Cadlights Feedback and Warnings
I'd like to take a few moments to express my complete dissatisfaction towards Cadlights and offer this as a warming to their potential customers.
I will document my history so you have a full picture of what has occurred and, also, you should be aware I was amateur hobbyist at the time, hence, I needed a little extra assistance and had a couple of additional questions.
November 2014
I purchased my Cadlights Artisan 2 mid November after having a great conversation with a phone rep by the name of Jason. Initially, he has very nice and professional. He knew his product very well, was very confident in the quality of their manufacturing, etc. I ended up buying my tank a day after our phone call as an early holiday/birthday gift and was very ecstatic to receive my tank. Jason advised me that he would extend a Black Friday/Cyber Monday deal, which further convinced me to pull the trigger.
After a few days of my payment being processed I called Cadlights to get a status update of where my tank was and again things where going great at this time. I was advised that my tank had a leak (which was later retracted via email by Jason) so there was a longer delay for them to conduct water testing. At this point, I should have known something was not kosher, however, I figured after they had made the repair that I would have a super great tank that was fully tested.
A couple of weeks pass, and still no tank or update, at which my frustration continues to grow. They have several excuses about the delay and assure me it will ship. At this point I suspect that they oversold tanks and are waiting for a shipment of them from China. They had indicated that they build a number of items in-house but they also said they import tanks and were waiting on containers. I am unsure if the Artisan is a cheaper, outsourced line, and they have a higher end in-house line that the Artisan belongs to. So, a few days after this, I receive a phone call from FedEx saying they are headed to my house (he delivers to my business so I know him). I end up going home only to find out that Cadlights has retracted the shipment and it is now headed back to California from Utah. I immediately call Cadlights and they advise me that they had shipped me another customers tank and apologized for this. I continue thinking they are simply incompetent at their job and try to understand how busy they must be during the holidays, etc. It was a very costly mistake for them to ship a tank and recall it.
A couple of days later my tank arrives (I believe December 11th, and I bought around Black Friday); at this point I notice several issues with the tank and stand. I immediately reach out to Cadlights and document all of my issues, some being:
Seams look very bad; I have seen better quality jobs on inexpensive Petsmart tanks.
Missing foam/pad for underneath display tank. Sump has it glued on.
Stand quality subpar to Ikea. Ikea has nicer items than the stand.
The stand has several cracks, which they say is paint.
The bulkhead cutout/trapezoid was a hack job with a cheap jigsaw.
Hinges are off in parts by about 1/4"
Instructions missing for everything. No parts list, etc.
At this point, Cadlights is aware they have dropped the ball in my case, so emails are very responsive, professional, and stick quickly.
They advise me that the cabinet is safe to use, regardless of the paint cracks, doors not lining up, etc. They state that the tank took a few extras days to leak test, but they deny it having a leak. Cadlights indicates that the bad seems are do due with transit and dust, and advise me to use rubbing alcohol to clean. I wipe clean but ignore this, as it seems as though alcohol and glue are not a good combo. They offer a concession of $20 so I can purchase my own rubber mat at a "hobby store" which I do. And at this point they copy and paste instructions on how to assemble the tank, which is pretty crappy considering it does not have images, and remember, this is my first tank and at this point am not very well versed in tank vernacular.
They address my concerns regarding the cut to the bulkheads in the stand and state this: "the trapezoid hole in the cabinet is drilled larger than the tank to allow more access when you are working on the tank. It poses no issue and only needs to have enough space for you to assemble the fittings." Remember this, as I believe it has something to do with my next complaints. I wonder if the drilled portion cracked because of this.
Fast-forward a couple of weeks to a month. The holidays are here and I am traveling/too busy to work on the tank so its just sitting, waterless. Around January 14th I finally have time to add my salt and RODI. Right off the bat, I notice water leaking out of the bulkheads, the return and drain to be exact. The water level is not high enough for the emergency, but I am sure it would have also leaked like a siv.
