Mitch619 Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 So I ordered an AI nano due to the 10% off deal that premium aquatics was having. I'm regretting it now! To begin, the fixture was covered with a horrible black sticky residue that came from the bubble wrap that was adhered to it. I have been trying to remove this residue for a while now and it is still not completely gone yet! It looks horrible because the light is white. Second, the fan makes a high pitched noise when the fan is on low. When its on full blast it makes less noise. I don't know how that works... Third, the white plastic that covers the top of the heatsink is bent on one side. Its noticeable from far! Fourth, "the save setting" on the touch controller is not working. I've tried to follow instructions and it does not work for the life of me. Fifth, apparently some units have a wire that is able to fit and reach the unit when it is passed through the holes in the mounting arm. This is not one of those units. With all of this in mind, should I contact Aqua illuminations or Premium Aquatics? This is not what I wanted at all. I actually like this light but the combination of all this stuff is overwhelming. Here is a pic of the bent plastic: Link to comment
Nepenthe Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Yikes, return that ASAP. Go through Premium Aquatics first, distributers/retailers always have deals with manufactures set in place for no hassle returns on merchandise defective "out of box". It's only until after the retailer's refund/exchange window is up (and before the manufacturer's warranty expires) that I would ever contact the manufacturer (customer service is what you're paying for in retail after all). If for some reason you do keep it, Goo Gone will get rid of all that packing residue. It's pretty amazing stuff. Link to comment
SouthFlorida_Tron Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 either its just that unit or some shady business by Prm Aqts... which i wouldnt expect... return it ofcourse, then try another module for exchange, or pay a few extra bucks and go through reef geek... Link to comment
Mitch619 Posted August 14, 2012 Author Share Posted August 14, 2012 Yikes, return that ASAP. Go through Premium Aquatics first, distributers/retailers always have deals with manufactures set in place for no hassle returns on merchandise defective "out of box". It's only until after the retailer's refund/exchange window is up (and before the manufacturer's warranty expires) that I would ever contact the manufacturer (customer service is what you're paying for in retail after all). If would be my first for some reason you do keep it, Goo Gone will get rid of all that packing residue. It's pretty amazing stuff. Yeah I wanted to buy goo gone but I decided to leave it like this so that they see what crap they sent me. I guess I'm calling premium aquatics tomorrow. This is pretty bad I can't believe this passed any inspection at Aqua illuminations. Edit: What is pissing me off the most is that I'm most likely going to have to pay for the return shipping of this. That's not cool. Link to comment
Alkamist Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 return that asap, the high pitch sound is not normal and the bent plastic sound to me like someone my have dropped it. Link to comment
Nepenthe Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Edit: What is pissing me off the most is that I'm most likely going to have to pay for the return shipping of this. That's not cool. Yeah, unacceptable, politely explain to them you're not paying to return a defective product. They're doing enough shipping that they have a deal with a courier. Link to comment
Mitch619 Posted August 14, 2012 Author Share Posted August 14, 2012 Here are some more pics. The residue that I could not take off of the stickers: Top view of the bent plastic: More residue on the fixture: \ All of this residue is after cleaning for about 20 minutes. It was all over the unit. Link to comment
thirdchild Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Here are some more pics. The residue that I could not take off of the stickers: Top view of the bent plastic: More residue on the fixture: \ All of this residue is after cleaning for about 20 minutes. It was all over the unit. Whoa that's weird. Kind of looks like the glue on the bubble wrap went bad or something. My one year old nano looks newer and nicer than that. Return it. Link to comment
SouthFlorida_Tron Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 ok my dude, return this thing asap... you got dooped... you got sold either a "used/returned" item or a straight up demo model becuase of the discount you had used...no doubt about it... return that thing, get ur money, make them pay for shipping then take ur business elsewhere, f'ing horrible... sorry Link to comment
iPhone Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 damn looks like they did you dirty.no pun intended. Link to comment
