I'm done with CADLIGHTS *really PO'd*

[Phixion]

From your experience Kellie, I'm very curious how your tank (and everyone elses) was packaged. Finnex discontinued the original glass M-tanks because of shipping damage ratios. I can't totally blame them for this though as we know how bad shippers can be. I got mine at the height of Christmas shipping season (mid December) but everything worked out as they packaged the tank superbly. Mine was double boxed with the inner box being wrapped complately in bubble wrap. Then the tank itself was bubble wrapped with saran type wrap complately around it. The pain and skimmer pumps all came bubble wrapped and in the back chamber section as well as the fuge light (also seperately bubble wrapped). The main light fixture came sitting in the main display also bubble wrapped with it wrapping at least 4 times around the fixture on both sides, and then they added extra bubble wrap to wach end of the fixture since they rasted against the side and bottom glass respectively. The skimmer came wrapped imensely in bubble wrap also. They also filled the space between the 2 boxes with foam peanuts as well as between the wrapped tank and inner box.

 

So are the CADs packaged as well as this?

[Savager]

Yeah i hate to hear good companies take the fall for outsourcing products. but dont they get any credit for still maintaining great service and standing by the customer? thats why i got ticked off by Drop's accusations and trying to hurt somebody thats trying to sincerely solve the problems.

 

outsourcing is something we have to deal with as it is much cheaper to have things built in China, India, Korea, Thailand wherever, we can only hope good business practices will also spread to them along with manufacturing.

 

i live in the upper East side of NYC so i have gone to Island aquarium to purchase my corals and i visit the Cadlights warehouse quite a few times. they have a pretty big operation on building the Cadlights nano tanks and lots of HUGE custom tank jobs all around the city as well, so trust me Drop, they are here to stay. you can see lots of their tanks in clubs and lounges around the City. theres one close to me called club Dragonfly, awesome 700g tank.

 

I don't really know why you are so upset about this whole thing. They are not lying. They are very frustrated customer and they have every right to informed other users about the right information.

 

I also live in NY and I went to the shop when they only had 22G Cadlights tank. It was small LFS, nothing special back then. Perhaps they had the warehouse but I didn't see it. Either you are lying about how big their company is right now, or Cadlights is making tons of money for last couple of years.

 

I really hope they do well, I met Eddie. He is great guy. And he is very knowledgable in this area. I really hope he can fix this kind of issues and put some better quality in his production. Doesn't matter he is outsourcing to China, he is putting his company name on the product and he is liable to everything he send out to the customer.

[DropDesigns]

From your experience Kellie, I'm very curious how your tank (and everyone elses) was packaged. Finnex discontinued the original glass M-tanks because of shipping damage ratios. I can't totally blame them for this though as we know how bad shippers can be. I got mine at the height of Christmas shipping season (mid December) but everything worked out as they packaged the tank superbly. Mine was double boxed with the inner box being wrapped complately in bubble wrap. Then the tank itself was bubble wrapped with saran type wrap complately around it. The pain and skimmer pumps all came bubble wrapped and in the back chamber section as well as the fuge light (also seperately bubble wrapped). The main light fixture came sitting in the main display also bubble wrapped with it wrapping at least 4 times around the fixture on both sides, and then they added extra bubble wrap to wach end of the fixture since they rasted against the side and bottom glass respectively. The skimmer came wrapped imensely in bubble wrap also. They also filled the space between the 2 boxes with foam peanuts as well as between the wrapped tank and inner box.

 

So are the CADs packaged as well as this?

 

The CAD tanks that I have recieved, had a custom molded styrofoam surround that matched the contours of the tank. this was loaded into the main box with 1/4" masonite board on all 6 sides. The inside of the tank wasload with packing peanuts. The light fixtures were in cardboard boxes and then set inside the main display of the tank. That is how it was as I recall.

[donreefer]

I understand and thats totally true about the responsibility of making sure that every component is up to par as far as for performance and quality for outsourced products. but what happens when that isnt true and problems from an outsourced product becomes a long dreaded reality? what then? i think it is the right thing for any company to take responsibility into making it right and taking action in solving the problem. but i do find it VERY unnecessary that Drop has to try to hurt a company that is doing just that.

