Another Nanocube horror story...

[Scary1]

Here is my story about my 24 gallon Nanocube disaster...

 

About two months of having my 24g nano cube running, I noticed the fans were starting to make very loud noises. Subsequently the fans started binding in my tank. I decided to be industrious and replace the fans with larger computer fans from Fry’s. The mod was successful and I was extremely proud of my new LED fans and how cool it kept my tank. Little did I know that in JBJ’s mind this voided all warranty on my tank.

 

As luck would have it, I came home last Thursday to a tank that was half empty, lights out, and a weird smell in my apartment. Black soot was everywhere…on top of the tank, in the kitchen, in the hall, in the bedroom….on the carpet. I thought this was it…the tank cracked. Fortunately the tank didn’t crack, but rather the stock pump tubing had come loose from the stock elbow joint and the stock pump gushed water into my stock hood…wait modified hood, I replaced the fans. The pump flooded the hood, and the water spilled out on to the floor on and soaked the surge protector which everything was plugged into. This in turn created a fire which melted the surge protector, melted the lighting cords, trashed my ballast, charred the inside of my stand, and covered my place with black soot. It’s a miracle the place didn’t burn down.

 

Upset with the situation, $250 carpet cleaning bill, and ####ed with the damage to some corals, I thought I’d try again. I called JBJ yesterday and I guess I caught the right person on the right day. He told me to come in and they would exchange my burned hood. By the time I got there it was a much different tone. They didn’t want to replace the hood since I had made modifications…to the fans. I told them my fan mods had nothing to do with the pump gushing water all over my carpet and nearly burning my place down. With the attitude of “I’m not leaving here without a replaced hood and ballast” they finally and reluctantly caved. I got the new hood. When I stopped by my LFS (to return the replacement hood I had to buy) the LFS owner told me that the owner at JBJ was upset because that employee should not have replaced my hood and ballast. And the employee screwed up because my mod voided my warranty. Can you believe this? I guess the lesson I learned here is that even if a part breaks or sucks, don’t do anything about it because it will give JBJ an excuse not to honor their warranty.

 

I want to thank the good man above for protecting my place from burning to the ground and Chris from Nanocustoms for walking me though this and encouraging me to be persistent with JBJ. Chris, I can hardly wait for the new acrylic cubes…and if I can slip you an extra $20 to move me up in the queue, you let me know!

[Web Guy]

STARFIRE!!.....Bows down to the nano god Chris and begs for Starfire Glass.

 

And Scary1, I feel ya. I just received my 3rd replacement from JBJ and I need to still go thru it with a fine tooth comb. Good thing is, I was told if this one has defects or cracks they will just refund me money so I can buy another tank and move things over that way.

 

I am happy how Steven with JBJ has handled this on his end with me.

[Kogut]

Does suck about what happened to you, dude. I would have to say that I agree w/ JBJ for being ####ed, though. You did mod their hood. Ipso facto it did void the warranty. I, if I were running the business, would make an exception in your case if I saw that your mod wasn't the cause of the problem, though. I, personally, believe that all the problems that NC owners are incurring are of their own doing (for the most part). Many people have had skimmers or something similar w/ pumps vibrating against the glass. Many have altered the structural integrity of the plastic parts. Whether or not the warranty is voided is a moot point because the tank was alterred... However, it is good buisiness practice to examine the modification(s) and determine whether or not that modification could have contributed to the failure. Good luck getting set back up, bro!

[sNEIRBO]

I got ripped apart in a different thread over the weekend, for suggesting that JBJ wouldn't honor warranty for minor modifications to their product. Now this! You replaced their crappy fans out of your own pocket. What did that have to do with their pump failing? This is exactly what I was trying to say over the weekend!

 

Scary1 - all I can say is I'm sorry for your trouble, and I sincerely sympathize with you! Thank heavens you didn't come home to find your house ablaze!

[Cellenzweig]

Wouldn't it be ironic if a nano-cube cracked one night at JBJ and caused their offices to burn down? Now that would be karma...

[chipmaker]

Originally posted by Cellenzweig

Wouldn't it be ironic if a nano-cube cracked one night at JBJ and caused their offices to burn down?  Now that would be karma...

 

The odds of it happening, with the current breakage rate is definately a possibility.

