Sorry about your Nuvo but glad to hear you are getting a Fusion replacement. I'm a nuvo 16 owner myself, do you know if your Nuvo tank was a GEN1 or GEN2?. Also, did you have a powerhead setup on the side where it cracked?
Are nuvo 16's still cracking?
- Thread starter MarkusV
- Start date
Sorry about your Nuvo but glad to hear you are getting a Fusion replacement. I'm a nuvo 16 owner myself, do you know if your Nuvo tank was a GEN1 or GEN2?. Also, did you have a powerhead setup on the side where it cracked?
Hzuiel
New member
I notice a lot of people focusing pretty heavily on whether or not they are going to replace the tank, and that confuses me because.....who cares. That is like worrying if a company will replace a defective infant car seat after your child was ejected through the windshield.
The glass box itself is usually the cheapest part of a build. Even an expensive pre-made or custom aquarium isn't that expensive in the light of having to clean up the mess and the possibly hundreds or thousands of dollars in collateral damage to electronics, furniture, carpet/flooring, sub flooring, etc. On top of losing beloved pets and who knows how much money worth of livestock. 16 gallons might not seem like a lot of space, but for people who buy large colonies of corals, you could easily have 500-1000 dollars worth of livestock in a 16g. I don't see how them replacing the tank even matters to anyone, it's meaningless. You lose everything, they only have to replace a cheap tank(apparently from china according to another post) with another one out of their warehouse.
I know that no one in this hobby really offers anything better in the way of a damage guarantee, but if they aren't going to offer any more of a guarantee, then they need to at least make the tanks more robust, because failure is not an option for aquariums. The materials used should be able to handle a reasonable amount of punishment. Seams should be able to handle a reasonable margin of error on being level, not everyone is a master carpenter and even if you buy a pre-fab stand from the manufacturer, who is to say the floor if perfectly level? I've seen plenty of off level floors and ceilings. If shipping is an issue they should be packaged better. It is really bad for an aio to fail like this as well. I would expect less failures for amateurs drilling tanks with 5 dollar chinese hole saws, than a finished product that people aren't modifying after the purchase. The fact that someone starts a thread just to ask if this is still a common problem and at least 4 people post having had theirs fail just since the start of the thread is disturbing. I would certainly never buy one of these, and possibly nothing else from that manufacturer.
The glass box itself is usually the cheapest part of a build. Even an expensive pre-made or custom aquarium isn't that expensive in the light of having to clean up the mess and the possibly hundreds or thousands of dollars in collateral damage to electronics, furniture, carpet/flooring, sub flooring, etc. On top of losing beloved pets and who knows how much money worth of livestock. 16 gallons might not seem like a lot of space, but for people who buy large colonies of corals, you could easily have 500-1000 dollars worth of livestock in a 16g. I don't see how them replacing the tank even matters to anyone, it's meaningless. You lose everything, they only have to replace a cheap tank(apparently from china according to another post) with another one out of their warehouse.
I know that no one in this hobby really offers anything better in the way of a damage guarantee, but if they aren't going to offer any more of a guarantee, then they need to at least make the tanks more robust, because failure is not an option for aquariums. The materials used should be able to handle a reasonable amount of punishment. Seams should be able to handle a reasonable margin of error on being level, not everyone is a master carpenter and even if you buy a pre-fab stand from the manufacturer, who is to say the floor if perfectly level? I've seen plenty of off level floors and ceilings. If shipping is an issue they should be packaged better. It is really bad for an aio to fail like this as well. I would expect less failures for amateurs drilling tanks with 5 dollar chinese hole saws, than a finished product that people aren't modifying after the purchase. The fact that someone starts a thread just to ask if this is still a common problem and at least 4 people post having had theirs fail just since the start of the thread is disturbing. I would certainly never buy one of these, and possibly nothing else from that manufacturer.
Very well said. After finding out about all the tank failures (initially only on nuvo 24, but now on nuvo 16 models as well) I started doing some more research to find out if the issue was addressed with the GEN2 versions of these tanks. I am now planning to get a new tank, take down my nuvo 16 and transfer everything over. To me, peace of mind is invaluable, and will not chance losing thousands in collateral damage from a cracked tank.
Between these forums and nano-reef.com's I think I've counted at least 10 failures of nuvo 16s, and that's not even counting the 24s. That is 10 too many failures for a tank that is worth $350 and advertised as best of its class.
BioCubeGuy
New member
I was in the market about a month ago for a nano tank... This one was on the list until I read about all the horror stories. Went with the BioCube instead. Best of luck to the OP.
It sucks so bad .. and waiting 1 month to get replacement was terrible. But, I moved on .. will never do a tank from them again. It went right on floors, huge mess .. loss of livestock, etc. I had to get local folks to buy stuff, meaning I gave lots away for free just to save it. They all crack in the same place. Here is mine 
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It sucks so bad .. and waiting 1 month to get replacement was terrible. But, I moved on .. will never do a tank from them again. It went right on floors, huge mess .. loss of livestock, etc. I had to get local folks to buy stuff, meaning I gave lots away for free just to save it. They all crack in the same place. Here is mine
That's terrible, real sorry to hear.