After exploring this further and chatting with other hobbyist, I determine that Cadlights makes their threaded part on the bulkhead too long, so, the rubber seals are not compressed, creating a seep/leak (they are not normal PVC bulkheads you would get from BRS/MarineDepot). I contact Cadlights, and again am very upset that I was sold something that they knew would leak. The gentleman that assists me advises me they are aware of the leak; he actually suggested I cut part of the threads off so it would stop leaking. After a lot of back and forth, they send me some new bulkheads and new seals. They are fully aware of their faulty bulkheads, yet, do nothing to proactively to fix the situation. You would think they would manually cut all the threads prior to shipping to avoid these issues. I recall the rep saying they bought a circular saw or some tool, just so they could cut bulkheads. I received the new bulkheads and painstaking (the tank is full of water at this point) swap out the bulkheads. I only hand tighten and am advised that this is sufficient and the only thing I should do.
Fast-forward several months and many upgrades. I end up realizing the return pump is crap and that the skimmer is crap as well. You will see this as you read through reviews on Cadlight products. I upgraded both items and the tank continues to run fine at this time. I do not notice anything out of the ordinary besides a small amount of salt creep around the bulkheads. I assume a small amount of participation is doing this but do not see water leaking or event detect any moisture.
Keep fast-forwarding to a couple of weeks ago. I am now a more advanced hobbyist, very familiar with tank keeping and dosing, etc. I no longer consider myself a beginner but am constantly learning and implementing. I decide I want to go bare bottom and really crank up the flow so I can grow SPS. As I begin to remove the sand, over several weeks, I notice a crack originating from the bulkhead leading to a portion of the display tank. I am very grateful I find this as I am emptying the tank. As a precaution I empty the entire tank and move all of my livestock, lights, skimmer, everything but the tank to a temporary housing. I continue to breakdown the tank to see why the crack is there and what damage it did. Luckily, I am able to fully empty the tank without any major and sudden issues. I am honestly unsure if it would have cracked sooner or later, but a crack will eventually go all the way through, causing a major catastrophe.
I immediately contact Cadlights (July 26th) and advise them of the crack. I am replied to several days later stating that I broke the tank with the following response (on July 28th):
"The aquarium's damage in the drain hole area is caused by external physical force applied onto the plumbing causing the glass to crack. Unfortunately we will not be able to warranty the aquarium due to this reason. Our warranty extends to the silicon of a tank, not physical force against the glass."
I immediately advise them and state the tank had been sitting fine for months without any issues and when I go to make it bare-bottom, I find this major problem. I continue to read that others have had issues with the tanks cracking at the bulkheads and advise Cadlights of this (on July 29th):
"Again, I apologize to hear about the crack in your tank, but the crack would have nothing to do with any defects in the materials or manufacturing of our tanks. A crack like that can only be cause by excessive external physical force. I sincerely hope I can help you as best we can."
In the meantime, I move the tank out of the room and notice the carpet is wet beneath the tank, not around or behind, but directly beneath. I immediately pull a portion of the carpet back to see what has happened and notice severe water damage to the sub-flooring. Not only do I have a cracked/broken tank, now I have a room that has water damage. I am in the process of drying the flooring to determine if any structural damage has happened. I suspect the crack leaked slightly on the crack and must have seeped in an area that was not visible to me. The carpet was never wet around the tank and the damage was directly below it.
Back to Cadlights and their responses. I am again advised it was my fault and that I cracked it. They offer a deep discount on a new tank; however, at this point I do not feel that I should have to pay anything for a damaged item, less than 9 months old (on July 29th).
To this point, there is no resolution. I have asked Cadlights the following since they state I broke it with a bulkhead (on August 5th):
I need a torque spec report on how tight I should have tightened the bulkheads.
And documentation of how to install the bulkhead by them and at what tightness.
The issue continues with Cadlights. As of now, August 15th, Cadlights has not responded to my inquiries regarding installation information and torque reports.
At this point, I will continue to purse this and will actively update this post. I have contacted my bank and advise them of a faulty product I have received, am filing a complaint with the BBB along with any other business entity that will document.
You can see images of my damages here:
http://s1368.photobucket.com/user/shaffermarcos/slideshow/Cadlights
My resolution at this point is to have my tank fully replaced without any cost to me. If they are unable to do this, I will ensure my credit card declines the transaction and that Cadlights has to recover their tank at their cost.
