# ADA vs Mr Aqua rimless tanks



## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that this thread is not going to end well :icon_lol:

I personally think that the ADA glass and construction is unsurpassed. Worth the money of you ask me.


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## Dollface (Sep 30, 2008)

Lludu said:


> Im going to be buying a 7.5 cube (or a 30c) next week. I was just curious on what people felt about them. Im comparing the Mr. Aqua 12 inch cube to the ADA one... any preferences out there? Chances are I will be buying a regular glass one, not a high clarity / low-iron tank... *as due to the small size, I doubt I would reallly see a drastic change in the glass.*
> 
> However I just want to know how people felt about one vs the other. Ive heard many great things about both... so what are your opinions?


Actually, it makes more of a difference in nano's than it does in larger tanks IME. 

IIRC Mr. Aqua is roughly equivalent to the Do!Aqua line, which is perfectly acceptable quality wise. The current Do!Aqua tanks are comparable or even slightly superior in quality vs. older ADA tanks with the thinner/greener glass, because the glass is slightly thicker with the D!A tanks. 

I've never had a Mr. Aqua tank but I've seen them and I'd say in terms of quality, it's Mr. Aqua -> Older ADA -> Current Do!Aqua -> Current ADA. 

Basically it comes down to the fact that a tank is a tank is a tank. Having ADA isn't going to magically make your scape better, or algae free (oh, how I wish), and it's perfectly possible to make mindblowing scapes in a pet store 2.5


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

What do you mean by older ADA tanks? Are you talking about the new ones with the ADA sticker vs the older one?


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## Dollface (Sep 30, 2008)

FlyingHellFish said:


> What do you mean by older ADA tanks? Are you talking about the new ones with the ADA sticker vs the older one?


Some older ADA tanks have thinner/greener glass, they changed over to thicker, low iron content glass a few years ago, not sure when. I have old logo tanks with "new" low iron glass, exact same as the new logo ones. It's a little confusing, I admit.


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## slavecorps (Jul 7, 2009)

I have a 1 yr. old ADA 30c and The quality is excellent and glass clarity is very noticeable compared to regular tanks. The only problem is that they are expensive and if you want to set up another tank in the future you will probably end up spending a lot more because you are not going to want to go back to regular glass.


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## Dollface (Sep 30, 2008)

slavecorps said:


> I have a 1 yr. old ADA 30c and The quality is excellent and glass clarity is very noticeable compared to regular tanks. The only problem is that they are expensive and if you want to set up another tank in the future you will probably end up spending a lot more because *you are not going to want to go back to regular glass.*


It's true. :icon_lol:


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## Couesfanatic (Sep 28, 2009)

The real question is what is the price difference. In a nano tank its usually not much. IMO its worth the extra 20-30 bucks.


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## Dollface (Sep 30, 2008)

Couesfanatic said:


> The real question is what is the price difference. In a nano tank its usually not much. IMO its worth the extra 20-30 bucks.


Mr. Aqua and Do!Aqua are both 50$ for a low iron 30cm cube, ADA is 75$


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## FlyingGiraffes (Jan 30, 2011)

Dollface said:


> Mr. Aqua and Do!Aqua are both 50$ for a low iron 30cm cube, ADA is 75$


I have a 60P and a Mr. Aqua 12" cube right next to each other. Night and day imo. I'm going to be replacing the Mr. Aqua with the ada 30c soon. Should've spent the extra 25 in the first place. Money well spent.


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## GitMoe (Aug 30, 2010)

At that small a size and price difference go for an ADA tank. I really like Mr. Aqua tanks and I get them from one of my suppliers in the 30c size all the time. Build quality is nice and glass is very clear but if you're only buying one small tank no reason to get cheap. If you were looking to get a 60P or something large then the price difference becomes more of a factor...


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## Jaguar (Oct 13, 2011)

The Mr Aqua/Do Aqua tanks are nice if you're on a tight budget, don't get me wrong, but ADA tanks just blow them out of the water. The low iron glass is the biggest point... and the silicone work is literally flawless. Now that I have my 60-P I could never go back to standard glass tanks. Even non-aquarists that come over to my place comment on how nice the tank itself is... and it's empty lol.

Here is another post I made about the exact same topic, with pics



Jaguar said:


> At first, I wondered what all the hype about ADA tanks was... until I got my 60-P. Now I understand. They're really a work of art, the craftsmanship is amazing. I think it was worth every penny I paid for it, everyone that's come over to my house to buy plants/equipment/etc. has oohed and aahed at it. Of course, that's not to say the Mr Aqua wouldn't be nice too, but I've seen a few of them and the silicone work is nowhere near as neat and that combined with the iron glass was the biggest dealbreaker for me.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Lludu (Mar 4, 2012)

Is there any problems with low iron compared with regular glass? I thought I read it being much easier to scratch which causes caution with me buying one. Quality wise if its that much difference between Ada and Mr aqua I'll pick up a 30c regular, if scratching is a non issue I'll pick the high clarity/low iron


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## Dollface (Sep 30, 2008)

I've never heard of low iron being easier to scratch. Just don't drag some diamond tip bits across it and you'll be fine?


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Low-iron glass is definitely easier to scratch than regular tank glass but it is a lot more sturdy and tough than acrylic. That said - the fear of scratches being a nightmare that some people seem to have is a bit misplaced. 

I think the real issue with scratches is that they're just easier to see in low-iron glass and become more of an eyesore than with regular glass.


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## davidwes (Jul 27, 2011)

Dollface said:


> Mr. Aqua and Do!Aqua are both 50$ for a low iron 30cm cube, ADA is 75$


Where do you see those prices?


