Volcano club

[hahnmeister]

A much larger pump means a much larger neck as well. As it is, these things have just enough to handle the 3900lph from the Alita 40... getting larger, like 6000 or 8000lph would be more like it for that body diameter, but then you would need a larger neck. New pump, new neck, new... Tom doesnt want to tinker, and once all that stuff gets replaced, it might as well be a whole new skimmer. He didnt sign on for that and he's got better things to do.

 

[Charlie's Angel]

As do a lot of us.

 

[tom obrecht]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13323669#post13323669 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mr James
Tom, what about a different pump altogether?? I am contemplating replacing my 4 OR 2700's with a Laguna with a different needle wheel (or pinwheel) or whatever...

I appreciate the info and ideas. How ever like Hahn said I was told that this was a "plug and play" unit by Spazz. I was also told that NO air pump was needed. He said this skimmer was better than my last skimmer. All of these things proved to be incorrect in my case. I do not want to try and redo a skimmer that was suppose to work well from the start. I have lost livestock, time and now more money with an air pump in a piece of equipment that still seems to be below average. At this time I just want out! Since Spazz has not responded to me (or anyone else that I am aware of) I have taken more direct action. Enough is enough.:mad2:

 

[jknecht]

I just want to say I support Tom in his actions. I have an 1850 on order and I have to say that Scott's (spazz) actions are completely unacceptable. I requested a refund of my deposit last week and Scott has yet to respond. I will not pay $3200 for a skimmer that doesn't work as advertised. Scott has promised great things that don't seem to hold true. I know he has a lot of supporters and has a great reputation; that is one of the reasons I bought from him but the lack of customer service and follow through is completely unacceptable. I'm not usually an out spoken person but sometimes we have to speak up to be heard! My rant is over.

 

[Reefaquariumnut]

Well I just would like to chime in here...

I have a 600 gallon aquarium with an 1860 Volcano skimmer on it with an Alita 40 that is not giving any air to the skimmer (er, i have it unplugged). My tank has been only running for a month and I have around 20 fish in the tank. I have nice foam production that absolutely stinks. I can attest first hand scott's lack of timely communication when you need an answer, but you have to realize he runs a one man show. Now I am not advocating how he runs his business, but i can tell you if he tried to talk to everyone, post on threads, have a family life, and build skimmers it would be a 26 hour day. He needs another person to answer his customer questions because he needs to do what he does best which is building skimmers. Everytime he has talked to me its been an hour conversation and I am sure that was an hour not on someones skimmer. Now think of his answering 10 of those calls/day!! he doesn't have a customer service center like most of the big skimmer makers. He is the only person in that shop. Its a tough gig and you just have to look at things in his shoes. All businesses go through growing pains...And remember the January TOTM has a volcano skimmer on it and its 1700 gallons plum full of fish and coral. Just be careful how much you bash a guy that is trying his best to grow a business and figure out adjustments with his skimmer all the while building more skimmers. Just my two cents in the whole deal.

 

[hahnmeister]

True, he is a one man show. The more often this excuse gets used however, the more it becomes the biggest reason not to even bother buying one though. I think that would go for any product. Its sort of like the drunk driver using 'its not my fault, I was drunk when I got in the accident'... does the fact that the person has less than adequate control over something needed for operating mean they aren't accountable, or is it that much more of a fault that this excuse exists in the first place?

I dont think there is any question that people pretty much knew what they were getting into when they got the skimmers (unless his response time is great at first, then diminishes after he has your money, so to speak), but the feedback on this and other forums has been very positive, perhaps too positive, and although Spazz might not have the best record at responding, he usually does in a much shorter time than people here are reporting... so the situation seems to have changed.

 

[Reefaquariumnut]

Here is my point...how many people have actually complained about their Volcano skimmers? Its just humorous to me how just a few people can have problems and it creates a "lynching" effect...Because Scott runs a business I don't think he can really post on this thread and defend himself either. As for phone call and email returns who knows. But it boils down to product not people. My skimmer works great, Stan's skimmer works great, and im sure there is couple dozen more people who would say the same. This hobby is all about tinkering and putzing and such. Everyone has their little tricks that only work for their system and with anything custom (including skimmers) the same will happen. I would much rather see Hahns approach of "lets figure this out" than the "other" that i see on this forum. So you might need an air pump and you might need to do some more adjusting...Sometimes people think something might work, but in the end different methods need to be implemented. That is life. No need to freak out and post all over reef central because of YOUR particular situation. Be constructive and positive and most likely a positive result will come.