 

all the assuring and re-assuring is a product of things that go wrong and it definitely does because if not, there wouldnt be any need for so much checking. but the point is that i think they did everything right as to making sure that customers will have a final product and standing behind the stuff they put their name on and taking a hit from the shipping and replacement parts. i hope all the companies that have their products outsourced can avoid this kind of problems. if the light is giving so much problems, i hope they do switch to a better light manufacturer. there looks to be lots of them out there, so it shouldnt be hard to change.

 

the world is not perfect, but the only trust we have is how much a company stands behind the products and most importantly, the consumer. in NYC, service is everything and it is greatly appreciated when things go wrong, a company goes straight to fixing it.

 

 

Drop-Yeah now you are saying that it was a first impression? i only recalled that you posted one mention of your replacement tank even after a few months. whatever man, get over myself? i'm not patrolling anything, but you should expect a reply like mine, when you said what you said.

 

 

 

 

Hi donreefer -- I think it's important to note that as consumers we have no obligation to be "appreciative" to the businesses we choose to buy from -- we do, however, have the right to demand superior quality when we pay a premium price. I think some of the griping you're seeing is the result of pent-up frustration that's finally being released -- the expectations of these systems were higher than the product was able to live up to.

 

I understand that you really love your CAD and I'm really glad to hear a success story -- but there are some serious issues with a fair number of these tanks that need to be addressed. It's OK to be angry when your 700.00+ top-of-the-line reef tank has some of the issues that lots of us have been dealing with. It doesn't matter if CAD doesn't manufacture the individual components in their systems -- because they place their label on the final product and sell the components, they need to be responsible for ensuring that every component in the system is quality-built and fully tested before it ever gets into consumer hands.

 

I think Eddie has been doing everything he can through this experience and that really does help -- but Eddie's great service can't compensate for some of the things that people are experiencing and -- at least in my case -- some of the real dangers of the lighting assembly. Enough people have reported significant problems that this is something CAD needs to take swift action to correct if they don't want to lose consumer trust.

 

As consumers let's stick together and not throw each other under the bus when we're frustrated... when I'm researching a major purchase I don't want to see people glossing over real issues, I'd rather that everything was out in the open with no gloss.

 

SS

[donreefer]

They have the warehouse next to the LFS. they own both of them. didnt you have to pick up your tank at the warehouse?

 

i think they've been doing good. have you checked out some of the custom tanks they have done? my tank is fully stocked and havent gone there for about 2 months.

 

I don't really know why you are so upset about this whole thing. They are not lying. They are very frustrated customer and they have every right to informed other users about the right information.

 

I also live in NY and I went to the shop when they only had 22G Cadlights tank. It was small LFS, nothing special back then. Perhaps they had the warehouse but I didn't see it. Either you are lying about how big their company is right now, or Cadlights is making tons of money for last couple of years.

 

I really hope they do well, I met Eddie. He is great guy. And he is very knowledgable in this area. I really hope he can fix this kind of issues and put some better quality in his production. Doesn't matter he is outsourcing to China, he is putting his company name on the product and he is liable to everything he send out to the customer.

[DropDesigns]

but i do find it VERY unnecessary that Drop has to try to hurt a company that is doing just that.

I guess I should just keep my mouth shut and let fellow hobbyists just learn for them selfs right? Because thats what forums are all about, lets sit back and laugh at others misfortunes, as we sit and enjoy our pristine product?

i only recalled that you posted one mention of your replacement tank even after a few months.

Once again pay attention, my tank has only been up for a few weeks not months. What is your problem with me anyways? Everyone else here has publicly posted their problems, are they trying to "hurt" as well? The fact of the matter is I took up an issue with CAD directly about failed moonlights. I felt their solution was very poor. It would be like after purchasing a BMW and having the headlights fail after just a few weeks, they tell you, well just tape a few flashlights to the front of the car if your going to be driving at night. Is anyone else with me on this or what?

[rfoote]

DonReefer wrote "also like they said, they dont make the lights and gets that outsourced to a light manufacturer."

 

Sorry, but if I told a single one of my clients sorry I don't manufacture this product, they would quickly run somewhere else. They are selling them as part of their AIO as a complete unit and branding them as CAD. That is an offly poor excuse and shouldn't even be brought up in my opinion. Do you think you would have Red Sea, JBJ, anyone else say "hey sorry, we don't manufacture that part." Not a chance!