[Casabubu]

I bet they dont use nano cubes because they know about all the problems..lol

[icenine]

I understand what jbj is doing by denying claims, (doesn't mean I think it really right, but I understand it) even if a modification seems to not to be the cause of a failure. (but I seem to recall in that post they said they would, for cubes purchased before July that is, that was kinda silly of them is you ask me) The example of pumps vibrating the glass and causing a crack is a valid example of things that do not seem to be connected but in fact can be.

No manufacturer is going to explicitly recommend or even condone modification of the design of their product, unless they have provided the materials and approved installation of the modification (including who can do it). ...if they did they would be opening the door to liability for who knows what. It would be impossible to take into account what everyone who got their hands on your product would do with it. You may be capable of installing a perfectly safe and effective replacement fan in the hood, but the next guy to do it may be a complete maniac and install fans that blow his neighbors house down. The company in order to protect themselves can't be ok with you making the mod and not the maniac, since they have no way to identify who the maniac is. Lets say that instead of fans the modification I decide to make is to cut the display glass in half and it breaks completely because of that. Does jbj have to honor the warranty then? Cutting the display in half is a pretty stupid idea compared to replacing a fan that failed, but if you're jbj do you want to have a "was this a bad idea" debate with every warranty claim? They have to say.. no modifications. These are just generalized and outlandish examples to try and illustrate a point, but the same principal applies to a failure like the one described at the top of this thread. No mods is the only line they can safely (for them) tote.

Having said that, I think that jbj has an interesting product design, that a lot of people think is lacking in some way or another. Unfortunately for jbj and the people that bought their product, it's just not meant to be modified to compensate for what some people think is missing, and that's a problem for both. Not being made to be modified and having a considerable percentage of the product modified complicates identifying any other design, manufacturing or shipping flaws that may exist, whether that's used to cover up or stall acknowledgement of problems is hard to tell.

I myself was real close to buying one of these, but didn't and yes, NOW... I'm glad. The list of things I wanted to change on it kept growing, and I wound up giving up on the tank that attracted me to NRing in favor of something that was built more for what I wanted to do.

I'm sure that the cube is just fine for a lot of people in it's unmodified state... but at least on this board there are a bunch that it does not work for, that sounds like an opportunity for someone who understands what so many people find both appealing and lacking about the nano cube.

 

ps.. I am sorry to hear about what happened... I wish you luck with the next set up.

[Lib-B-Glass]

I agree with you to a certain extent - there probably are things people could do to these tanks that should void their warranty, but I think it should void that part of the warranty not the whole warranty. For example - if you drill a hole through your glass - you voided your tank warranty. If you rip the hood apart for whatever reason - you voided your hood warranty. But if you voided your hood warranty, then your tank cracks, why shouldn't that be covered?

 

I think Sneirbo was trying to point this out this past weekend in a different post - what is an "acceptable modification", and what is an "unacceptable modification"?

 

Is the cassette skimmer ok? From what I've read the cassette skimmer sets up an imbalance in water levels between the main tank and all of the chambers. Is this creating undue stress (i.e., uneven loading) that may cause the glass to crack? Some people "pooh-poohed" sneirbo for suggesting that JBJ wouldn't honor their warranty based on that modification, but has any of you stopped to think about it like JBJ might think about it? That you are not loading your tank uniformly with that modification. Even if it's 1/2 a gallon of water difference, that's 4 lbs less in back, and 4 lbs more in front, a difference of 8 lbs on thin glass.

 

Is a chamber 2 fuge ok? I don't think the Nano Cubes were designed for that modification, but how is liverock and macro any different than carbon, ceramic media and bio-balls? I think the hobbyists and this forum figured that modification out. It sounds inoccuous to me, but do you think JBJ supports adding live rock and macro algae to the back of their system? I doubt it. So everyone that has a fuge in chamber 2, you should probably consider your warranty voided.

 

Why is it any less likely that the stock pump would vibrate the glass, than an aftermarket pump would? If so, what's so special about the stock pump that it doesn't vibrate the glass? All the pumps and powerheads I've looked at have suction cup feet for isolating the vibrations. So if there is a vibration, is it because the pump is too close to the glass, and not because it's resting on the bottom? Maybe Nano Cube should design a little shelf that holds the pump in a particular place to isolate the vibration. But until they do, their stock pump can vibrate glass just as easily as an aftermarket pump can.