 

[jknecht]

I would agree with Hahn. I'm not trying to bash the guy. I just find it a little hard to believe he hasn't had time to call one person in the last month. This appears to be a new problem. I have never doubted he makes a great product. And I realize he runs a one man show; I even shared that with Scott in several emails and voicemail. My frustration really started before Tom's issue. Scott specifically told me it would take 4 - 6 weeks to build and it's almost been 5 months. I asked him specifically when I ordered if it was going to take months and he assured me it wouldn't. Since June the only responses I receive are he hopes to have it done next week. How many times can one hear that before the frustration sets in. If he would of given a realistic timeline it would of helped instead of stating "next week". Then when I heard about others having problems it doubled my frustration. I'm not only waiting for a skimmer that I should already have; but now when I get it; it may not work as promised. It seems like a lot of my time and money could be wasted which I"m not willing to do. I'm in the customer service business so I know it can be overwhelming at times; but to leave messages countless times with no response is unacceptable. It's hard to make excuses for bad customer service. He could simple respond to this thread and say Hey Everyone, I'm still here, I haven't forgotten about you. I apologize if I appear to be ranting it just gets a little frustrating.

 

[flyyyguy]

not to add fuel to the fire........but customer service is everything, especially when dealing with people willing to drop some serious cash in this hobby.

He read my PM I snet inquiring about buying not one....but a couple of large skimmers. he read it within 10 minutes of me sending it. I dont buy the fact that he is too busy to take ten seconds out of his day to at least respond saying he is interested. I guess some credit could be given that he wasnt interested in makign another sale since he doesnt have time to support what he has already sold

TRegardless, that tells me he is not interested in selling to me. Volcanos are off my list of choices. simple as that. I feel bad for the people who paid the cash already. Im glad you all saved me from doing the same.

 

[Reefaquariumnut]

He was at my house last week so I know he is alive. My skimmer took over 7 months to get into my house. I think as he got bigger and bigger and now has more customer service issues to deal with it has gotten overhelming. I see that you have already given up before you even get your skimmer because one skimmer has had problems...I think that would be a mistake. If you ordered any skimmer it COULD have problems. There are no guarantees in life. You bought the skimmer for a reason and I would stick to that reasoning and see what happens. Like I said, he can't respond on this thread period (as far as he told me). I asked him why he wasn't sticking up for himself and his product. Ask the moderator on this thread for a verification.

 

[Paulairduck]

How long does a email take to say, " I am very busy and have not forgotten about you" Spazz", and forward this to your customers. He cant have that many customers that took less than a minute

Something else is going on, I have seen this situation too many times in the business world??? and it is never good.

 

[Reefaquariumnut]

If he had a staff of 5 people to help build, an office assistant, and a book keeper the cost of your skimmer would be twice as much. Like I said growing pains are the issue here. After a the rave reviews of the Stan's 1700 gallon aquarium and a few others he most likely got so many inquires to build skimmers and tried to bite off more than he could chew. So he may be stuck between a rock and a hard spot. Who knows. I just dislike seeing so much negativity.

 

[tom obrecht]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13327685#post13327685 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reefaquariumnut
He was at my house last week so I know he is alive. My skimmer took over 7 months to get into my house. I think as he got bigger and bigger and now has more customer service issues to deal with it has gotten overhelming. I see that you have already given up before you even get your skimmer because one skimmer has had problems...I think that would be a mistake. If you ordered any skimmer it COULD have problems. There are no guarantees in life.

I think you make some good points. First, since you apparently have a "personal" relationship with Scott (since he came to your house) perhaps you are getting a "special" amount of attention. Seems funny how he makes an effort to stop by your house yet won't take any time to email or call me back. Just to let you know I have made many efforts to contact him over the LAST TWO MONTHS and have heard NOTHING!

Second, you mention you think it is unfair that someone wants to stop payment even though Scott promised that person a certain time frame and he did not even come close to. He did the same to me. He promised me 3-4 weeks on a delivery time yet it turned into 5 months. I can see a week or two over being acceptable but not 4 months or more. You mentioned that you feel it would be a mistake to cancel the order...IMO it would be a mistake to continue waiting. We all have our viewpoints.