[masterbuilder]

There are numerous posts here about Cadlights...most folks say that Cadlights has fantastic customer service and does everything they can keep everyone happy. On the other hand...the problems Supreme had are all too common. It seems the quality of their products are quite low.

[supreme_spork]

There are numerous posts here about Cadlights...most folks say that Cadlights has fantastic customer service and does everything they can keep everyone happy. On the other hand...the problems Supreme had are all too common. It seems the quality of their products are quite low.

 

Eddie has seen this thread, btw, and sent me mail offering to replace my lighting hood and give me a free T5 144w fixture as an additional backup. I'm actually going to go with a different brand, but again it's an example of his commitment to customer serivce. My issues are with overall quality and quality control, though, so great customer service can't compensate for what I'd consider flaws in design and construction.

 

I suggested that Eddie might want to work with an NR mod and provide a formal response on CAD's plan to address quality control issues moving forward -- some things (like broken bulbs) are just risks that come with shipping, but other things (like multiple ragged holes punched in reflectors) should never make it out of the shop.

 

Although it may not seem like it from this thread, I really do wish CAD luck and hope they can improve on the quality and execution fronts.

 

I'm Jason, btw... I should actually put my name next to all of this.

[Left Coast DJ]

About 15 years ago, when I was heavily into mountain biking, there was a company called Cannondale (I think they're still around) that made great bike frames. All of their frames were made in the USA at that time. However, in order be competitive with foreign imports, their complete bikes were put together with cheaper accessories (wheels, pedals, handle bars) than their competitors. So what everyone did was buy either just the frames, or buy their complete bikes and swap out the cheap parts.

 

From what I'm reading, CAD might be similar. American made, with an awsome tank design. But in order to be competitive, they appear to be accessorizing their sweet tanks with cheap gear, such as lights, UVs, pumps, etc. On OceanReeflections, you can buy a Finnex 30 without the lights for $250. Is there any way to buy a bare bones CAD 34?

 

DJ

[DogfoodEnforcer]

wow. im glad i didnt take the Cadlight fanboy's advice and drop all the extra money on one.

 

Ill stick with my aquapod w/ 150W MH...lol

[Phixion]

About 15 years ago, when I was heavily into mountain biking, there was a company called Cannondale (I think they're still around) that made great bike frames. All of their frames were made in the USA at that time. However, in order be competitive with foreign imports, their complete bikes were put together with cheaper accessories (wheels, pedals, handle bars) than their competitors. So what everyone did was buy either just the frames, or buy their complete bikes and swap out the cheap parts.

 

From what I'm reading, CAD might be similar. American made, with an awsome tank design. But in order to be competitive, they appear to be accessorizing their sweet tanks with cheap gear, such as lights, UVs, pumps, etc. On OceanReeflections, you can buy a Finnex 30 without the lights for $250. Is there any way to buy a bare bones CAD 34?

 

DJ

 

They are still around I do believe, but it sounds kinda similar to the CAD situation. In that realm with MB's, it's always best to buy it all seperate. I used to live 2 blocks away from Foe's Fab (they worked out of their garage literally) but they made awesome bikes, always full custom though to avoid selling people stuff they might otherwise swap out for something of preferance.

 

The point with all of this is that CAD outsources the lighting. There's an obvious quality problem and it needs to be addressed ASAP/ Not at the customer service level with Eddie, but at a company corporate level with CAD and the light manufacture. NONE of this should have to rest on Eddie's kind shoulders of having to compenate what sounds like many unhappy customers with new fixtures. Maybe they should switch to the 144w T5 fixture for the 34g's as they seem to be better units than the MH ones. What's the real solution to this issue? There's more than one really, give people more options like Finnex does (T5, 150w MH or 250w MH options) or start finding a better fixture manufacture. The Q/C sounds like it's not only overseas but also inhouse at CAD. Disgruntled worker maybe? Who knows, but tanks with crooked pieces should NEVER leave the factory, especially when it's all hand built to begin with. It's essential to take pride in manufacturing such a pricey product. Make it the way you'd want to buy it is how it goes. Maybe it's just me, but it sounds like CAD is growing faster than it can keep up with, which isn't a good thing when quality starts slacking off.