I'd like to take a few moments to express my complete dissatisfaction towards Cadlights and offer this as a warming to their potential customers.
I will document my history so you have a full picture of what has occurred and, also, you should be aware I was amateur hobbyist at the time, hence, I needed a little extra assistance and had a couple of additional questions.
November 2014
I purchased my Cadlights Artisan 2 mid November after having a great conversation with a phone rep by the name of Jason. Initially, he has very nice and professional. He knew his product very well, was very confident in the quality of their manufacturing, etc. I ended up buying my tank a day after our phone call as an early holiday/birthday gift and was very ecstatic to receive my tank. Jason advised me that he would extend a Black Friday/Cyber Monday deal, which further convinced me to pull the trigger.
After a few days of my payment being processed I called Cadlights to get a status update of where my tank was and again things where going great at this time. I was advised that my tank had a leak (which was later retracted via email by Jason) so there was a longer delay for them to conduct water testing. At this point, I should have known something was not kosher, however, I figured after they had made the repair that I would have a super great tank that was fully tested.
A couple of weeks pass, and still no tank or update, at which my frustration continues to grow. They have several excuses about the delay and assure me it will ship. At this point I suspect that they oversold tanks and are waiting for a shipment of them from China. They had indicated that they build a number of items in-house but they also said they import tanks and were waiting on containers. I am unsure if the Artisan is a cheaper, outsourced line, and they have a higher end in-house line that the Artisan belongs to. So, a few days after this, I receive a phone call from FedEx saying they are headed to my house (he delivers to my business so I know him). I end up going home only to find out that Cadlights has retracted the shipment and it is now headed back to California from Utah. I immediately call Cadlights and they advise me that they had shipped me another customers tank and apologized for this. I continue thinking they are simply incompetent at their job and try to understand how busy they must be during the holidays, etc. It was a very costly mistake for them to ship a tank and recall it.
A couple of days later my tank arrives (I believe December 11th, and I bought around Black Friday); at this point I notice several issues with the tank and stand. I immediately reach out to Cadlights and document all of my issues, some being:
Seams look very bad; I have seen better quality jobs on inexpensive Petsmart tanks.
Missing foam/pad for underneath display tank. Sump has it glued on.
Stand quality subpar to Ikea. Ikea has nicer items than the stand.
The stand has several cracks, which they say is paint.
The bulkhead cutout/trapezoid was a hack job with a cheap jigsaw.
Hinges are off in parts by about 1/4"
Instructions missing for everything. No parts list, etc.
At this point, Cadlights is aware they have dropped the ball in my case, so emails are very responsive, professional, and stick quickly.
They advise me that the cabinet is safe to use, regardless of the paint cracks, doors not lining up, etc. They state that the tank took a few extras days to leak test, but they deny it having a leak. Cadlights indicates that the bad seems are do due with transit and dust, and advise me to use rubbing alcohol to clean. I wipe clean but ignore this, as it seems as though alcohol and glue are not a good combo. They offer a concession of $20 so I can purchase my own rubber mat at a "hobby store" which I do. And at this point they copy and paste instructions on how to assemble the tank, which is pretty crappy considering it does not have images, and remember, this is my first tank and at this point am not very well versed in tank vernacular.
They address my concerns regarding the cut to the bulkheads in the stand and state this: "the trapezoid hole in the cabinet is drilled larger than the tank to allow more access when you are working on the tank. It poses no issue and only needs to have enough space for you to assemble the fittings." Remember this, as I believe it has something to do with my next complaints. I wonder if the drilled portion cracked because of this.
Fast-forward a couple of weeks to a month. The holidays are here and I am traveling/too busy to work on the tank so its just sitting, waterless. Around January 14th I finally have time to add my salt and RODI. Right off the bat, I notice water leaking out of the bulkheads, the return and drain to be exact. The water level is not high enough for the emergency, but I am sure it would have also leaked like a siv.
