in Chicago, then 1100 miles down to Baton Rouge two years ago, and again one mile up the road just one month later - they have never leaked or had any problems. Even the glass still looks good.
Just bought another one too. Plus, their 15 year warranty says something, since most other brands will not back theirs up with so long of a warranty.
I have used both All Glass and Oceanic Aquariums in the past. I am planning a 180 gallon reef and would like to hear opinions about these two tank brands, specifically regarding their Large predrilled “Reef Ready” tanks.
My vote is for Oceanic tanks, IMO/IME much better made than All Glass. I've had 3 of 5 large All Glass tanks split seams on me. Whatever you get if you have the time I'd double seal the bottom of the tank yourself using a ton of extra silicone.
For something of a more 'standard' tank size like the 180, I'd probably opt to save money and go with AGA. Oceanic is a better quality tank and I'd stick with that only if I wanted something larger, or non-standard in size ie a 110 or 150(60x24x24).
jamesw is right about the buying out thing. Just think of Oceanic as the high-end quality division of AGA.
At the LFS I used to work in our owner wouldn't even order AGA unless someone requested it and paid in advance. He would only normally stock Oceanic since the quality is so much better, and his customers would have a lot more problems with AGA.
This confirmed what I probably already knew. I have had great luck with Oceanic tank in general. Can’t say I’ve ever had an All Glass let me down either, but perhaps that’s because I have always been very particular about my aquarium stands. One of the construction details that always scared my about All Glass Tanks was the plastic top center bracing that they used. I would think these would be subject to stretching over time. Or perhaps become brittle with exposure to the heat and UV created by MH lamps. The huge glass center brace that Oceanic uses would be impervious to this. On the down side, It does cut down on light penetration, especially if you don’t keep it clean.
I might point out that even Oceanic’s 15-year warranty only applies if you use one of their stands.
I do hope that the bean counters at All Glass don’t start messing with Oceanic’s quality levels.
Regards,
Scott
[This message has been edited by Scott D Passe (edited 17 February 2000).]