 

I have to disagree that sending new parts for people to put in in terms of ballasts and such (anything you don't have to piece together off the bat when you get the tank) is rediculous, again because not everyone knows or is comfortable with eletrical work.

[ldballoon4]

I dont like my AP12. but it never gave me this many problems. Yikes!

 

Im unsure as to the length of business CAD has been in.

 

But I agree with Drop on this one, I was in sales for many years, and the customer is always right, no matter if they are wrong. Period.

 

I , like many experienced horrible, so- so, good, great, and exceptional consumer brown good products.

 

You pay for quality. You expect excellent customer service. And as frustrated as consumers get , he or she needs to be addressed. All businesses should get ONE chance to get it right, after that, its not professional.

And they are LIABLE.

 

We all humans we make mistakes blah blah blah... we get the picture.

 

In this case CAD is doing whatever they can to save face by throwing in freebies. (been there done that to my customers I screwed up with!!!!) Freebies "make you forget".

 

Freebies give false tense "how great and understanding they are"....

 

What Freebies ARE :an admission of gross negligence.

 

 

There seems to be an overconfidence inside of CAD. And their CEO needs to know about these issues.

 

This company dropped the ball, plain and simple. Im sure they will have a meeting and show these emails to the manufacturing side of the company.

 

Hopefully this will have a direct impact on the new CADS to come. Putting them in high regaurds as they would like to be known for.

 

Ill wait a while for the CAD tank. For now Im looking at FINNEX for X-mas!!

 

Thank goodness for the internet , the customer really cant get screwed as much. WE all unite, good and bad.

 

I book this one as buyer beware

[Ryanhdd]

I dont like my AP12. but it never gave me this many problems. Yikes!

 

Im unsure as to the length of business CAD has been in.

 

But I agree with Drop on this one, I was in sales for many years, and the customer is always right, no matter if they are wrong. Period.

 

I , like many experienced horrible, so- so, good, great, and exceptional consumer brown good products.

 

You pay for quality. You expect excellent customer service. And as frustrated as consumers get , he or she needs to be addressed. All businesses should get ONE chance to get it right, after that, its not professional.

And they are LIABLE.

 

We all humans we make mistakes blah blah blah... we get the picture.

 

In this case CAD is doing whatever they can to save face by throwing in freebies. (been there done that to my customers I screwed up with!!!!) Freebies "make you forget".

 

Freebies give false tense "how great and understanding they are"....

 

What Freebies ARE :an admission of gross negligence.

There seems to be an overconfidence inside of CAD. And their CEO needs to know about these issues.

 

This company dropped the ball, plain and simple. Im sure they will have a meeting and show these emails to the manufacturing side of the company.

 

Hopefully this will have a direct impact on the new CADS to come. Putting them in high regaurds as they would like to be known for.

 

Ill wait a while for the CAD tank. For now Im looking at FINNEX for X-mas!!

 

Thank goodness for the internet , the customer really cant get screwed as much. WE all unite, good and bad.

 

I book this one as buyer beware

 

Thats a very good point. The best one i have read in this whole thread. I feel that I lucked out and got a nice tank, but it seems its few and far between.....

 

I do agree that the lighting is very cheap and the tank silicone job could be better. But i am crossing my fingers on this and praying it does not self combust.

[Savager]

Remember, couple of years ago, we had all sorts of problem with Nanocube cracking. And Nanocube heard the complaint and they actually stepped up and increased the thickness of their tank. Now I don't hear anything about cracking Nanocube. Now it's Cads turns to step up and provide higher quality tank to their customer.

 

Goodluck Eddie.

[sleestaks]

More fuel for the fire. Just saw this. Near the bottom post by hipster123

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...p;#entry1308505

 

This scares me. My cadlight arrives tomorrow. This will be my first saltwater tank. Currently have a planted 40g discus and a 65 gallon mix cichlid tank. Up until the last few days everything I was reading about cadlights was very positive. After reading this post I am not sure what to think. Should I be scarred?

[Savager]

More fuel for the fire. Just saw this. Near the bottom post by hipster123

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...p;#entry1308505

 

This scares me. My cadlight arrives tomorrow. This will be my first saltwater tank. Currently have a planted 40g discus and a 65 gallon mix cichlid tank. Up until the last few days everything I was reading about cadlights was very positive. After reading this post I am not sure what to think. Should I be scarred?

