Advanced Acrylics

[dwebster86]

Seeing I've had multiple ask me where I got my Tank, Sump, ATO now, I'm going to do this review.

John (Owner) at Advanced Acrylics built them, for a damn good price I might add. He had amazing communication the entire time and it only took 2 1/2 weeks from the time I called him till the time it was in my living room.

He let me custom design EVERYTHING about this. And you can see from the pictures, the quality is absolutely AMAZING.

He hand polished the whole thing, got rounded corners, just ridiculously beautiful tank. I'm so in LOVE with it.

I couldn't have asked for anything better. I HIGHLY recommend him and his company. He's had some negative reviews years ago and can't seem to shake them, its not the same company it was 4-5 years ago. Don't let those reviews stop you. He's got great customer service and quality is absolutely top notch!

Couple pics in case noone saw my build thread.

 

[cakemanPA]

Nice stuff....BUT the bad reviews were not all that long ago and I believe that he has not made right on the issues.

 

[Kahuna]

He does very good work. No argument. Getting him to produce it can be hard, based on my experience.

As the title says, "roll the dice". You might get a pair of sevens, or like me, you could get snake eyes. Congratulations on your luck.

Kev

 

[dwebster86]

This is the second time I've had him make something for me, last time was a custom sump for my 90g setup. He did it extremely fast and great quallity as well. Again I highly recommend him!

 

[Kahuna]

It looks very nice. I'm glad that your dealings have turned out OK.

John was recommended by my LFS to me.

He initially was very quick as I said in my post over on vendor experiences. But, he didn't fabricate it according to the CAD provided. He called me and told me about this issue about a week after I sent him the drawings and sent me a picture of the sump. Had it not been so extreme of a mistake, I would have worked out something with him if I could've and taken the sump. But the mistake basically took a 12" return section and made it 4" wide, which was too small.

John apologized for the issue, there were never any harsh words between us, and that he would ship a replacement right away. It was after this that he went into silent mode for months.

Had I not had to go to the local authorities and get them to take up my case, and if my sump would not have arrived broken after being shipped by Jeff over at Reef Dynamics, or if either one of these gentlemen would've even bothered to try fixing the issue after receipt, I would be happy to say great things about John.

I still think his workmanship is super.

He did text me about 18 months-2 years ago, I believe, to say he was shipping the missing pieces, and then about a moth later texted that he was replacing the sump, but nothing ever came of either communication.

The other thing here is that I designed this sump to fit a specific skimmer from Reef Dynamics, and was on-board to make the purchase from Jeff, but his silence nixed that deal as well.

Regardless, your items look very nice and I'm glad things worked out for you.

Best,

Kev

 

[dwebster86]

Yes I've read your thread. I don't believe John is like that anymore and I don't know your situation, but I've had a couple of dealings with him now and it's all been top notch. Customer service and quality. Those problems are in the past and he's really trying to get away from these negative reviews that keep haunting him that happened obviously years ago. He is a great guy that makes great products!

 

[shermanator]

Yes I've read your thread. I don't believe John is like that anymore and I don't know your situation, but I've had a couple of dealings with him now and it's all been top notch. Customer service and quality. Those problems are in the past and he's really trying to get away from these negative reviews that keep haunting him that happened obviously years ago. He is a great guy that makes great products!

Good luck with trying to getting away with ripping people off by claiming he's a changed man. I nearly used him for a big custom project, but after a search at RC there was no way he's ever getting my business.

If he's changed, then he should make it right with those that he screwed over. Fixing it even now would go a long way to show he's different. Otherwise, he can enjoy the continued bad reputation (at least at RC) and losing business that he would have had otherwise.

 

[dwebster86]

Think what you want. This wasn't a thread to bash him as you guys have done. It was to praise him for what he has done for me just this month instead of what went on 3 years ago.

Don't let these people stop you from buying from John. If you noticed on every bad thing said about John it's always the same people bashing him from years ago and won't let it go.

Please stop.

 

[cakemanPA]

Re-read the reviews... not 3 years ago as you claim. John has hosed many people. I think the number of negative reviews here speak volumes about John's business practices. Make things right for those that he has wronged. Now you're talking. Your experience with John will hopefully not cause someone to end up in the same boat as many others on RC have.

 

[GQuinn]

I also had an issue on a non delivered item. Fortunately I got my money back. Glad it worked out for you.

 

[Hooligan]

I also had an issue on a non delivered item. Fortunately I got my money back. Glad it worked out for you.

How recently was this? The reason I ask is I've been considering ordering a frag tank from them since they seem to have exactly what I want at a reasonable price and the quality seems to be good (if it shows up!), but have been holding off because of similar comments.

I guess worst-case is I have to get the credit card company to reverse the charge...

 

[GQuinn]

How recently was this? The reason I ask is I've been considering ordering a frag tank from them since they seem to have exactly what I want at a reasonable price and the quality seems to be good (if it shows up!), but have been holding off because of similar comments.

I guess worst-case is I have to get the credit card company to reverse the charge...

It was appx. two years ago. I had purchased a smaller sump from them off ebay and was very happy with it (it was well made, heavy construction, shipped fast). I decided to get a larger one from them with a built in top off reservoir. I contacted them thru ebay, got a price and paypalled the money. I never heard from them again. I contested the sale with Paypal, they never responded and I eventually got my money back.

 

[Hooligan]

Thanks for the info. If I decide to give them a try, I'l post my experience here.

 

[dwebster86]

I think you will be pleased

 

[kgk]

John has built several things for me, including an AIO 10 gallon (beautiful), a 20 gallon ATO res (beautiful), and my 3'x16"x16" sump (beautiful). I have always been happy, but there were times when these threads & his lack of proactive communication did leave me concerned.

 

[markster33139]

He just did an ATO, and dosing container for me, very professional and top notch work. I even sent him a question on Christmas day, and he replied twice, and the item I was inquiring about was built and shipped out the following day. I would say I got exceptional service, considering that a local guy I contacted with the same request has yet to even respond to my email.

 

[dwebster86]

He just did an ATO, and dosing container for me, very professional and top notch work. I even sent him a question on Christmas day, and he replied twice, and the item I was inquiring about was built and shipped out the following day. I would say I got exceptional service, considering that a local guy I contacted with the same request has yet to even respond to my email.

I agree, glad you got great service!