pecan2phat
Active member
Doug,
I haven't yet. I have a general idea, that's why I started to buy pieces of the plumbing.
Well, I went to pick up my tank this morning and well, here it goes:
Pull up to two 50 ft tractor trailers in the parking lot of a reptile expo and am the third person waiting to pick up their tank, get to the person in charge and tell them who I am and what tank I ordered, checks his paper work and shouts to two guys on the trailer to load the tank into my SUV, watching these two guys start sliding my tank across the trailer bed floor, gets to the edge of the opening of the side door on the trailer bed and a corner gets clipped on a metal jamb, guy in charge shouts to the guys to stop pushing, they continue to give one more push, hear a slight snapping, guy is now screaming at the laborors, I come over in total awe and check the corner, tiny piece of the tank molding is cracked off, I look at the guy in charge with a *WTF* exspression, guy comes over and inspects the damage, shakes his head and ask me to follow him into the expo to speak to Tom from Glass Cages, follow the guy in, guy tells Tom's wife (Beth) what happened and thinks a small chip on the corner edge occured, Beth tells me she's sorry and that it's just asthetic and no structural integrity was compromised, I slowly start to tell her that this is what I pay an $80 pick up fee for?, tells me that she will send Tom out to inspect, tells me she will compensate me $40 for the damage, as I'm about to start venting-Tom walks back in and states that the glass is not chipped-just the molding, I tell him that either way, I think the glass is chipped and why should I pay him full price for a damaged tank, tells me that tank is not damaged and that I agreed to a contract for the tank to be made, I get steamed and tell him that his service is questionable and if he would pay $10k for a Rolex if it had the slightest scratch in the crystal when he went to pick it up at the jeweler.
Long story short, I took the tank home. I made him at least give me the $40 credit (which IMO is a joke) and also refused to pay for the $40 acrylic back piece because he forgot to drill the piece for the two bulkheads that are on the back glass. He ended up just giving the piece to me and credited me another $40.
I probably should have held firm and refused to take delivery. Even though the tank is most likely sound due to the tiny chip and cracked molding, it's the principle. IMO, why should I pay full retail price for an item that they damaged right in front of my eyes, I would never be able to get a "full retail used price" if I were to sell the tank 6 months down the line due to the chip.
After steaming for a little bit, I convinced myself to get over it and start getting excited again about the whole tank thing again.
After an initial inspection of quality, here's my take:
Silicone is still a bit sloppy, excess silicome bulging out of panel seams.
Drilled holes have a bit of chaffing on the inner edges.
Clean even glass joints but the edges are not beveled like a Inter-American tank that I saw.
Skimped out by using glass with slightly chipped corner on one of the panes of the overflow.
Will not suggest Glass Cages to anyone if they think they are receiving a true custom made tank (quality wise).
If you bought their standard 120g tank with nothing added for $230, then this type of build quality would be acceptable. (but not at $580!)
I need to prep, stain and seal the canopy and stand before I start on the tank. I'll keep you updated if anything gets done ahead of time Doug.
How's your project tank going? Did Aquarium Obsessions finalize your order on the tank yet?
I haven't yet. I have a general idea, that's why I started to buy pieces of the plumbing.
Well, I went to pick up my tank this morning and well, here it goes:
Pull up to two 50 ft tractor trailers in the parking lot of a reptile expo and am the third person waiting to pick up their tank, get to the person in charge and tell them who I am and what tank I ordered, checks his paper work and shouts to two guys on the trailer to load the tank into my SUV, watching these two guys start sliding my tank across the trailer bed floor, gets to the edge of the opening of the side door on the trailer bed and a corner gets clipped on a metal jamb, guy in charge shouts to the guys to stop pushing, they continue to give one more push, hear a slight snapping, guy is now screaming at the laborors, I come over in total awe and check the corner, tiny piece of the tank molding is cracked off, I look at the guy in charge with a *WTF* exspression, guy comes over and inspects the damage, shakes his head and ask me to follow him into the expo to speak to Tom from Glass Cages, follow the guy in, guy tells Tom's wife (Beth) what happened and thinks a small chip on the corner edge occured, Beth tells me she's sorry and that it's just asthetic and no structural integrity was compromised, I slowly start to tell her that this is what I pay an $80 pick up fee for?, tells me that she will send Tom out to inspect, tells me she will compensate me $40 for the damage, as I'm about to start venting-Tom walks back in and states that the glass is not chipped-just the molding, I tell him that either way, I think the glass is chipped and why should I pay him full price for a damaged tank, tells me that tank is not damaged and that I agreed to a contract for the tank to be made, I get steamed and tell him that his service is questionable and if he would pay $10k for a Rolex if it had the slightest scratch in the crystal when he went to pick it up at the jeweler.
Long story short, I took the tank home. I made him at least give me the $40 credit (which IMO is a joke) and also refused to pay for the $40 acrylic back piece because he forgot to drill the piece for the two bulkheads that are on the back glass. He ended up just giving the piece to me and credited me another $40.
I probably should have held firm and refused to take delivery. Even though the tank is most likely sound due to the tiny chip and cracked molding, it's the principle. IMO, why should I pay full retail price for an item that they damaged right in front of my eyes, I would never be able to get a "full retail used price" if I were to sell the tank 6 months down the line due to the chip.
After steaming for a little bit, I convinced myself to get over it and start getting excited again about the whole tank thing again.
After an initial inspection of quality, here's my take:
Silicone is still a bit sloppy, excess silicome bulging out of panel seams.
Drilled holes have a bit of chaffing on the inner edges.
Clean even glass joints but the edges are not beveled like a Inter-American tank that I saw.
Skimped out by using glass with slightly chipped corner on one of the panes of the overflow.
Will not suggest Glass Cages to anyone if they think they are receiving a true custom made tank (quality wise).
If you bought their standard 120g tank with nothing added for $230, then this type of build quality would be acceptable. (but not at $580!)
I need to prep, stain and seal the canopy and stand before I start on the tank. I'll keep you updated if anything gets done ahead of time Doug.
How's your project tank going? Did Aquarium Obsessions finalize your order on the tank yet?