 

Wow, that's horrible. Although they got great customer service and sending new tank to him, does that make it better after he floored his floor? Thank got he didn't have any biger damage or any electric stuffs near by.

 

I think Eddie has to address this issue in his website and perhaps slow down his production until they straighten things out. This is just awful!!!

[Phixion]

Finnex has stepped up on multiple accounts...

 

The skimmer micro-bubble iss ue was well known. Then about a month before production of the 1st generation 30g glass M-tank ceased, they mailed out a FREE (on their dime) "fix kit" to ALL customers that ordered their tank from online retailers, they had the list of everyone since she shipped them directly to the customers. They didn't wait for people to ask an complain, they saw the issue and took action to ALL customers that were affcted. All tanks after that came with the kit standard.

 

Then when they began to have excessive broken shipment issues, they just scrapped the whole tank aoo together (the 22g and 30g). Not to best solution, but it DID save them money while they could design a better 30g tank and perfect their shipping methods. It paid off and I'm near hearing much if any about broken Finnex tanks arriving to customers.

 

CADs customer service is great, any owner will tell you that. But the company as a whole is not listening to or addressing the concerns of the customer. They ought to. No customers means no business and no company. Word of mouth is VERY strong. I hope CAD can step up like JBJ did with the NCs and Finnex did with their tanks, and prove that they are a customer friendly company and address some very serious current issues.

[Outlaw]

After reading this thread ...sounds like donreefer is on the cadlights payroll !!!! If you bought a brand new car and it didnt run...would you fix it yourself? and not use the warranty because you feel sorry for Ford motor company? This guy at cadlights is just prolonging the outcome all the while still selling faulty tanks and light fixtures and making thousands of dollars off idiots like us. Worst part is instead of admitting he is ripping people off he comes up with different excuses every time like experimental lights,damaged during shipping..etc...Bottom line....the tanks are not tested...the lights are not tested...and from some of the complaints ive heard and looking at my own tank it looks like a 10 yr old built it. And as far as customer service i cant speak for everyone here but i know once i started to complain and return things back to him he quit answering the phone and my emails......so donreefer your the jackass......say hi to eddie at the family reunion....

[donreefer]

Boy you are sounding so stupid outlaw. its ppl like you that gets me mad, you are obviously very exaggerated with what you are saying and it just proves my point of why i got angry in the first place. i still dont undestand why you guys are saying the tank is built so crappy? i still dont see any pics or any proof except words and accusations.

 

we know they had some in a batch of lights that had some problems in them and they are already replaced to the customer and the problem is solved already. though its a outsourced product, they did what they are supposed to do with it and solved it out of their own pocket and took a hit on the company reputation. the tanks on the other hand are great.

 

maybe its me but dont you guys see that its wrong to just going about bad-mouthing a good company that cares about its customers this way and not really show too much proof about it?

 

yeah maybe i should be on someones payroll just because i like the stuff that i buy and am not afraid to at least stand up for it when ppl like you are talking all this crap. i do the same for whatever i have that i love. once again, outlaw if you have something to show, prove it or else dont try to slander a good company.

 

 

After reading this thread ...sounds like donreefer is on the cadlights payroll !!!! If you bought a brand new car and it didnt run...would you fix it yourself? and not use the warranty because you feel sorry for Ford motor company? This guy at cadlights is just prolonging the outcome all the while still selling faulty tanks and light fixtures and making thousands of dollars off idiots like us. Worst part is instead of admitting he is ripping people off he comes up with different excuses every time like experimental lights,damaged during shipping..etc...Bottom line....the tanks are not tested...the lights are not tested...and from some of the complaints ive heard and looking at my own tank it looks like a 10 yr old built it. And as far as customer service i cant speak for everyone here but i know once i started to complain and return things back to him he quit answering the phone and my emails......so donreefer your the jackass......say hi to eddie at the family reunion....

[bilge rat]

We take a chance anytime we buy a product...

Even more so when its from a new or newer company.

That said Cad does have some QC probs with some of their equipment, true.

But I feel CAD/Eddie is making an effort to resolve and solve these issues.

Unfortunately its through our negative/positive customer experience and success/loss that CAD

sees and discovers probs/issues.

