8pixel
Community Member
This was my experience last year...
I’d like to take the time to post my experience with CADLights aquariums as a bit of a warning to any who are considering purchasing anything from them. I am not a nasty person so I don’t want to fire off any disparaging words here or name specific names even though I feel incredibly angry and ripped off by the situation and the company. It took me a long time to decide whether or not to post my story on here. What started out great went south very quickly when I received the tank, and each complaint was met with a ridiculous excuse of “handmade craftsmanship†rather than a solution. What I’d like to do is tell you a little bit about me and the first part of my story then just state the facts here in text and photos with minimal comments and you can use the info as you like. I’m sorry in advance that this is long winded.
A Little Background
I joined the hobby a little over a year ago with a Biocube 14 and very quickly felt the “need to upgrade†as I’m sure everyone here has experienced. Wanting to get more “serious†(meaning a larger tank that wasn’t an all-in-one) I waited quite some time and searched as many options as I could in my free time (which is hard to come by). I definitely had a size requirement in mind and did not feel at all comfortable with the plumbing so finding a suitable tank was VERY difficult. I work a very tough schedule and free time is not something I have a lot of so you will see that the set up process is a slow one. Some have told me along the way to return the tank or put a hold on my credit card, etc but I really didn't want or have time for the hassle and getting a replacement made me worried in a "are they going to spit in the food now that I just sent it back to the kitchen with a complaint?" kind of way. The last thing I needed was to come home to a flooded house.I found CADLights in March and their 39G Pro tank was everything I was looking for with very few things I didn’t. This tank was just released as “redesigned†and lucky for me (so to speak) they had a pre-production batch of tanks for a “discounted†price of $1000 that included everything I needed to get up and running including "professional plumbing." After numerous calls which were answered or returned IMMEDIATELY by the owner and some solid reviews online about their company, I was confident that this was THE solution for me. I had to act fast since half were gone by the time I made my decision and I was told that the price would increase once the tanks went in to full production in the summer. After waiting many months for a redesigned Solana solution that didn't live up to expectations, I figured I had waited long enough and this would be a great birthday present to myself.
The Facts:
Mid-March, 90% of calls answered. Voicemails and emails returned within a few hours by the owner who is very nice and answered every question.
March 28 order placed.
April 11 the tank arrives. Packing is poor with tons of scraps of cardboard, Masonite, newspaper and styrofoam. Inside is covered in little styrofoam balls and dust. Aside from the skimmer, there are absolutely no instructions for the plumbing or the stand. No cracks in the tank but I notice that the stand’s top has scratches all over it and the hole for the plumbing was cut out very poorly also, the covering was peeling off on a few of the edges. Also noticed that the black vinyl backing on the tank was also cut very sloppy on the top edge and has gouges in it. I pointed these out in an email and received a reply within a few hours and a new top would be sent to me right away. No instructions are sent and the reason for the sloppy cutting:
“the background is a 100% vinyl material and is applied on by hand then squeegeed on for the adhesive to attach. the holes are grinded down with a diamond cutter so its normal to have some grind marks on the edges, each one is sanded down to assure the safety of the glass panel.â€
April 17, emailed asking for instructions again and tracking number for top. No reply.
April 25, checked out the site to get a spec on something I can’t remember and notice that the price had dropped $150! Emailed right away with no response. No one answers the phone and voicemails unreturned.
April 26, replacement top arrives and has just as many scratches but hole is cut a little cleaner. Decided to live with it since it is under the tank anyway.
April 28, spent the afternoon assembling the stand (without instructions), unpacking the tank, and touching up the uneven black backing of the tank. Find airbubbles on back vinyl and a chip on the front edge of the tank base. Sump is packed in styrofoam but I notice that the foam on the bottom has embedded itself to the silicone under the sump and has to be forcibly removed.
April 29, Write a furious email detailing the issues listed above including the price-drop and poor craftsmanship as well as a threat to post this on their Facebook page if I didn’t hear back.
April 30, Email response:
Really had to decide at this point what I was going to do and all of these things were more frustrating and irritating than anything and I didn't have the time or patience to try and deal with a stop payment or refund/return scenario.
June 5. Email asking about adhesive for plumbing was returned but no longer from the owner. Another email sent regarding a mysterious O-ring I found with no explanation.
June 14. Reply received from yet another person but wrong part referenced. Voicemails left but unreturned.
June 15. Woman actually answers phone, places me on hold and returns to say no one is available. I never gave my name but when she returned to the line, she called me by my name so they know exactly who I was since caller ID would list my full name and name I go by. Told to email a photo which I had done in previous emails.
