Well.........Shoot!Overflow silicone split!

[James77]

That is odd for sure.....maybe the plastic was warped or is warping stressing the silicone, or it was placed in there under stress? I don't even know if that can happen?

I'd talk to the dealer and/or maker. It wouldn't be implying it was there fault neccesarily, this kind of stuff can happen and you should not be out becasue of it. But I'd always be a little untrusting if they repaired it, and replacing it is a big enough PITA where the upgrade may be a good idea.

 

[thor109]

I don't think that is such a bad problem. It's an internal leak. There are lots of ways to fix that. I guess all I'm trying to say is its not the end of the world.
Has there been large temperature swings in your tank? Like 76 in morning 82 in afternoon?
How deep in tank is split

 

[LaOtIn]

LaOtIn,

I am a little afraid to call the people, being that it would mean I was insinuating that that this was there fault, and that I was playing the blame game, and pointing fingers.Which is the las thing I want to do, this LFS and I know each other pretty well, and I dont want to make them get the wrong idea about me as a person.

-Ray

forget that, they sold you a product that you paid for with money for your hard work. this is their hard work producing a product. your expectation is that their product works the way they say it will. any company worth their salt is going to be more concerned with their reputation than what they think of you as a person. pointing the bad finger at a company for selling you a product that broke is not wrong, its right. they may even already know about the issue, such as a former employee that worked on a string of tanks that came to work drunk or just didnt care and made a 100 tanks with bad seams. or maybe this is one defect, or maybe its a defect that they need to address in their production line.

call them and see what they say, go from there bro.

remember this, you did NOTHING wrong. you are the customer and while you may not always be right, there is a solution to every problem. and thats coming from a business owner

 

[Reef264]

James,

The Acrylic may very well had been warped, and could be defective.I will look into it and see what I find.

Thor109, my tank stays at 78.0 all day and all night, Never moves more than 1/10th of a degree.There is a picture posted on this thread of the split, it is approximately 1-1/4" long.3mm wide.

LaOtIn,

You have talked me into it, I will call then 1st thing tomorrow, just one question, how should the conversation go?

Something like..
"Hello, Hello, I have an issue with my built in overflow in my 115 galling that I purchased at your store, 1 year ago."

After those words, I am lost for how to put it.Any ideas?

 

[LaOtIn]

James,

LaOtIn,

You have talked me into it, I will call then 1st thing tomorrow, just one question, how should the conversation go?

Something like..
"Hello, Hello, I have an issue with my built in overflow in my 115 galling that I purchased at your store, 1 year ago."

After those words, I am lost for how to put it.Any ideas?

actually i wouldnt go to the LFS, i would go to the company that actually made the tank. but you can go to the LFS first and tell them what the problem is and what do they suggest you do.

just be like "hey, i got my tank from you guys last year and the seam in the overflow is separating. im pretty sure its a "insert brand" tank, do you know if they have a warranty on their products? will they cover this defect in my tank?"

leave it at that, let them guide you to addressing the problem. if they offer no solution or give you some BS then say "ok, well thanks."

then go to what you were going to do in the first case, which is contact the people that actually made the tank. with them you want to be a little more firm. tell them "hey, i have one of your tanks that i bought last year and there is a seam splitting on the overflow. can you explain to me your warranty and how it applies to manufacturing defects." because that is what this is, a manufacturing defect. make sure you keep harping on the fact that you did nothing wrong, woe is you. main thing you want from them is action, what are they going to do for you as a result of their foul up. you have thousands of dollars of livestock that are in peril due to them making a defective tank that you ended up buying.

if your LFS is worth their salt, they will act on your behalf and battle with the tank maker. My LFS will do that. if my LFS sells me a bum product they go to the company that made it and makes them replace the defective product.

bottom line is you dont take no for an answer. if they say no at the company, say "ok, thank you for your time today, may I please speak with your supervisor." if they say no, then say "ok, thanks, I will be submitting a written request to speak with someone in management about my problem." if they say ok, say "thanks, good bye." hang up and write a letter. if they respond with more BS to your letter, write another one. in your letter you need to be insistant that "a member of management call you to speak about your problem and how it will be resolved."

hope this helps

 

[Dragon moray ki]

I think it will go like this Hello
Hello my tank I bought from you has a problem the overflow silicon is split.
Ok wait just a minute so I can get the manager.
45 minitutes later
The manager says sorry not our problem bye bye now have a good day.
That sucks that you have this problem though.

 

[Reef264]

LaOtIn,

Thank you!That is solid advice!I really appreciate the advice.I have a new problem, I think the LFS actually makes there own tanks!So that may make things a little easier, not dealing with a 3rd person in this situation.

 

[Reef264]

Dragon Moray KI,

I really hope that is the opposite of what I encounter tomorrow.Im just going to drive over there and do this in person, it will be a heck of a lot harder for them to blow me off in person, rather than a phone call.

 

[thor109]

What I mean is if your tank is 24 inches deep is the split 6 inches under water or 20 inches under water.
If it close to top it might be better to repair than to transfer everthing to a new tank. Even if they give you a new tank you will be stirring up your substrate and disturbing everything in your tank. It could of just been a bubble or void in silicon that let go. Things happen, its does not mean your entire tank is coming a part.
I would look closely at the rest of the seams. If you see more problems, well do you want to risk your livestock to another tank from same people.

 

[Jeremy Blaze]

I would not hesitate to contact the manufacture if I bought the tank new just over a year ago.

If you bought a new car, and the body panels start falling off a year later, you would go back to the dealer right?

 

[Reef264]

Good News!Went to the LFs today, and presented pictures and we came to a conclusion AGA made the tank, so that is a relief.There isn't a warranty on it.So that sucks, but, He said I can lower the water level to the Split, and fill it in with Some AGA reef safe silicone, let it set for a while, and refill the tank.So this has been very good!After that, we had a 2 hour conversation about LED's, SPS, and bunch of other things.

 

[Mr. Demeanor]

Mr. Demeanor,

As much as I would like to fix this, I think this is a sign from above to get another tank while my floors are still dry.Good Idea though, top shelf!

My tank is surrounded my hardwood floors. It old I am replacing it for for peace of mind and some equipment upgrading. I fully understand your concerns. Once you have it down, you could probably repair it properly and recover some costs by selling it......or having TWO tanks :lol2:

 

[Dragon moray ki]

My tank overflowed all over the floor because my overflow leaked. It sucks.

 

[thor109]

I guess it must be close to the surface. I bet you feel let down by tank, but like I said look at the rest of the seams for any voids before you condem it. It is probably better for your tank inhabitants not to switch tanks. On the plus side it is a very good reason to get a new bigger tank

 

[Reef264]

Thor109,

Man I feel lost about this one.The tank was made by AGA, but the LFS drilled and made the overflow at the Store.So this is not AGA's problem, so even if they did have a warranty, I have no case to present.Why would they replace a tank that's got issues due to no fault of there own.So I feel like I am scaaareewd here where I'm standing.

 

[thor109]

U never said how deep it was.... I guess I would feel a little better knowing the person who messed up on overflow didn't build the tank. I don't know if you have run a silicon gun but sometimes there are air bubbles inside tube. It's hard to go back and fix without making a mess. You can tell by looking at seams , when the color us lighter it signals voids. It's really not a big deal just one little pop that was not corrected properly on a 24 foot run of silicon

 

[Reef264]

I do feel better knowing the same guy didn't build the tank.Im just Gunna take the tank Down and re-silicone the wall where the overflow is.

 

[Dragon moray ki]

Or you could upgrade. Haha

 

[Reef264]

I will, Later on down the river.