[golfish]

I'm getting ready to order my next tank. The IA tanks are half the price of the Lee Mars but I've read so many post were people have not gotten what they ordered. I'm just wondering if its worth the savings to get the IA or should I go with the Lee Mar?

[Reefland]

I have no direct experience therefore I am not going to vote in teh poll however from what I gather from all teh people that have ordered from Mitch is if you really spell out what you want and your expectation, 2, maybe 3 times, there shouldn't be a problem. Now since we're the customer, should we really have to go through that? Well, if the cost savings is worth it, then why not?

I would be curious to know what kind of details one would have to supply to Lee Mar in order to get exactly what they wanted, and if the details supplied to them would/should be any different than what you might have to supply to Mitch to get your tank.

I guess your already starting to gather for a new tank then huh?
Scott Z.

[golfish]

Scott,
Without a doubt the Lee Mar is a nicer tank, I'm just not 100% sure it worth the headach ordering from IA. I have everything I need except the tank, stand and custom pendant. If Perry ever gets me the pictures I want I'll be able to decide what lighting I'm going with, or at least have a better idea. I'm leaning towards a 400 watt Ushio and a 400 watt Radium, both ran on the PFO HQI ballast. These bulbs will have to be mounted side by side hence the reason for the custom made pendant, or I may go with the 1000 watt Radium using one of Sunlight Supplies pendants and ballast. The tanks going to be as small as a 36x36 cube and 22" tall or as large as 42x42 at 22" tall...

Hint, hint Perry

[SPS100]

I have gotten two tanks (starfire) from Mitch. Both were above expectations. No problems and both are still up and running 5 years later.
1-265 5 ft x 3 x 30 inches
1-3 ft x 2ft x 28 inches

They were on time as quoted by Mitch and Beautiful.
I know of two others in my neck of the woods who have gotten from mitch. One 800 gallon triple laminate starfire. Took a long time to receive

And then a 10ft tank and there was a problem(scatch)in the laminate and mitch replaced right away..

FWIW

[SPS100]

I gave Mitch by fax a drawing very simple of what I wanted. Then
had a verbal conversation and I got exactly what I wanted.
Obviously the more complex your design including any extras- beveled glass edges ,closed loops, over sized overflows etc-no one is a mind reader (lee Mar, Mitch etc)so they would need more specific plans.

The Price I got from IA was so terrific I took a shot the first time and
was satified so I went back a second. BOTH times price for starfire
and design I wanted was WAAYY below anyones prices either local(which I wanted) or across the country.
NO I DONT GET A COMMISSION FROM IA..Just like their work..Grin

FWIW-IMHO

[Ninong]

Golfish,

It would be nice to be able to see the finished product before accepting/paying for it. That would be worth a lot.

If you can get LeeMar to make exactly what you want and actually get to see it before you accept it, that should be worth something.

They did make a 225-gal custom Starphire tank for BerlinMethod.com (Kris) recently but I have no idea how much it cost. Probably a lot.

They made a custom 300-gal tank for Reef Engineer (Randy) and he had lots of problems with them on that one.

As you know, my I-A Starphire tank had no problems of any kind except for the trucking company delays. Some folks have had problems or one sort or another although Mitch has always bent over backwards to take care of them.

Having dealt with Mitch in the past, I would not hesitate a minute to order anything from him again. If I do order another Starphire tank, it will be from Mitch. If you do order a tank from him, ask him to fax you a detailed drawing with all dimensions, options, material specificiations, etc. He did that with my first tank. Be sure to anticipate areas where communications might break down -- for example, Newkie wanted holes in the perimeter bracing for his SeaSwirls 4" from the side. However, nobody thought to figure in the top frame molding, so the holes are 4" from the side of the glass but the molding is in the way. Also, allow for perimeter bracing to take up a lot of the top space above the corner overflows and take that into consideration in the exact position of the drain holes, especially if you are planning on using bulky Durso standpipes.

If you order from Mitch, put it in writing, then talk about it, then have him put it in writing, then review it, then talk about it again, then have him give you a single price on everything, including prepaid freight. Then you agree to the deal. Then add one to three weeks (or more) to the estimated production/shipping time, depending on the complexity and size of the tank and its custom features. Ground and polished edges are done "outside," lamination of Starphire panes is done "outside," tubular steel stands are done "outside," etc. He has that done by other people for him. The trucking company only wants to pick up crates once or twice a week, depending on how many he has ready to go. Sometimes they sit in Calgary for two or three days and sometimes they sit at the border for another two or three days. So the shipping time is sometimes a week longer than it should be. Also, he is not a big company like Oceanic, so if he gets a lot of large size tank custom orders, things back up a bit. I know Oceanic told me the minimum time for any size custom tank was 6 weeks for production alone -- or more.

One of the nice things about I-A is that you get to dream up anything you want and they will build it, if it is at all possible. Other companies charge a ton for every little custom detail because they are used to cookie cutter production techniques. Every tank I-A makes is custom.

If I were you, I would check out what LeeMar can do for you and then compare that with I-A. Then go from there. I would never have ordered my tank from Canada if I could have gotten it locally, but now that I have done business with them, I will do business with them again. No question about that.