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## Dollface (Sep 30, 2008)

davidwes said:


> Where do you see those prices?


ADGshop for ADA, google for Mr. Aqua.


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## chris.rivera3 (Apr 15, 2008)

I went through this debate myself years ago and I've come to the conclusion that *if ADA is within your budget then purchase it*. I started off with the standard black rim tanks followed by custom rimless tanks/Mr. Aqua tanks and now am in the ADA stage. I have wasted soooooo much money purchasing the lower end tanks (assuming it is for aesthetics/showroom display). I still have both large and small/nano tanks manufactured by ADA and Mr. Aqua and I'm trying to phase out all the Mr. Aqua tanks. I'm only keeping black rimmed tanks for breeding purposes. From my experience you will waste more time and money every time you upgrade your tank. Decide what your budget can afford you and stick with it. If you are adamant about purchasing an ADA tank then save up more money and wait. Don't purchase a Mr. Aqua now thinking that you will replace it in the near future with an ADA. I highly recommend not taking my route - purchasing lower quality tanks because they are "cheap" when you can afford the nicer tanks. _*Please note this only refers to your main display tank(s).* If you have any questions send me a PM_


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## salmon (Apr 14, 2011)

kinda like comparing apples to oranges, or low vs high tech.....ok not really but having both brands currently set up, the extra little bit for the ada will be worth it imo.

dont get me wrong, mr aquas are great (picked up another since going ada), but the clarity and the seam work on ada glass greatly surpasses them. worth it if your willing to shell out a few extra bucks.


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## Lludu (Mar 4, 2012)

somewhatshocked said:


> Low-iron glass is definitely easier to scratch than regular tank glass but it is a lot more sturdy and tough than acrylic. That said - the fear of scratches being a nightmare that some people seem to have is a bit misplaced.
> 
> I think the real issue with scratches is that they're just easier to see in low-iron glass and become more of an eyesore than with regular glass.



Does everyone else here agree with somewhatshocked? If so, then i'll probably go with the HC ADA tank, however... that is when/if they ever come in stock... ive been looking at the sites for months now and its always "out of stock" I know they are extremely popular... but damn. lol


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## Dollface (Sep 30, 2008)

Contact Frank at ADG with what you want and he can always order it for the next container. Stock isn't much of a problem.


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## frrok (May 22, 2011)

I got an ADA MINI-M last year. I will never buy a cheap, petstore, black plastic rimmed tank. Never.


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## Lludu (Mar 4, 2012)

Yeah black rim is out of question unless for breeding but I do small scale breeding in display tanks anyway lol


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## lbacha (Apr 13, 2011)

I have a mr aqua 18" cube in regular glass and it is great, I'm sure the high clarity glass would be better but I'm fine with the slight green tint, I've seen the ADA cube and it is a little bigger actually 50cm vs 45cm for the mr aqua but the biggest difference is it uses thicker glass than the mr aqua. The seams and construction are very similar. Mainland just came out with a 18" rimless cube and the seams and edges are very sloppy not the nice bevels that Ada and mr aqua have. I'm not sure on smaller tanks but if money was no issue I would get the ADA but for a decent priced high quality tank the Mr aqua is a very nice substitute.


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Google is your friend in this case. 

Seems to me it's just a bunch of unnecessary fears. 

In my experience, while low-iron glass can be easier to scratch, it's not a big deal at all. Scratches are primarily just more visible because the glass is much nicer. If you're paying good money for a tank, though, I bet you'll be taking great care of it and won't be doing things that cause deep scratches in the first place.



Lludu said:


> Does everyone else here agree with somewhatshocked? If so, then i'll probably go with the HC ADA tank, however... that is when/if they ever come in stock... ive been looking at the sites for months now and its always "out of stock" I know they are extremely popular... but damn. lol


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## Lludu (Mar 4, 2012)

somewhatshocked said:


> If you're paying good money for a tank, though, I bet you'll be taking great care of it and won't be doing things that cause deep scratches in the first place.


 
Is your basic magnetic glass/algae cleaner going to cause scratches in the tank like it does to acryllic?


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Nope.

(And you can by acrylic-specific cleaners that don't scratch)


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## lbacha (Apr 13, 2011)

Acrylic is really an issue in saltwater reef tanks where getting coralline algae off an be a complete pain. For freshwater you can clean the tank without scratching it fairly easily and there are a lot less things to scratch it (no coral or live rock to worry about) based on this even if low iron glass was more prone to scratch I wouldnt worry about it on a freshwater planted tank.


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## FlyingGiraffes (Jan 30, 2011)

If you're interested I'll be picking up a 30c this weekend. I have a mr. aqua cube of the same size and I can take comparison photos before I sell it.


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## Lludu (Mar 4, 2012)

FlyingGiraffes said:


> If you're interested I'll be picking up a 30c this weekend. I have a mr. aqua cube of the same size and I can take comparison photos before I sell it.


yeah I would be interested in seeing that, maybe side by side Front shot, then seam comparison and glass/tint differences. Like I said ill be ordering next week some time so that would be excellent.


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## bitFUUL (May 14, 2010)

I got 2 Mr. Aquas about 2 years ago, great tanks! If you're just starting out, they really fit the budget. Now 2 years later, the hobby still has my interest, I'm going high clarity next.


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## FlyingGiraffes (Jan 30, 2011)

Here's the comparison photos I promised.

Excellent packaging on the ADA:










Close up of the corners:










Almost vertical view, notice the clarity on the ADA!










Tanks side by side: 










60P vs mr. aqua, my 60P has even better glass than the 30-C imo. 










There you have it! Pretty obvious to me what my choice would be.


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## Lludu (Mar 4, 2012)

thanks for the showing


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