A
Anonymous
Guest
If you’re thinking about ordering a tank from Glass Cages/Twin Oaks Terrariums I’d read this first.
I was looking for a custom tank manufacturer for a new aquarium I am setting up. I did all the research, and found a few companies that would build the tank the way I wanted. I want a 58-gallon (36” x 18” x 21”) with low-iron (starfire/ultraclear) glass on the front and the sides. I knew this would drive up the price a bit, but since I’m doing everything custom for the tank, I figured the added expense was worth it.
I took a trip to see a ‘Glass Cages’ tank. A guy had a 180 built by them with a starfire front. I wanted to see the build quality, and if starfire really made a difference. The answer: Starfire is the way to go. No tint to it at all.
The build quality was okay. I’ve seen a tank from Miracles in Glass that was superb. Glass Cages work was several notches below that. Differences I noticed were, a sloppy silicone job, trim that was falling off, and edges that weren’t polished too well. At the time those little things didn’t bother me too much. I’ve trimmed dried silicone off glass before; I’ve reattached trim to an aquarium, and the edges weren’t sharp enough to cut yourself, so they would do. I wouldn’t pay top dollar for a GC tank, but if it held water that’s all I really needed.
I emailed Glass Cages on March 20th, 2006. I asked them a few questions about the tank. What thickness of glass would be used, can it be eurobraced (a glass frame around the top so I don’t have black plastic dividers across the top,) and how much to drill the holes I needed. They answered all my questions. On May 12th, I emailed them again asking for a quote on the tank, with everything I wanted. I had a quote by the next day. Since the quote they gave me was so reasonable, I decided I could upgrade the design a little more and I incorporated an external overflow into the plan. I drafted up the tank and decided where I needed all the holes to be drilled. There were going to be 7 holes in the back pane.
I sent Glass Cages an email with all the specifications and asked for a final price quote. They sent me back the final quote: $372 for everything I wanted; the tank with the holes drilled in, the extra glass pieces for the external overflow, and delivery of the tank to the July 9th reptile show in White Plains, NY.
On June 2nd, I sent Glass cages my final order- the tank as we has discussed it, and I also included drawings of the tank, and a measured drawing for the holes in the back panel. There were seven holes of varying sizes, and I wanted to make sure the correct sized holes got drilled in the correct place.
That next business day I called and gave them my credit card number to complete the order. They said they’d see me in July.
So the morning of July 9th comes and I was ready to pick up my tank. I don’t have a car, so I had to rent a van to pick it up. Uhaul didn’t have a van, so I was stuck with a 10’ truck. No sweat, it’s the same price. I drove up to White Plains and met the Glass Cages truck outside the reptile show.
I took one look at my tank and knew my day was ruined. The holes were drilled incorrectly. Even though I sent them a measured drawing with hole positions and hole sizes, they made a mistake when they drilled it.
Since I’ve built things incorrectly before, I wasn’t too upset. It’s just a simple mistake that could easily be corrected. I asked them to please rebuild the tank for the next time they were coming to White Plains. It would be September 10th before I would have my new tank. I talked to Tom, the owner of Glass Cages and said that it wasn’t a big deal, as I would have time to order the rest of the supplies to set up the tank and that I’d see him in September.
I returned the truck, paid the $178.41 for the truck, $17.97 for the gas, and went home.
The following week (7/18/2006 11:30 am) I received a phone call from Glass Cages asking to confirm that I still wanted them to build me a tank and I replied that I did.
On August 1st, I called Glass Cages to confirm they were leaving the Eurobracing off the top of the tank as I had requested. I was talking to Tom and we talked about the other tank that was messed up. He said my credit card was refunded. I asked about the tank being built for September and he told me they were building it, and they would indeed leave the eurobracing off the tank. I said I’d see them in September.
September 10th-Day of the Reptile Show in White Plains. My roommate’s car was available, so I didn’t have to rent a truck! I drove up to White Plains, paying the tolls, putting gas in the borrowed car.
When I got there, and asked for my tank, the Glass Cages employees looked at me like I had two heads. They asked for my name, and went to check the paper work. They didn’t build my tank. They didn’t bother to call me and inform me they weren’t building my tank. I waited six weeks for a tank that didn’t happen. I built a stand and canopy for the tank to fit the dimensions given to me by Glass Cages in an email. When I talked to Tom (THE OWNER OF THE COMPANY) in August, he said they WERE building my tank. SO what gives? This company is so disorganized that the employees don’t even bother to build a tank that the OWNER insists is being built?
SO All told, I’m out about $500. Money for the first truck, materials to build my stand, (which I found out won’t fit a normal Oceanic 58 gallon. My stand and canopy are ¼” too narrow for the Oceanic tank. I have to rebuild it if I go with an Oceanic.) Plus I’m not including my time to build the stand, and waiting for a new tank from another vendor.
So to make a long story short, I don’t recommend you order a tank from Glass Cages. They’re an awful company who put out a mediocre product. Spend the few extra bucks and go with another company. I’m pretty sure I’m not the first person who got screwed by Glass Cages. I just hope with this info you won’t get screwed as well.