Have you decided on what tank to get to replace the nuvo 16? Also, just out of curiosity, was your tank a gen1 or gen2? You can check by using the serial number on the tank, I believe the first 4 numbers are day of manufacturing, mine reads 03/14.
Reef Man Dan
New member
I'm so glad I came across this!! I've been looking into grabbing one of these for a couple of weeks now.
BioCubeGuy
New member
So sorry man. I couldn't imagine finding that when I got home. From your pictures, that looks like a huge gash in the glass... that's no crack! I've seen small cracks etc... never seen that happrn! The glass they're using has to be defective. Somthing had to of gone wrong during the manufacturing process.It sucks so bad .. and waiting 1 month to get replacement was terrible. But, I moved on .. will never do a tank from them again. It went right on floors, huge mess .. loss of livestock, etc. I had to get local folks to buy stuff, meaning I gave lots away for free just to save it. They all crack in the same place. Here is mine
IM Nuvo 16 Cracked
IM Nuvo 16 Cracked
Hi Folks, I recently had a Nuvo 16 crack on the curved part of the glass and 16 gallons of water remained on the floor for hours.
when I woke up I heard the pump gasping for water and instantly knew something was wrong.
I managed to save fish and softies, they are being hosted by my LFS PetsPlus
in Fairless hills PA. So I called IM and spoke to a rep who assured me that the manufacturer would replace the tank ASAP. Its been two days so far and I havent heard anything. I wiil keep this forum updated.
IM Nuvo 16 Cracked
Hi Folks, I recently had a Nuvo 16 crack on the curved part of the glass and 16 gallons of water remained on the floor for hours.
when I woke up I heard the pump gasping for water and instantly knew something was wrong.
I managed to save fish and softies, they are being hosted by my LFS PetsPlus
in Fairless hills PA. So I called IM and spoke to a rep who assured me that the manufacturer would replace the tank ASAP. Its been two days so far and I havent heard anything. I wiil keep this forum updated.
ExpensiveHobby
Member
Do you have a receipt for the tank? That's where I'm screwed if mine breaks. Although knock on wood Im going on 2 years + with the MP10 on the side and everything.
To the other guy discussing the Gen 1 vs Gen 2 tanks. Im going to look tonight for the SN# and post it, I'd like to know which Gen mine is.
ExpensiveHobby
Member
Thats pretty good. 1 week turnaround is great. You could keep live stock is a rubbermaid with a power head and heater for a week!
I'm nervous because I bought my Nuvo used from someone with no receipt. Im S-O-L if it breaks
My Nuvo 16 just cracked last night. It was like it just split apart on the side where my mp10 was. Had it for about 2+ years.
Also, I worked at a local shop here in Orlando and NUVO 16's cracking were so common. IM would call us and let us know that a customer was coming by to drop off the tank and we would replace it with one of ours in stock and IM would send us a new one. Also, we had a couple of Nuvo 30 gallons crack as well. As far as I can remember, they all were cracked on the side.
So if anybody knows about this, its definitely IM. They just won't issue a recall or do anything about it.
Also, I worked at a local shop here in Orlando and NUVO 16's cracking were so common. IM would call us and let us know that a customer was coming by to drop off the tank and we would replace it with one of ours in stock and IM would send us a new one. Also, we had a couple of Nuvo 30 gallons crack as well. As far as I can remember, they all were cracked on the side.
So if anybody knows about this, its definitely IM. They just won't issue a recall or do anything about it.
CrushtheTurtle
Member
would you say this is still happening with the gen2 tanks as well?
ruminskirl
New member
My Nuvo 16 developed a leak on the right side near the back of the tank. The silicone seperated between the bottom and side. As you can see in the picture it looks like the glass side was pulling away from the bottom. I purchase the tank from Bulkreefsupply last Feb. 24. I had 5 day left on my warranty. IM sent me a new Fusion 20 within 5 days of my first letter. They were very helpful and only asked for the sn and proof of purchase.
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mcozad829
Premium Member
I have heard that the nuvo 16 being made of 1 bent piece of glass was a flaw because there were not silicone seams to absorb some of the vibration from equipment such as wave makers and it put extra stress on the other seams as well as the glass. I am not sure if there is any hard evidence to back this up but it does make some sense.
For what it's worth, I just purchased a new IM Nuvo 8 and received it today. After filling it up with water, I heard a loud crack and water spilled out everywhere. Apparently brand new tanks can fail for no apparent reason; I had nothing attached to the tank and it was on a level surface! I'm not entirely sure of the picture upload, so I don't know if it will show. In my opinion, to water check a small 8 gallon tank and have it immediately fail is pretty telling of this company's products...
