Concerns with new tank

[rnegrette]

@Fusillijenni and I are planning on getting an email out to Waterbox with these photos and concerns, but wanted to get some initial input here since they wouldn't respond over the weekend anyway. Our Marine X 90.3 was delivered this past Wednesday, I built/leveled the cabinet on Thursday, and we were finally able to get some help over this weekend to get the sump and tank in place. We just did a leak test (which was successful), but we noticed some things that are concerning to us. Hopefully they're all non-issues, but wanted to hear your thoughts.

The first (and biggest issue, in my opinion) is a rough silicone job on the front-bottom of the tank:

This is bothersome because it's visible from across the room, and you can see your skin through the glass if you put your finger up against the silicone underneath. Should we be concerned about this from a structural standpoint? Or is it just a cosmetic issue?

Second, there are "ripples" in the self-leveling mat on both sides, at the back-rear of the tank. In addition to this, there is another small gap or bubble in the silicone near the right-rear of the tank, at the bottom:

Are either of these issues concerning?

Finally, when looking top-down at the tank, there are lines underneath the glass. Our assumption is this is likely (hopefully) just glue or a wrinkle in the self-leveling mat, but we want to get others' opinions to ensure these aren't scratches/cracks at the bottom of the tank:

To the left of the "lines" is just leftover water from when we drained the tank after the leak test.

Let us know your thoughts and if you think we need to be especially worried about any of these things. Thanks!

 

[blaxsun]

In reverse order:
3. I think those "lines" in the mat are pretty normal (present on my Red Sea as well).
2. The self-levelling mat looks like crap.
1. Yes, that's a defect - and I'd get them to replace the tank.

 

[rnegrette]

In reverse order:
3. I think those "lines" in the mat are pretty normal (present on my Red Sea as well).
2. The self-levelling mat looks like crap.
1. Yes, that's a defect - and I'd get them to replace the tank.

Thanks for the feedback. I agree the self leveling mat looks awful. I'll have to wait and see if they agree about the front silicone. It's on the part of the tank that hangs off of the stand, so it seems to me like it's a problem.

 

[Lavey29]

You're spending a lot of money on their product. Don't settle for shoddy finishing work. Make them make it right for you.

 

[rnegrette]

You're spending a lot of money on their product. Don't settle for shoddy finishing work. Make them make it right for you.

Agreed, thanks. Going to email them tonight, I'll keep the thread updated on their response.

 

[vetteguy53081]

This is less than acceptable and prime example of poor worksmanship not to mention, most manufacturers do an inspection and place an inspection tag in their tanks.
Take a turkey baster and see if the bubbles squirt away or is in the actual silicone. If the bubbles are not in the silicone, your overall good but for a New tank- This is less than good.
Be sure to send them these photos

 

[rnegrette]

This is less than acceptable and prime example of poor worksmanship not to mention, most manufacturers do an inspection and place an inspection tag in their tanks.
Take a turkey baster and see if the bubbles squirt away or is in the actual silicone. If the bubbles are not in the silicone, your overall good but for a New tank- This is less than good.
Be sure to send them these photos

Thanks for everyone's feedback. @Waterbox Aquariums responded with:

"Waterbox is designed as a "floating" type style aquarium. This is how we have the tank flush with the cabinet doors and also the tank is not making direct contact with cabinet on the seams. As such light has the ability to reflect/refract down glass and to the seams. Glass magnifies everything so even a .5mm (or .00019") imperfection or variance would be magnified to look of something much larger. The seams are completely filled in with silicone and have no issue that would be a concern of integrity of longevity. We 100% stand behind our product and hope this makes a bit more sense to what you are seeing."

We pointed out that the seams are not "completely filled in" with silicone, especially at the front bottom. At the end of the day, they're assuring us that we shouldn't be concerned, so we're going to figure out how to fix this on our own so we can move forward with stocking the tank.

Including one additional photo we ended up sending off to Waterbox along with the others above:

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thanks for everyone's feedback. @Waterbox Aquariums responded with:

"Waterbox is designed as a "floating" type style aquarium. This is how we have the tank flush with the cabinet doors and also the tank is not making direct contact with cabinet on the seams. As such light has the ability to reflect/refract down glass and to the seams. Glass magnifies everything so even a .5mm (or .00019") imperfection or variance would be magnified to look of something much larger. The seams are completely filled in with silicone and have no issue that would be a concern of integrity of longevity. We 100% stand behind our product and hope this makes a bit more sense to what you are seeing."

We pointed out that the seams are not "completely filled in" with silicone, especially at the front bottom. At the end of the day, they're assuring us that we shouldn't be concerned, so we're going to figure out how to fix this on our own so we can move forward with stocking the tank.

Including one additional photo we ended up sending off to Waterbox along with the others above:

You have it from them in writing in case of failure. Enjoy the new tank

 

[Sean Clark]

This surprises me. The problem in the first place along with the manufacturer reply.

 

[ReeferSamster]

I empathize with your concerns. I really do, because I had a similar situation except I found out only 4 days before my warranty expired! Nevermind the tank, some of my reef inhabitants have been with me for over half my life.

Thankfully, the manufacturer Redsea was willing to replace the tank, cabinet and most of the plumbing pipes.

But the concern is, what would have happened if I caught it 4 days later? And I am sure the gap in my silicone was not there the first day. It developed over time. I never spilled water (Redsea Reefers 350 and smaller are MDF cabinets) and an authorized RedSea dealer installed my tank and spent hours levelling and building the cabinet in my house.

I think redsea had bad batches during when I purchased the tank. I can also tell that they were aware of a lot of complaints because they recently emailed me detailing the updates and improvements they made on the silicone and cabinet for my new replacement, due to arrive in a few weeks.

If you have a slight defect, the problem might not manifest itself until years later. What if the problem became apparent after your warranty expires?

Please see here as an FYI for my example and it might help you decide on your next steps:
I really hope everything turns out the best for you.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/b...r-right-front-glass-red-sea-reefer350.891012/

 

[rnegrette]

I empathize with your concerns. I really do, because I had a similar situation except I found out only 4 days before my warranty expired! Nevermind the tank, some of my reef inhabitants have been with me for over half my life.

Thankfully, the manufacturer Redsea was willing to replace the tank, cabinet and most of the plumbing pipes.

But the concern is, what would have happened if I caught it 4 days later? And I am sure the gap in my silicone was not there the first day. It developed over time. I never spilled water (Redsea Reefers 350 and smaller are MDF cabinets) and an authorized RedSea dealer installed my tank and spent hours levelling and building the cabinet in my house.

I think redsea had bad batches during when I purchased the tank. I can also tell that they were aware of a lot of complaints because they recently emailed me detailing the updates and improvements they made on the silicone and cabinet for my new replacement, due to arrive in a few weeks.

If you have a slight defect, the problem might not manifest itself until years later. What if the problem became apparent after your warranty expires?

Please see here as an FYI for my example and it might help you decide on your next steps:
I really hope everything turns out the best for you.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/b...r-right-front-glass-red-sea-reefer350.891012/

Thanks for sharing and, WOW, I'm glad you caught the defect in time. Your post is actually making me re-think my choice of patching the silicone myself. If I do so, we might not notice if the issue on our tank gets worse over time. We might just have to "live with it", as unfortunate as that is. We'll have to keep an eye on it and take measurements over time so, in the event it worsens, we can notify Waterbox while the warranty is still active. I'm going to decline their offer of sending me a tube silicone to patch it on our own.