New Tank Delivered Today..Need Help...Cosmetic or Bad seams

[Cabinetman]

I'd say it's one of there first too. I build monster tanks in my shed and they turn out better than that by far. There's no way that bump should've shattered those seams apart. If anything it should've cracked the tank but not on the seam. My last tank was a 560 120x38x29 and I let it fall hard when trying to roll it over alone and it didn't hurt it. I'd be at buddy's door myself.

The tank on the end is a 6ft 125. Once those seams are welded right there's no coming apart. Must have been weak welds

 

[RamsReef]

You are doing a disservice to the reef2reef community by not outing the manufacturer. Please let us know so others will not be scammed. Experts have chimed in and it is apparent that this seller doesn't know what they are doing. That said, it's your choice to out them or not.

Is r2r community going to pay for a new tank in case something said in this thread is used against him? Alex93se how much are you personally going to pay him? He doesn't owe us crap.

good luck Y2KReef

 

[bblumberg]

Not an expert on acrylic but if you ever watched the show tanked they talk about not getting any bubles in there seams

Uh, I would not go there. Those guys built a faulty tank for a Canadian guy on another forum and would not even replace the tank when it failed with a split seam.... Google nineball reef tank if you want to see the entire sad story.

Bruce

 

[nstuber3956]

Uh, I would not go there. Those guys built a faulty tank for a Canadian guy on another forum and would not even replace the tank when it failed with a split seam.... Google nineball reef tank if you want to see the entire sad story.

Bruce

That was a disaster. I still can't believe they wouldn't own up to it. I lost a lot of respect for them when I read that.

 

[kingdog22]

Who in the Hell Inspected the aquarium before shipping? A blind man?

 

[kingdog22]

Un F'n believable!!! I am going to make sure this is taken care of before I decide to out him here

It's not outing him! It's making us fellow reefers aware of someone who does ****** work! They were aware off the problems when the tank was shipped!! They were just hoping you wouldn't say anything.
You should really make us aware of such a place. Because whether they replace it or not I know I would never buy a tank from them!!!!

 

[Lowell Lemon]

Ok, I just got pinged by a couple customers/fans emailing this thread to us to chime in. Rarely do we participate in threads like this, but I've never had one make me so furious.

These pictures make me ANGRY more and more as I look at them. I'm not kidding. DO NOT let them make you another tank. They DO NOT know what they are doing. You will end up with water all over your floor and a much more massive/expensive mess. Shipping damage?! No. The most poor crafstmanship I've ever seen in my life....Yes. The biggest thing perplexing me is I can't see putting the extra several hours worth of work into polishing all those edges while looking at such horrendous work all while thinking this is perfectly fine and that the customer won't have an issue with it. A few bubbles here or there in the seams wouldn't be anything more than cosmetic, but this is just absolutely awful.

The tank is riddled with dry joints (cloudy joints shown at bottom, joint at back that you banged out and got paper through, joint with acrylic shavings in it). In all likelihood, they ran the solvent on straight butt joints with no separation (pins) or dwell time. This will almost always cause problems. Solvent is FINICKY! I have people tell us all the time that we make it look easy when running solvent in seams...yet I have employees working in my shop that have been here a few years and I STILL won't let them run solvent. The prep and setup is critical and when you start running the seams you are on a short clock. There is not much time to stop and fix something. It took me YEARS to get this process down and I still wouldn't call myself perfect by any stretch.

As someone else alluded earlier, acrylic that is properly welded is STRONGER at the seam than the surrounding acrylic. If you weld two small pieces of acrylic together and let properly cure and then try to break the pieces apart, the break will not be clean and will jaggedly run along both connecting surfaces. Improperly bonded seams on the other hand will break clean at the seam. This is what you experienced with the seam in the back which you have paper through.

Sorry for the rant....I'm not one to talk bad about anybody and don't claim I'm perfect by any stretch. But that tank would have never left my shop nor even been completed. The first dry seam on the first panel would have resulted in the pieces being scrapped/pulled apart and starting over.

Yep you nailed it on all counts. Dry seams due to not using pins in the solvent weld. This would have leaked in several places before the seam separated. Also it appears that the tank is built out of .354 or .472 material which is not okay and on the thin side for this type of build. The formula calls for .904 at least. This is clearly a low budget tank and would bow if the seams were done right in the first place. Run...don't walk to another provider. Good luck this is clearly fabrication error not shipping damage.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

He's agreed to a full refund. If he wants the tank he can have it. But he's trying to get the shipping company to pay for the "damage". So I'm going to have to wait for this process. If it goes on much longer I will dispute CC charges.

In a damage situation the freight company fall back is the bill of lading. If you did not note damage on the bill when you signed for the delivery or have someone from the trucking company come and inspect 'hidden damage' you will not get any claim of freight damage. The receiver of the product initiates the damage claim in most cases not the shipper. So do not wait until the truck arrives get the truck company to come inspect the 'damage' and take pictures.