After exploring this further and chatting with other hobbyist, I determine that Cadlights makes their threaded part on the bulkhead too long, so, the rubber seals are not compressed, creating a seep/leak (they are not normal PVC bulkheads you would get from BRS/MarineDepot). I contact Cadlights, and again am very upset that I was sold something that they knew would leak. The gentleman that assists me advises me they are aware of the leak; he actually suggested I cut part of the threads off so it would stop leaking. After a lot of back and forth, they send me some new bulkheads and new seals. They are fully aware of their faulty bulkheads, yet, do nothing to proactively to fix the situation. You would think they would manually cut all the threads prior to shipping to avoid these issues. I recall the rep saying they bought a circular saw or some tool, just so they could cut bulkheads. I received the new bulkheads and painstaking (the tank is full of water at this point) swap out the bulkheads. I only hand tighten and am advised that this is sufficient and the only thing I should do.
Fast-forward several months and many upgrades. I end up realizing the return pump is crap and that the skimmer is crap as well. You will see this as you read through reviews on Cadlight products. I upgraded both items and the tank continues to run fine at this time. I do not notice anything out of the ordinary besides a small amount of salt creep around the bulkheads. I assume a small amount of participation is doing this but do not see water leaking or event detect any moisture.
Keep fast-forwarding to a couple of weeks ago. I am now a more advanced hobbyist, very familiar with tank keeping and dosing, etc. I no longer consider myself a beginner but am constantly learning and implementing. I decide I want to go bare bottom and really crank up the flow so I can grow SPS. As I begin to remove the sand, over several weeks, I notice a crack originating from the bulkhead leading to a portion of the display tank. I am very grateful I find this as I am emptying the tank. As a precaution I empty the entire tank and move all of my livestock, lights, skimmer, everything but the tank to a temporary housing. I continue to breakdown the tank to see why the crack is there and what damage it did. Luckily, I am able to fully empty the tank without any major and sudden issues. I am honestly unsure if it would have cracked sooner or later, but a crack will eventually go all the way through, causing a major catastrophe.
I immediately contact Cadlights (July 26th) and advise them of the crack. I am replied to several days later stating that I broke the tank with the following response (on July 28th):
"The aquarium's damage in the drain hole area is caused by external physical force applied onto the plumbing causing the glass to crack. Unfortunately we will not be able to warranty the aquarium due to this reason. Our warranty extends to the silicon of a tank, not physical force against the glass."
I immediately advise them and state the tank had been sitting fine for months without any issues and when I go to make it bare-bottom, I find this major problem. I continue to read that others have had issues with the tanks cracking at the bulkheads and advise Cadlights of this (on July 29th):
"Again, I apologize to hear about the crack in your tank, but the crack would have nothing to do with any defects in the materials or manufacturing of our tanks. A crack like that can only be cause by excessive external physical force. I sincerely hope I can help you as best we can."
In the meantime, I move the tank out of the room and notice the carpet is wet beneath the tank, not around or behind, but directly beneath. I immediately pull a portion of the carpet back to see what has happened and notice severe water damage to the sub-flooring. Not only do I have a cracked/broken tank, now I have a room that has water damage. I am in the process of drying the flooring to determine if any structural damage has happened. I suspect the crack leaked slightly on the crack and must have seeped in an area that was not visible to me. The carpet was never wet around the tank and the damage was directly below it.
Back to Cadlights and their responses. I am again advised it was my fault and that I cracked it. They offer a deep discount on a new tank; however, at this point I do not feel that I should have to pay anything for a damaged item, less than 9 months old (on July 29th).
To this point, there is no resolution. I have asked Cadlights the following since they state I broke it with a bulkhead (on August 5th):
I need a torque spec report on how tight I should have tightened the bulkheads.
And documentation of how to install the bulkhead by them and at what tightness.
The issue continues with Cadlights. As of now, August 15th, Cadlights has not responded to my inquiries regarding installation information and torque reports.
At this point, I will continue to purse this and will actively update this post. I have contacted my bank and advise them of a faulty product I have received, am filing a complaint with the BBB along with any other business entity that will document.
You can see images of my damages here:
http://s1368.photobucket.com/user/shaffermarcos/slideshow/Cadlights
My resolution at this point is to have my tank fully replaced without any cost to me. If they are unable to do this, I will ensure my credit card declines the transaction and that Cadlights has to recover their tank at their cost.