Isnt this the normal evolution or growth process for a new product or company?

 

I bought the 34g 1.0 back in jan.

I took the main light strip apart to mod it for moonlights...after much cursing and many cuts I was able to get it back together....I was disappointed in the design.

The first 4 months were exciting...watching all the life come out of the rock, the pod explosion, the coral and fish swimming and growing weeeee....my reef was prospering.

Then

around 4 months my tank cracked from front to back on the left side...i nearly wept when i came home to it.

I freaked....threw my reef into a rubbermaid and called Eddie.

He sent me a replacement and everything is fine now...(except the 3.5 years it took off my life)

(I also decided to gut it and drill it)

 

Since I initially purchased my 34g CAD, they have changed;

-the tank design

-glass thickness

-chamber design

-return pump placement

-included equipment

-fuge light

-and some other small and minor issues

All of these changes are from customer input...

Granted its not perfect, but I believe they are making the effort to get there.

Attacking each other is senseless... all of our experiences and gripes are valid.

Through its customer base, "US" is how CAD or any company is able to improve

its design, QC and customer service.

Granted I would have preferred to not of gone through the stress and anguish of losing the the first tank

and subsequent livestock/coral loss, but we move on and learn from our experiences.

-Would I do it again?...not sure...I have learned ALOT through this, but it has been stressful.

-Cad makes a true effort to do right by their customers and is making changes to their product based on our

complaints. I do recommend CAD to people but I tell them my whole experience and to read the forums so

they can judge.

 

Now I stress about how I can buy more coral without the GF noticing.

joshuah

[minorSea]

I don't give a flyin rat's arse if you are a new company or you outsource. It is YOUR name,,YOUR product and there by YOUR responsibility to assure quality and protect your own reputation. Besides the fact people keep trying to shift lax and unacceptable quality and product to some "china supplier" is ridiculous. Did you happen to notice the name of the company? CADLIGHTS<<< say it with me if it confuses you C.A.D---LIGHTS. So, being that LIGHTS are in the very name they gave themselves. Clearly it is their product and a focus.

 

So even if all tanks were flawless (granted I had no issue with the actual tank) the lights are very much a reflection of the company CADLIGHTS! The lights are crap and I am not shocked that someone got shocked. Thankfully it was not too bad. With the seriously lacking min safety standards and practices in place where water and electricity are concerned. It should be more than a minor concern or passing rep issue for Cadlights and quite possibly a major legal issue. Because no matter who made it or where blame is shifted? It would be cadlights sued and totally liable for their product causing serious injury or loss of property due to fire. The wires and connections are exposed and slap dash attached inside. No real water proofing to speak of and the fact my tank has been up for roughly two months and there is rust starting on parts of the lights is crazy.

 

It stuns me that with these VALID AND IMPORTANT issues. People are still saying,,,,, but Eddie is a swell guy. Wtf people,,,, honestly. No matter what your personal exp may be. Something is amiss and needs addressed. I for one don't give a rip if some fanboys or people who possibly have a questionable motive to come to the repeated and unreasonable defense of these failures, don't like the truth. Because that is what it is folks. Yes the freakin tanks are beautiful to look at,, we get it. The lights (which btw are a MAJOR,,MAJOR factor to a reef set up ect) are horrifying in the lack of quality and as feared by many, apprently dangerous. So I think it is more than a little important and fair. That the current exp's with cadlights are honest. No one is questioning or attacking people who are content with the quality they got. Yet clearly there is a fair number less than thrilled and justly so. Who are getting dumped on and attacked for telling the truth about a product and how it made them feel. Well to those who can't get over cadlights failures. Get over yourselves. You can make a counter point with out getting bent out of shape. That happens sometimes. More often it seems almost fanatical in reaction to honest review and impression. Which then requires someone to come along and write you a reality check, since someone stopped payment on your last one.