Third, I would be more understanding with Scott if WHEN I did receive the skimmer it worked like it was described to me. Fact is it didn't...not by a long shot! It produced less air than my old Deltec! Not only did I ask Scott BEFORE I purchased the unit if I was going to need an air pump and he said no, now I have to fork out more money to see IF that solves the problem because Scott refuses to respond to me. What's up with that? As I wait for Scott to respond (which at this point I'm sure I will NEVER hear frm him) I continue to loose livestock.

I think it is great that your skimmer works well. In fact if you feel his skimmers are that awesome perhaps you would like to trade yours for mine and tell him to fix it the next time he stops by your house.

All I'm trying to do is warn people of a situation that I'm sure you wouldn't want to be in as we are. Good service involves many things including building a product that produces as one promises and conduct service in a timely and effective manner after the sale. At least in my case neither has been handled in a professional manner. Hopefully this makes sense.

 

[Reefaquariumnut]

First off I'm not his friend. He signed on with me for a whole system consultation including installing all the products. So I have paid him for all his trips and his time.

I know your frustrated, but I waited 9 months from the initial visit and deposit to get my skimmer. Maybe ask him to come visit your setup. He drove down to st. Judes like 4 times for that 800 gallon tank.

All of your comments have been distructive and are getting you no where. First editions of anything take time to work out the kinks. Stan's tank and st. Judes were like his first two huge tanks it looked like. His company is small and he is the R&D person.

I have no idea why scott hasn't gotten back to you...there could be numerous reasons why and I'm not going to speculate.

There are many ways to be constructive about giving an opinion on a product and how you're doing makes you look like a sour victim. you have a skimmer that has tons of potential and you need to work with scott or whoever to figure out how to make it work on your system. I guess I'm a glass half full kind of guy. But you do whatever you feel is right.

 

[Reefaquariumnut]

First off I'm not his friend. He signed on with me for a whole system consultation including installing all the products. So I have paid him for all his trips and his time.

I know your frustrated, but I waited 9 months from the initial visit and deposit to get my skimmer. Maybe ask him to come visit your setup. He drove down to st. Judes like 4 times for that 800 gallon tank.

All of your comments have been distructive and are getting you no where. First editions of anything take time to work out the kinks. Stan's tank and st. Judes were like his first two huge tanks it looked like. His company is small and he is the R&D person.

I have no idea why scott hasn't gotten back to you...there could be numerous reasons why and I'm not going to speculate.

There are many ways to be constructive about giving an opinion on a product and how you're doing makes you look like a sour victim. you have a skimmer that has tons of potential and you need to work with scott or whoever to figure out how to make it work on your system. I guess I'm a glass half full kind of guy. But you do whatever you feel is right.

 

[Reefaquariumnut]

First off I'm not his friend. He signed on with me for a whole system consultation including installing all the products. So I have paid him for all his trips and his time.

I know your frustrated, but I waited 9 months from the initial visit and deposit to get my skimmer. Maybe ask him to come visit your setup. He drove down to st. Judes like 4 times for that 800 gallon tank.

All of your comments have been distructive and are getting you no where. First editions of anything take time to work out the kinks. Stan's tank and st. Judes were like his first two huge tanks it looked like. His company is small and he is the R&D person.

I have no idea why scott hasn't gotten back to you...there could be numerous reasons why and I'm not going to speculate.

There are many ways to be constructive about giving an opinion on a product and how you're doing makes you look like a sour victim. you have a skimmer that has tons of potential and you need to work with scott or whoever to figure out how to make it work on your system. I guess I'm a glass half full kind of guy. But you do whatever you feel is right.

 

[saleencobra]

Reefaquariumnut, would you tell me if any adjusting was done to your skimmer or if it was hooked up and it started working great.I am willing tinker to make mine work I just need more ideas.
Tom I tried the second air pump today and the water became way too turbulent. The alita 40 matches my skimmer well,I just wonder if it is too much for yours.How is it doing by the way?

 

[Reefaquariumnut]

Sorry about the triple post... posting from my crackberry is a little crazy sometimes

 

[Reefaquariumnut]

Like I said before I don't even have the alita hook up right now. It was too turbulent with it. I just adjusted both gate valves and I might hook up the alita witha restrictor. Seemed like if some air was added it was creating even more foam.

 

[KEEPERZ]

My 1875 volcano and calcium reactor order has been cancelled -my animals depend on me and the equipment I provide them, the ongoing tinkering I am hearing about and sketchy customer service I know of, is a joke. This hobby deserves better and so do our animals, I only post this so that anyone I recommended to Scott-I apologize-and now knows where I stand-