Nepenthe Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 return that asap, the high pitch sound is not normal and the bent plastic sound to me like someone my have dropped it. +1. Wow, that sucks. I see products here and there that should have never gotten by an inspection... a piece cut wrong etc. Or they pass inspection and get screwed up somewhere else. I think that the worst was a batch of Danner hydro pumps that had been melted in their boxes. When my distributer shrink wraps pallets of merchandise to get sent out to the stores in plastic it tightens the shrink wrap with a heat gun... and apparently someone wasn't paying attention. Bottom line is the retailer is fully culpable at this point. Don't have any ambiguities about returning it and asking for them to cover the expenses. Link to comment
Mitch619 Posted August 14, 2012 Author Share Posted August 14, 2012 I'm going to give premium aquatics the benefit of the doubt here. Maybe this unit has been in storage for a long time? Maybe its AI's fault. Either way I'll call them tomorrow and see what they can do. Link to comment
SouthFlorida_Tron Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 I'm going to give premium aquatics the benefit of the doubt here. Maybe this unit has been in storage for a long time? Maybe its AI's fault. Either way I'll call them tomorrow and see what they can do. email the photos to the service agent while on the phone with them, its your leverage that will help the person understand WTF is actually wrong lol good luck, keep us updated! Link to comment
Mitch619 Posted August 14, 2012 Author Share Posted August 14, 2012 I'll update once I get a response tomorrow. Thanks guys, I thought I was over-reacting a bit. I guess it really is as bad as I thought. Link to comment
Mitch619 Posted August 15, 2012 Author Share Posted August 15, 2012 I emailed AI and they asked me to call them. I called them at 4 (they close at 5) they didn't answer. They did say they would help me out in the email though. I just wish they would answer the phone during business hours. What are they there for then? Link to comment
Mitch619 Posted August 15, 2012 Author Share Posted August 15, 2012 I called AI today and I must say they really handled this well. I talked to jonathan and he is actually sending me a new unit along with a prepaid return shipping label to send my old one back. I was prepared to give my credit card number thinking they would put a hold on it for $300 until they recieved the old unit, but he didn't even ask. I'll post another update when I Recieve the replacement unit. Link to comment
TeflonTomDosh Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 Great customer service! Link to comment
Manaz101 Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 That's AWESOME! Hope it pans out for you man. Link to comment
SouthFlorida_Tron Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 That's what I'm talkin about, great stuff! Link to comment
mpsti05 Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 Awesome! We shoulda had you ask about when the hell the vega and new controller are gonna be out! Haha Link to comment
shaner014 Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Mitch, I just received my AI nano tonight from BulkReefSupply. With similar issues.... I have already removed the sticky glue residue with rubbing alcohol. I then went to try the light on the tank and realized the cable doesn't fit through the mount. I too read that this was remedied. Did your new unit have a new mounting arm? The light seems ok otherwise from what I can tell. No bent plastic but still disappointed given the price tag of these things. I will check the setting memory now as I haven't even had it on for 5 minutes yet. no water to illuminate yet... Anyone else feel free to chime in too Sorry to bring up a dead thread, but didn't want to clog with a new one. Link to comment
OnTheEdge Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 Mitch, I just received my AI nano tonight from BulkReefSupply. With similar issues.... I have already removed the sticky glue residue with rubbing alcohol. I then went to try the light on the tank and realized the cable doesn't fit through the mount. I too read that this was remedied. Did your new unit have a new mounting arm? The light seems ok otherwise from what I can tell. No bent plastic but still disappointed given the price tag of these things. I will check the setting memory now as I haven't even had it on for 5 minutes yet. no water to illuminate yet... Anyone else feel free to chime in too Sorry to bring up a dead thread, but didn't want to clog with a new one. I'm getting a unit from BRS on Monday. I hope all is good. Link to comment
shaner014 Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 I'm getting a unit from BRS on Monday. I hope all is good. If it's not. Talk to Brandon. He took care of everything for me. Don't worry. FYI, I tried contacting C2 (AI parent company) to no avail. BRS was happy to address my concerns. Link to comment
Jruberti Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 I just received mine and it literally has all of the same problems :/ the fan is super annoying when it cranks on (it's quiet but extremely high pitched at start-up). Same residue, my housing was cut badly, bent plastic at the top, high pitched fan, and my serial number got messed up as well. idk if i'm going to return it because I feel like I'm just going to deal with the same thing... Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.