 

Customer satisfaction is about more than "friendly" customer service. Quality is about more than surface looks. Though even that left much to be desired in the replacement light I was sent for the first failure. Scuffs scratches, ect. Are completely unacceptable in a new product especially when said product is the answer to your first failure. On top of that the damaged light still didn't have working moons! Testing ect. No excuse. Don't sell it, if it is not market ready. When these and far more serious concerns brought by others are swept aside as unimportant or more shocking an attack on a company. One must begin to question the motives of those, so determined to insist the emperor has lovely new clothes. When we can all see the hairy mole on his,,,,,

[Savager]

I don't give a flyin rat's arse if you are a new company or you outsource. It is YOUR name,,YOUR product and there by YOUR responsibility to assure quality and protect your own reputation. Besides the fact people keep trying to shift lax and unacceptable quality and product to some "china supplier" is ridiculous. Did you happen to notice the name of the company? CADLIGHTS<<< say it with me if it confuses you C.A.D---LIGHTS. So, being that LIGHTS are in the very name they gave themselves. Clearly it is their product and a focus.

 

So even if all tanks were flawless (granted I had no issue with the actual tank) the lights are very much a reflection of the company CADLIGHTS! The lights are crap and I am not shocked that someone got shocked. Thankfully it was not too bad. With the seriously lacking min safety standards and practices in place where water and electricity are concerned. It should be more than a minor concern or passing rep issue for Cadlights and quite possibly a major legal issue. Because no matter who made it or where blame is shifted? It would be cadlights sued and totally liable for their product causing serious injury or loss of property due to fire. The wires and connections are exposed and slap dash attached inside. No real water proofing to speak of and the fact my tank has been up for roughly two months and there is rust starting on parts of the lights is crazy.

 

It stuns me that with these VALID AND IMPORTANT issues. People are still saying,,,,, but Eddie is a swell guy. Wtf people,,,, honestly. No matter what your personal exp may be. Something is amiss and needs addressed. I for one don't give a rip if some fanboys or people who possibly have a questionable motive to come to the repeated and unreasonable defense of these failures, don't like the truth. Because that is what it is folks. Yes the freakin tanks are beautiful to look at,, we get it. The lights (which btw are a MAJOR,,MAJOR factor to a reef set up ect) are horrifying in the lack of quality and as feared by many, apprently dangerous. So I think it is more than a little important and fair. That the current exp's with cadlights are honest. No one is questioning or attacking people who are content with the quality they got. Yet clearly there is a fair number less than thrilled and justly so. Who are getting dumped on and attacked for telling the truth about a product and how it made them feel. Well to those who can't get over cadlights failures. Get over yourselves. You can make a counter point with out getting bent out of shape. Which then requires someone to come along and write you a reality check, since somone stopped payment on your last one.

 

Customer satisfaction is about more than "friendly" customer service. Quality is about more than surface looks. Though even that left much to be desired in the replacement light I was sent for the first failure. Scuffs scratches, ect. Are completely unacceptable in a new product especially when said product is the answer to your first failure. On top of that the damaged light still didn't have working moons! Testing ect. No excuse. Don't sell it, if it is not market ready. When these and far more serious concerns brought by others are swept aside as unimportant or more shocking an attack on a company. One must begin to question the motives of those, so determined to insist the emperor has lovely new clothes. When we can all see the hairy mole on his,,,,,

 

 

Amazing write up. Thank you. That's exactly how I felt with CADLights. I really don't understand how people are not worry about this product. There's already 2 people in this thread that tank cracked. And one person got shock from the light fixture. I live in the apartment. I don't give a ###### if CADLights send me free dozen tanks, if 34G tank flood will ruined my hardwood floor and I might get kicked out from the place. If the light fixture burned down my place, is free stuffs from Eddie will justify the lost and frustration?

 

This is very serious stuffs and we can't take this lightly. Other poster is saying, Cadlights is keep improving the tank but that means what ever they are selling now, it's just beta testing. Cadlight should give full money back to those people and tell them they are the beta tester.

 

Well, I don't know about you guys but I wouldn't want to spend any moeny on Cadlights production because it's my life and my property is on the line. Until I see some dramatic measures from Cadlights, they are out of my shopping list.

[Rodney013]

First let me say......I have been lucky to this point and had no problems with my CAD 34G that I ordered in late August. It arrived without any damage and everything worked right out of the box.