As mentioned by everyone on the thread this is not shipping damage but poor fabrication techniques. The panels are too thin for this type of build anyway.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

@Y2KReef
I think patience is the better part of valor in most cases. You are taking the right approach to the situation and you are showing lots of maturity in a bad circumstance. Wish you well and the person who sold you the tank...may he be free to do the right thing...wishing you the best outcome.

 

[bblumberg]

That was a disaster. I still can't believe they wouldn't own up to it. I lost a lot of respect for them when I read that.

Me, too. I have not watched their show since reading about this.

 

[Hemlawk]

Looks like a Fluval.

 

[JEREMY82]

Man reading all this stuff.seams like someone was being greedy bad workmanship .. this is just one more reason for me to stick with glass tanks. Aryclic are sharp looking tanks,but seems like everytime I read something bout em,bad seams tanks bowing out hazing and blow outs. I would talk to this seller once there are also legal procedures ppl can take,small claims court, sue em. Teach them a lesson just think if u set it up and it it failed all over your floor damage to home loss of stock. I would ask for money back ,is that what u paid for bubbles in seams ?poor craftsmanship?what about the next person that buys from them, take action don't let this happen to someone else. Product had flaws from beginning of build and they continue to build it and ship it out... wouldn't let it slide. I would make everyone aware of the seller, they seen the seams and still shipped it.

 

[cromag27]

Acrylic work is definitely difficult, for someone who is honest at least. we have to deal with poor quality acrylic, 'expired' solvent, using the correct weld technique and shipping. there can be hassles and mistakes, but an honest fabricator will always try and make things right when appropriate.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

Man reading all this stuff.seams like someone was being greedy bad workmanship .. this is just one more reason for me to stick with glass tanks. Aryclic are sharp looking tanks,but seems like everytime I read something bout em,bad seams tanks bowing out hazing and blow outs. I would talk to this seller once there are also legal procedures ppl can take,small claims court, sue em. Teach them a lesson just think if u set it up and it it failed all over your floor damage to home loss of stock. I would ask for money back ,is that what u paid for bubbles in seams ?poor craftsmanship?what about the next person that buys from them, take action don't let this happen to someone else. Product had flaws from beginning of build and they continue to build it and ship it out... wouldn't let it slide. I would make everyone aware of the seller, they seen the seams and still shipped it.

Actually, in my experience, the failure rate in glass tanks far exceeds the failure rate in properly designed acrylic. That is why the worlds public aquariums use...wait for it...CELL CAST ACRYLIC. It is 7-10 times stronger than glass and more impact resistant, optically clearer, thermally more efficient, lighter, and affords for more design flexibility. Glass is great up to a point. In my house a glass tank is no larger than 30 gallons. Anything larger is Cell Cast Acrylic. My insurance company would not underwrite us manufacturing glass tanks but they have no problems with a policy for Cell Cast Acrylic. I have built hundreds and hundreds of tanks with only two failures. In the short time (3-4 years) I was selling large glass tanks (custom and off the shelf built by major manufacturers) I had multiple failures. The customer was left holding the bag by the manufacturers. That is part of the reason I started to fabricate and distribute my own brand.

In small communities like Reef Aquariums you must take care of the customer since word of mouth travels so fast via media. Also we really only have our relationships to trade on in the end. I had a customer tell me one time "I am buying you not the product". In other words he knew his multiple stores could rely on me to support any of the products I sold. He taught me a lot in those few words.

P.S. I almost never use off the shelf solvents. It is much better to mix your own for a more aggressive and stronger bond.

 

[Fishmantim]

Can't believe they would ship something like that had to see the problem before they crated it even if they make it right for you next guy might not be as lucky manufacturer. ..

 

[Sharvey103]

It should not have been shipped if it looks like that. I would give the manufacturer an opportunity to make it right. If he does not or the shipping company does not let the forum know.

 

[Cabinetman]

How'd you make out

 

[Y2KReef]

Talked with CC company again and they credited my account!! And 2 days later tank builder called.....I did not answer.

They swear the tank did not look like that when it left their place. They claim it was caused during shipping. Shipping company came and inspected and declined claim!! Builder said they would appeal but trucking company can take up to 180 days to make final decision. As far as I'm concerned this is between builder and trucking company. So pushed and got my money back!!

 

[d2mini]

Talked with CC company again and they credited my account!! And 2 days later tank builder called.....I did not answer.

They swear the tank did not look like that when it left their place. They claim it was caused during shipping. Shipping company came and inspected and declined claim!! Builder said they would appeal but trucking company can take up to 180 days to make final decision. As far as I'm concerned this is between builder and trucking company. So pushed and got my money back!!

CONGRATS!!!!! Well done.

Now.... who is the builder?

 

[OGFrenchHorn]

Glad it got resolved!