July 1. Fill tank and notice that the loc-line is leaking at every joint and shooting water out of the side of the spout. Post photo and message right on their Facebook page.
July 2. Facebook exchange:
Email response a few hours later. Note that the email was sent using a reply to the email I sent on June 15 that was unanswered:
the o-ring that you have may have just been an extra one that was in the package. it doesnt look like any rings we typically use and if you cant find anything that it fits onto, it is just an extra part that is not needed to use.
sometimes a completely air and water tight seal on the loc line may not be the best idea. many customers prefer to even drill a small hole on the underside of the Loc line to make a "Vacuum Breaker" so that when the pump or electricity stops, it wont back siphon. the small hole will suck air in and then stop the back siphoning.
As we mentioned before, the dripping of the loc line is completely safe as it goes back into the tank itself. there are no brands of Loc-lines that is designed to be completely water tight like a piece of tube or pipe.
Brought the loc-line to a LFS and they laughed at the fact that I was told that loc-line is supposed to drip. Purchased a replacement that seemed to fit but when I returned home the hole in my overflow was a little smaller than 3/4" so all the pipe must be metric.
Bottom Line
their "craftsmanship" is horrible, they cut all kinds of corners, and customer service even worse. The tank is new, yes, but everything else is not.The plumbing is all incredibly thin Chinese plastic and all metric as I cannot find fittings to replace anything in the tank. The sump is from another model so there are holes in the back that have squares of glass siliconed over them. The stand was made for the previous tank so the hole in the top is enlarged poorly and the shelf is unusable because the skimmer is in the way. I don't see how being "hand made" gives them any excuse for this poor craftsmanship...if anything, you would expect higher quality from it....especially at their prices! If you bought a new car and the paint was uneven or there were dents in it, would it be OK? Of course it doesn't affect the car's performance but would that be acceptable in any way? I have myself to blame for accepting things as they were and letting things go out of control but it would be great if no one else had to go through this.
Don't follow in my stupidity. Be warned.
I’d like to take the time to post my experience with CADLights aquariums as a bit of a warning to any who are considering purchasing anything from them. I am not a nasty person so I don’t want to fire off any disparaging words here or name specific names even though I feel incredibly angry and ripped off by the situation and the company. It took me a long time to decide whether or not to post my story on here. What started out great went south very quickly when I received the tank, and each complaint was met with a ridiculous excuse of “handmade craftsmanship†rather than a solution. What I’d like to do is tell you a little bit about me and the first part of my story then just state the facts here in text and photos with minimal comments and you can use the info as you like. I’m sorry in advance that this is long winded.
A Little Background
I joined the hobby a little over a year ago with a Biocube 14 and very quickly felt the “need to upgrade†as I’m sure everyone here has experienced. Wanting to get more “serious†(meaning a larger tank that wasn’t an all-in-one) I waited quite some time and searched as many options as I could in my free time (which is hard to come by). I definitely had a size requirement in mind and did not feel at all comfortable with the plumbing so finding a suitable tank was VERY difficult. I work a very tough schedule and free time is not something I have a lot of so you will see that the set up process is a slow one. Some have told me along the way to return the tank or put a hold on my credit card, etc but I really didn't want or have time for the hassle and getting a replacement made me worried in a "are they going to spit in the food now that I just sent it back to the kitchen with a complaint?" kind of way. The last thing I needed was to come home to a flooded house.I found CADLights in March and their 39G Pro tank was everything I was looking for with very few things I didn’t. This tank was just released as “redesigned†and lucky for me (so to speak) they had a pre-production batch of tanks for a “discounted†price of $1000 that included everything I needed to get up and running including "professional plumbing." After numerous calls which were answered or returned IMMEDIATELY by the owner and some solid reviews online about their company, I was confident that this was THE solution for me. I had to act fast since half were gone by the time I made my decision and I was told that the price would increase once the tanks went in to full production in the summer. After waiting many months for a redesigned Solana solution that didn't live up to expectations, I figured I had waited long enough and this would be a great birthday present to myself.
The Facts:
Mid-March, 90% of calls answered. Voicemails and emails returned within a few hours by the owner who is very nice and answered every question.
March 28 order placed.