 

It was immediately apparent to me the light fixture and stand were below par in regards to the tank IMO (see last sentence below). The problems that everyone seems to be having would be MUCH worse if Eddie was not attempting to make it right. I can only speak from my experience, but this hobby is very expensive and full of a lot of anxiety. If I unpacked my $700.00 tank, stand and light and it did not work I would not have been happy. The moment it arrived I was ready to get it filled up and start cycling. This hobby has really brought out the kid in me and really caused me to be very impatient at times. Having to wait on another light hood, ballast or tank would have really made me mad and each passing day my anxiety would have built. I did not purchase this tank to do a bunch of mods or electrical work. I know to some this is a big part of the hobby, but not for me. If I was told to disassemble the hood and troubleshoot, I simply would have packed it up and sent it back. I purchased a NEW setup to avoid these types of issues. If I had wanted to do this type of work I would have looked to save some money and searched for a used AIO.

 

Bottom line for me is this…..I certainly knew there was a risk in some shipping damage but never considered a bad light fixture from the factory. In my business we provide a service and on a limited scale a product. My top 5 priorities to stay in business are as follows:

 

1. Quality

2. Quality

3. Quality

4. Quality

5. Quality

 

My definition of QUALITY is a product or service that EXCEEDS the customer’s expectation. When I fall short of this I feel I have only ONE chance to make it right if the customer is willing to give me that opportunity.

 

I will close with this…..please note that BOTTOM-LINE is not in my top 5. The BOTTOM-LINE will take care of it self if I take care of 1 thru 5.

[Phixion]

Boy you are sounding so stupid outlaw. its ppl like you that gets me mad, you are obviously very exaggerated with what you are saying and it just proves my point of why i got angry in the first place. i still dont undestand why you guys are saying the tank is built so crappy? i still dont see any pics or any proof except words and accusations.

 

we know they had some in a batch of lights that had some problems in them and they are already replaced to the customer and the problem is solved already. though its a outsourced product, they did what they are supposed to do with it and solved it out of their own pocket and took a hit on the company reputation. the tanks on the other hand are great.

 

maybe its me but dont you guys see that its wrong to just going about bad-mouthing a good company that cares about its customers this way and not really show too much proof about it?

 

yeah maybe i should be on someones payroll just because i like the stuff that i buy and am not afraid to at least stand up for it when ppl like you are talking all this crap. i do the same for whatever i have that i love. once again, outlaw if you have something to show, prove it or else dont try to slander a good company.

 

Outlaw is stupid because you disagree? What a completel cop-out statement to say. CADs current Q/C situation isn't an opinion, it's a saddening fact of the company right now, a very unfortunate fact.

 

We've heard the stories and read the emails regarding the issues. Denying there is a problem with CAD at the moment is just ignorant. No one is trying to bring CAD down, they are just trying to make others aware of what's going on with them RIGHT NOW as we speak (not when you got your tank which you happened to get their workers on a good day). It's about the principal of the matter and Q/C which CAD does not have right now. Eddies is not Q/C, and until they get some, he's going to have to keep taking the fall for the company from upset customers like Drop, Supreme and others on here. That's not really fair to Eddie from a company stand point. Can you for 1 second sit back and say that if they continue as is with defective tanks and parts, they will still save money having to send out FREE new parts rather than clean up their Q/C and not have to worry about tank or light issues. All they need is ONE person to carefully inspects the tanks, and test the light fixtures, ok maybe 2 people... Still would save money over having to send out say 2 NEW FREE fixtures a day which cost like $150 each if not more. That's still more money a day WASTED than if they paid 2 new people to Q/C their stuff.

 

Don, you're an avid CAD customer, so I can admire that as I am with my Finnex. But you can't criticize others that had a bad experience and bad-mouth them just because you happened to receive a perfect tank. You got CAD before they obviously took a serious tumble downhill with Q/C. You can't compare your experience with your tank to customers that got there's in the past few weeks. It would be like me comparing my 1st gen Finnex to the new 2nd gen ones. Completely different beasts in almost all aspects. One thing I find ironic from issues mentioned, is the glass... The Finnex is a mere 5mm (tempered though mind you) while the CAD is 7 or 8mm thick. NO reason what-so-ever why 2-3mm thicker glass should fail over thinner glass. BTW, the posts about that issue DID have pictures, thanks! But I'd expect no less coming from someone that can actually justify the RIP OFF price of the Signature Series to begin with. I can do the same with a Finnex (same added components) but with 250w MH lighting instead for almost $100 LESS than the CAD S.S. tank, and at least the lighting won't shock/kill me and will actually work!