If anyone doesn’t believe my story, email me at [email protected]. I’ll gladly back up any information I’ve stated.
B
I was looking for a custom tank manufacturer for a new aquarium I am setting up. I did all the research, and found a few companies that would build the tank the way I wanted. I want a 58-gallon (36” x 18” x 21”) with low-iron (starfire/ultraclear) glass on the front and the sides. I knew this would drive up the price a bit, but since I’m doing everything custom for the tank, I figured the added expense was worth it.
I took a trip to see a ‘Glass Cages’ tank. A guy had a 180 built by them with a starfire front. I wanted to see the build quality, and if starfire really made a difference. The answer: Starfire is the way to go. No tint to it at all.
The build quality was okay. I’ve seen a tank from Miracles in Glass that was superb. Glass Cages work was several notches below that. Differences I noticed were, a sloppy silicone job, trim that was falling off, and edges that weren’t polished too well. At the time those little things didn’t bother me too much. I’ve trimmed dried silicone off glass before; I’ve reattached trim to an aquarium, and the edges weren’t sharp enough to cut yourself, so they would do. I wouldn’t pay top dollar for a GC tank, but if it held water that’s all I really needed.
I emailed Glass Cages on March 20th, 2006. I asked them a few questions about the tank. What thickness of glass would be used, can it be eurobraced (a glass frame around the top so I don’t have black plastic dividers across the top,) and how much to drill the holes I needed. They answered all my questions. On May 12th, I emailed them again asking for a quote on the tank, with everything I wanted. I had a quote by the next day. Since the quote they gave me was so reasonable, I decided I could upgrade the design a little more and I incorporated an external overflow into the plan. I drafted up the tank and decided where I needed all the holes to be drilled. There were going to be 7 holes in the back pane.
I sent Glass Cages an email with all the specifications and asked for a final price quote. They sent me back the final quote: $372 for everything I wanted; the tank with the holes drilled in, the extra glass pieces for the external overflow, and delivery of the tank to the July 9th reptile show in White Plains, NY.
On June 2nd, I sent Glass cages my final order- the tank as we has discussed it, and I also included drawings of the tank, and a measured drawing for the holes in the back panel. There were seven holes of varying sizes, and I wanted to make sure the correct sized holes got drilled in the correct place.
That next business day I called and gave them my credit card number to complete the order. They said they’d see me in July.
So the morning of July 9th comes and I was ready to pick up my tank. I don’t have a car, so I had to rent a van to pick it up. Uhaul didn’t have a van, so I was stuck with a 10’ truck. No sweat, it’s the same price. I drove up to White Plains and met the Glass Cages truck outside the reptile show.
I took one look at my tank and knew my day was ruined. The holes were drilled incorrectly. Even though I sent them a measured drawing with hole positions and hole sizes, they made a mistake when they drilled it.
Since I’ve built things incorrectly before, I wasn’t too upset. It’s just a simple mistake that could easily be corrected. I asked them to please rebuild the tank for the next time they were coming to White Plains. It would be September 10th before I would have my new tank. I talked to Tom, the owner of Glass Cages and said that it wasn’t a big deal, as I would have time to order the rest of the supplies to set up the tank and that I’d see him in September.
I returned the truck, paid the $178.41 for the truck, $17.97 for the gas, and went home.
The following week (7/18/2006 11:30 am) I received a phone call from Glass Cages asking to confirm that I still wanted them to build me a tank and I replied that I did.
On August 1st, I called Glass Cages to confirm they were leaving the Eurobracing off the top of the tank as I had requested. I was talking to Tom and we talked about the other tank that was messed up. He said my credit card was refunded. I asked about the tank being built for September and he told me they were building it, and they would indeed leave the eurobracing off the tank. I said I’d see them in September.
September 10th-Day of the Reptile Show in White Plains. My roommate’s car was available, so I didn’t have to rent a truck! I drove up to White Plains, paying the tolls, putting gas in the borrowed car.
When I got there, and asked for my tank, the Glass Cages employees looked at me like I had two heads. They asked for my name, and went to check the paper work. They didn’t build my tank. They didn’t bother to call me and inform me they weren’t building my tank. I waited six weeks for a tank that didn’t happen. I built a stand and canopy for the tank to fit the dimensions given to me by Glass Cages in an email. When I talked to Tom (THE OWNER OF THE COMPANY) in August, he said they WERE building my tank. SO what gives? This company is so disorganized that the employees don’t even bother to build a tank that the OWNER insists is being built?
SO All told, I’m out about $500. Money for the first truck, materials to build my stand, (which I found out won’t fit a normal Oceanic 58 gallon. My stand and canopy are ¼” too narrow for the Oceanic tank. I have to rebuild it if I go with an Oceanic.) Plus I’m not including my time to build the stand, and waiting for a new tank from another vendor.
So to make a long story short, I don’t recommend you order a tank from Glass Cages. They’re an awful company who put out a mediocre product. Spend the few extra bucks and go with another company. I’m pretty sure I’m not the first person who got screwed by Glass Cages. I just hope with this info you won’t get screwed as well.
If anyone doesn’t believe my story, email me at [email protected]. I’ll gladly back up any information I’ve stated.
B