April 11 the tank arrives. Packing is poor with tons of scraps of cardboard, Masonite, newspaper and styrofoam. Inside is covered in little styrofoam balls and dust. Aside from the skimmer, there are absolutely no instructions for the plumbing or the stand. No cracks in the tank but I notice that the stand’s top has scratches all over it and the hole for the plumbing was cut out very poorly also, the covering was peeling off on a few of the edges. Also noticed that the black vinyl backing on the tank was also cut very sloppy on the top edge and has gouges in it. I pointed these out in an email and received a reply within a few hours and a new top would be sent to me right away. No instructions are sent and the reason for the sloppy cutting:
“the background is a 100% vinyl material and is applied on by hand then squeegeed on for the adhesive to attach. the holes are grinded down with a diamond cutter so its normal to have some grind marks on the edges, each one is sanded down to assure the safety of the glass panel.â€
April 17, emailed asking for instructions again and tracking number for top. No reply.
April 25, checked out the site to get a spec on something I can’t remember and notice that the price had dropped $150! Emailed right away with no response. No one answers the phone and voicemails unreturned.
April 26, replacement top arrives and has just as many scratches but hole is cut a little cleaner. Decided to live with it since it is under the tank anyway.
April 28, spent the afternoon assembling the stand (without instructions), unpacking the tank, and touching up the uneven black backing of the tank. Find airbubbles on back vinyl and a chip on the front edge of the tank base. Sump is packed in styrofoam but I notice that the foam on the bottom has embedded itself to the silicone under the sump and has to be forcibly removed.
April 29, Write a furious email detailing the issues listed above including the price-drop and poor craftsmanship as well as a threat to post this on their Facebook page if I didn’t hear back.
April 30, Email response:
Please keep in mind that Everything is hand made and each of these tanks are made individually built as well as curved and bent by hand. they arent mass generically produced with a liquid extruded plastic mold (black plastic trimmed small fish/animal tanks). The vinyl is a adhesive that is applied in the back as a background. They are trimmed and then packed. It's totally ok for it to be uneven. Even-ess doesn't have any relations to the way it works and functions. The entire tank is diamond polished more than 3x to get the edges that way on the bottom. The mark you see there in the picture happened during the polishing process. it can be buffed out but mostly its left alone as it is glass and can get marks during use in the future. Anything that is hand made has a margin of error and isn't expected to be nor can it be 100% perfect. even using the latest computerized glass cutting machines available has a margin of 1/8" and then going through the 3 step glass polishing and glossing stages, fabrication, cleaning, test filling, packing, shipping and unwrapping etc...
Why did u take the foam off the sump? It's supposed to stay there for preventing noise as well as providing cushioning and not scratch the cabinet. HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT IF THERE WAS NO INSTRUCTIONS THAT SAID SO? If u can please put it back on or simply use another foam board if the original one isn't useable. any med. density styrofoam will due.As I explained in the beginning, the top panel of the cabinet is custom cut to fit the new larger plumbing. The area it is cut in is completely a service area and will not be seen and pose no threats in usage.The sale we did was a temporary thing, IT WAS NOT, YOU CAN STILL FIND THAT PRICE ON THEIR SITE and it only applies to complete uncustomized packages (Full packages). If you want I can give you the same package and u just have to pay for the difference for the light plus shipping. We usually don't combine sales this way but for you it's ok. I remember that I actually asked if you wanted the light and I was going to give a discount if you did. HE DID NOT ASK.
Why did u take the foam off the sump? It's supposed to stay there for preventing noise as well as providing cushioning and not scratch the cabinet. HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT IF THERE WAS NO INSTRUCTIONS THAT SAID SO? If u can please put it back on or simply use another foam board if the original one isn't useable. any med. density styrofoam will due.As I explained in the beginning, the top panel of the cabinet is custom cut to fit the new larger plumbing. The area it is cut in is completely a service area and will not be seen and pose no threats in usage.The sale we did was a temporary thing, IT WAS NOT, YOU CAN STILL FIND THAT PRICE ON THEIR SITE and it only applies to complete uncustomized packages (Full packages). If you want I can give you the same package and u just have to pay for the difference for the light plus shipping. We usually don't combine sales this way but for you it's ok. I remember that I actually asked if you wanted the light and I was going to give a discount if you did. HE DID NOT ASK.
Really had to decide at this point what I was going to do and all of these things were more frustrating and irritating than anything and I didn't have the time or patience to try and deal with a stop payment or refund/return scenario.
June 5. Email asking about adhesive for plumbing was returned but no longer from the owner. Another email sent regarding a mysterious O-ring I found with no explanation.
June 14. Reply received from yet another person but wrong part referenced. Voicemails left but unreturned.
