TwinOaks (glasscages.com) vs. Visionarium?

I was looking at the 20 gallon Visionariums recently. I thought they would be a nice replacement for the regular old 20 gallon long aquariums in my reptile room. Plus I could stack them, something I cant do with regular 20 gallons tanks.

Then, I remembered the Twin Oaks people from the White Plains show, and that they had 20 gallon aquariums with sliding glass fronts. I looked at their site (glasscages.com) and they surely do. What I dont know though, are their tanks stackable? Also, do their cages have a hood of some type, or do you use a regular screen? If you use a regular screen, I am guessing the cages are not stackable then since you would need to put the lights on top of the screen.

The twinoaks cages are 20-30 dollars less then the visionarium. So I am trying to decide if I should go with them or not. If anyone can answer my questions about them, it would help me make up my mind. Thanks!

Okay, well I made a hard decision, I ordered one of each, lol.

LLLreptile has the visionariums on "Super Special" for 59.99, and the twin oaks version is 50 with no shipping charges, since I can pick it up at white plains. So, I will do a comparison of the two once I get them both .

Drop them a line, they do custom work too last time I checked.....

I did talk to them, I called them up to order 1 tank to pick up at the white plains show. They told me they are stackable, but you wont be able to use lights when stacking them unless you build some type of riser top to allow room for a strip light.

What I figure is maybe I will get lucky and I can stack the twinoaks one on top of the Visionairum (since the visionarium has the recess for lighting), lol.

Originally Posted by Goanna

Okay, well I made a hard decision, I ordered one of each, lol.

LLLreptile has the visionariums on "Super Special" for 59.99, and the twin oaks version is 50 with no shipping charges, since I can pick it up at white plains. So, I will do a comparison of the two once I get them both .

I would be very interested in which you like best for holding heat, better visibility,etc. Feel free to email me if you want when you get them both.
I went to the white plains show last year and thought selection was great.
Not going this year tho.

Originally Posted by Fleck

I would be very interested in which you like best for holding heat, better visibility,etc. Feel free to email me if you want when you get them both.
I went to the white plains show last year and thought selection was great.
Not going this year tho.

I plan on posting a comparison once I have both cages. I got the Visionarium on Thursday. It is packaged very well, and I must say the overall design is great. The side vents allow for stacking without losing airflow, while the thicker glass should hold in heat better. However, the undertank heat pad I am using does not seem to transmit heat all that well through the thick plastic cage bottom, so an Incandescent light or some type of heat emitter would probably be the best bet for these cages.

I will post some info on the TwinOaks version a day or two after I get it from WhitePlains, so keep an eye on this thread or subscribe to it if you wish.

Originally Posted by Goanna

I plan on posting a comparison once I have both cages. I got the Visionarium on Thursday. It is packages very well, and I must say the overall design is great. The side vents allow for stacking without losing airflow, while the thicker glass should hold in heat better. However, the undertank heat pad I am using does not seem to transmit heat all that well through the thick plastic cage bottom, so an Incandescent light or some type of heat emitter would probably be the best bet for these cages.

I will post some info on the TwinOaks version a day or two after I get it from WhitePlains, so keep an eye on this thread or subscribe to it if you wish.

Thanks. Does it have a screen top to allow for a ceramic heat emitter or incandescent bulb? I wasnt sure by looking at site.
I understand it has two holes to allow cords to exit cage? Thus allowing placement of heat pad inside cage.
thanks.

The cord holes are on the bottom of the cage. They are for the lights that sit on top of the cage, so the cords for the lights come out the holes on the bottom of the cage stacked above it.

The bottom of the cage is corrogated, so there really isnt anywhere to stick an undertank heater to.

If the cages are not stacked, you can easily sit a 6" dome light and a 20" flourescent fixture in the recessed top of the cage. If you are going to stack them, you can buy an internal light fixture that vision sells that gets attached to the screen in the recess. The screen isnt like normal aquarium screen, its heavy duty, so it can be cut and will support a light fixture with no problem.

Originally Posted by Goanna

The cord holes are on the bottom of the cage. They are for the lights that sit on top of the cage, so the cords for the lights come out the holes on the bottom of the cage stacked above it.

The bottom of the cage is like corrogated, so there really isnt anywhere to stick an undertank heater to.

If the cages are not stacked, you can easily site a 6" dome light and a 20" flourescent fixture in the recessed top of the cage. If you are going to stack them, you can buy an internal light fixture that vision sells the gets attached to the screen in the recess. The screen isnt like normal aquarium screen, its heavy duty, so it can be cut and will support a light fixture with no problem.

Thanks for the info. I wasnt aware that it didnt give the option for a UTH which it really doesnt if bottom is corrogated .I thank I am probably going to go to the show to look at the cages. Nothing like seeing in person.
This cage looked good but without a smooth bottom to stick an UTH I wont get one. I am very anal about stuff like that I want overhead or UTH option.
You sound like other than that you do like it.

yeah, I think its very nice. Although the UTH thing is kind of annoying. Even though it isnt really meant for one, I do have it sitting on one. But the UTH is running on full with no thermostat and it just makes the cage bottom feel slightly warm. So I guess you could use them, but its not going to be the most effecient way.