You can purchase a stock aquarium; there are some great sizes and shapes. But what if you have an irregular sized corner or perhaps you are considering having an in wall aquarium. In these instances you either have to get a smaller aquarium for that corner or design your system around a standard sized aquarium. There is another option. You could have a custom aquarium built exactly to your specifications.
A custom aquarium is more expensive than that of a standard size but that is to be expected. You are paying for a one-off, not a standard size. You wouldn’t bother with a custom tank unless it was large so the extra costs lessen as the tank grows. For example a small 20 gallon custom tank would cost double what a regular 20 gallon tank would but a custom 200 gallon would be slightly more than a stock 200 gallon.
Another aspect of a custom aquarium is that at the time of building you can have extra’s fitted. For example weirs could be fitted, holes drilled in the exact areas you want, inlets and outlets for closed loops etc. My current aquarium was custom built and designed to be tall and deep but not long (46″ * 26″ * 34″). It was designed with the minimum amount of bracing so that the maximum amount of light would enter the aquarium. It also had four large holes drilled for the overflows at the time of build.
Two more examples were custom built the same time as mine. One of these is a cryptic zone tank and the other is the sump. The sump is split into several chambers for various aspects of filtration and nutrient removal. The cryptic zone is designed with overflows and weirs. Of course a bit of do it yourself could have been performed and these could have been built personally, however I have to admit that I am not good with aquarium sealant.
So do not be put off having an aquarium custom built for fear of cost. At least get a quotation prior to deciding. You could end up with the exact aquarium specifications you want rather than having to put-up with a standard size. Lantz Enterprises Inc makes custom aquariums. Their website is www.walltanks.com; www.kooltanks.com.
Blaine Lantz is the founder of Lantz Enterprises Inc ( manufacturer of unique pet supplies ). In specific: wall mounted aquariums, in- wall aquariums and unique cat products including wall mounted cat walks, cat trees and cat perches.
Hobbies include a part-time photography and camera business. Focused on weddings, he is also a passionate event and family photographer.