June 15. Woman actually answers phone, places me on hold and returns to say no one is available. I never gave my name but when she returned to the line, she called me by my name so they know exactly who I was since caller ID would list my full name and name I go by. Told to email a photo which I had done in previous emails.
July 1. Fill tank and notice that the loc-line is leaking at every joint and shooting water out of the side of the spout. Post photo and message right on their Facebook page.
July 2. Facebook exchange:
Me Since no one answers or returns my calls and emails, I figured this is the only way to reach you. Finally set up the tank and the loc-line has a crack at the spout where water shoots out the side and every joint drips. The fitting where it screws through the overflow in to the 90 degree elbow also drips no matter how much teflon tape I use. There is also a mysterious o-ring the size of a dime in a sealed bag that is not sized to any of the plumbing that is unexplained and I've sent numerous emails and photos for the past month that no one answers.
Cad Lights Aquariums When the links snap on, they should make a water tight seal. It's is safe for the links to drip back into the display as it usually sits inside the water and wouldn't pose any threats. The dime size o-ring should be the size for the loc line male thread that goes into the female adapter in the overflow box. There are usually extra ones that are given with the set up.
Me Water actually sprays out of the side of the spout through a hole or crack. The o-ring I mentioned is not flat like the other o-rings I have on the return pipes or loc-line. This is round like an actual jewelry ring. It doesn't stretch so placing it on the loc line with the other in place creates too much of a gap and the threads won't catch. I'm replacing the loc line as I don't trust it.
Cad Lights Aquariums Loc lines are made to divert water to the direction you like. It does provide a pn adequate amount of water sealing, but isn't supposed to be completely water sealed and hold pressure like a sealed fitting or plumbing. It's best to use them Within the water level itself.
Cad Lights Aquariums When the links snap on, they should make a water tight seal. It's is safe for the links to drip back into the display as it usually sits inside the water and wouldn't pose any threats. The dime size o-ring should be the size for the loc line male thread that goes into the female adapter in the overflow box. There are usually extra ones that are given with the set up.
Me Water actually sprays out of the side of the spout through a hole or crack. The o-ring I mentioned is not flat like the other o-rings I have on the return pipes or loc-line. This is round like an actual jewelry ring. It doesn't stretch so placing it on the loc line with the other in place creates too much of a gap and the threads won't catch. I'm replacing the loc line as I don't trust it.
Cad Lights Aquariums Loc lines are made to divert water to the direction you like. It does provide a pn adequate amount of water sealing, but isn't supposed to be completely water sealed and hold pressure like a sealed fitting or plumbing. It's best to use them Within the water level itself.
Email response a few hours later. Note that the email was sent using a reply to the email I sent on June 15 that was unanswered:
the o-ring that you have may have just been an extra one that was in the package. it doesnt look like any rings we typically use and if you cant find anything that it fits onto, it is just an extra part that is not needed to use.
sometimes a completely air and water tight seal on the loc line may not be the best idea. many customers prefer to even drill a small hole on the underside of the Loc line to make a "Vacuum Breaker" so that when the pump or electricity stops, it wont back siphon. the small hole will suck air in and then stop the back siphoning.
As we mentioned before, the dripping of the loc line is completely safe as it goes back into the tank itself. there are no brands of Loc-lines that is designed to be completely water tight like a piece of tube or pipe.
We removed the post from the facebook page, any questions you have can be sent to us.
Brought the loc-line to a LFS and they laughed at the fact that I was told that loc-line is supposed to drip. Purchased a replacement that seemed to fit but when I returned home the hole in my overflow was a little smaller than 3/4" so all the pipe must be metric.
Bottom Line
their "craftsmanship" is horrible, they cut all kinds of corners, and customer service even worse. The tank is new, yes, but everything else is not.The plumbing is all incredibly thin Chinese plastic and all metric as I cannot find fittings to replace anything in the tank. The sump is from another model so there are holes in the back that have squares of glass siliconed over them. The stand was made for the previous tank so the hole in the top is enlarged poorly and the shelf is unusable because the skimmer is in the way. I don't see how being "hand made" gives them any excuse for this poor craftsmanship...if anything, you would expect higher quality from it....especially at their prices! If you bought a new car and the paint was uneven or there were dents in it, would it be OK? Of course it doesn't affect the car's performance but would that be acceptable in any way? I have myself to blame for accepting things as they were and letting things go out of control but it would be great if no one else had to go through this.
Don't follow in my stupidity. Be warned.