 

What was scary1 supposed to do when his fans quit working? Does JBJ have a loaner policy? Does JBJ have authorized repair centers? (I thought nanocustoms was one until today.) The guy replaced a fan that failed, then his pump failed. Doesn't sound like the fan had anything to do with the pump to me.

 

I don't think anyone could build a system to meet everyone's needs, and therefore you can't say "modifications = no warranty". Is the product functional right out of the box? Some say it is. But isn't it standard practice in the Aquarium Industry for people to be putting skimmers, multiple powerheads, various sized heaters, etc. in their tanks? Why would Nano Cube expect people who bought their system to be doing anything different. They entered a market where that is standard practice.

 

I don't own a Nano Cube, and won't buy one. Just my $0.02.

[bryandbx]

A lot of people buy Nano's because they are NEW to this hobby and are led to believe that the NC is an all in one solution that is easy to manage. You can argue that there's plenty of threads out there and if you dig deep enough you can come up with a laundry list of modifications that need to be done. To be honest, I didn't find this site until after my purchase. Come to find out the pump is too weak. The lighting is too weak. The glass is too thin. The fans are cheap and should be protected from the salt splash that makes them squeek. Check out JBJ's product page. It sounds like a high end bad to the bone setup that includes everything you need. They do make reference to DIY (DO IT YOURSELF) customers who will enjoy more room in the filtration chambers in case they want to upgrade the pump. http://www.jbjlighting.com/sys_24g_nanocube.html

 

 

My cube was up and running for 6 months. I had finally got through the hair algae, cyno and all the regular treats that come with a new reef system. The params were perfect. I went away for the weekend and came back and the tank had cracked from top to bottom in the corner. I was able to save 3 fish and a shrimp. The temp tank is now a month old and has all the same new system issues I had just overcome. Thank GOD my house did not burn down. I have over 3000 in damages though (and the receipts to back that up). It's also a good thing that I was just barely still under my 6 month warranty AND had a copy of my receipt (rare for me). So now I have this brand new tank here from JBJ that I'm afraid to fill up because I dont have another 3K if it breaks.

 

The shipping theory is bull######. My tank was purchased from a LFS and operated perfectly for 6 months before the crack. I might sell this new tank on ebay and get away from jbj's product all together. It's a shame. I had a hell of an investment in my setup.

[M.Arowana]

This thread sure scared me out of JBJ!!

 

They should include a fire extinguisher with the hood jeez!!

 

How can a company call itself reputable with these kinds of fatal flaws in their products? Also if JBJ almost burned your house down because of their incompetence, then sue them. It sounds very serious.

[Scary1]

Let me say this....I think that if JBJ spent the extra money and made the glass thicker, with a reasonable factor of safety, the complaint list would drop SIGNIFICANTLY. I'm not trying to back up JBJ or how they do business, but if they operated with the notion that cracked tanks are unacceptable the complaints would be close to zero. Other than crappy glass the tank is pretty nice. I will admit that what happened to me is probably a six-sigma type anolomy. But my overall point is that some people suggest that the mods are culprit of tank failures (which I believe not to be the case). If the glass was thicker and manufactured properly, no mod would matter, shipping damage wouldn't be an issue, and there would be so many soaked/nearly burned down carpets and homes.

 

As far as my mods, I would expect that any waranty related to the hood would be void IFF my fan had caused the problem. I accepted that when I did this mod myself. Hoever, if my glass craks, or my pump nearly burns my place to the ground, JBJ is still liable. The only reason I am not pursuing this further is that I am not out but a few hundred bucks. bryandbx...I would have laywers on the phone if I was in your shoes.

 

sneirbo...thank you for your words. I read where you got torn apart over the warranty discussion and that was wrong. I want you to know that you...well, we...are right. I would never sell anything I wouldn't stand behind. I've sold stuff on e-bay that broke that I refunded/lost money over becuase the product I sold failed. It's just good business. I can sleep well knowing I did the right thing. I wonder if the JBJ people even think about the distress thier faulty products have caused?

 

Lastly, at JBJ they do have two nanocubes in thier "reception area". Call the tang police....they have a blue tang along with several other fish in a 24g nanocube.

[outtafocus]

It appears everyone is laying blame on JBJ for everything.

 

This near miss fire would never have happened if everything was plugged into a GFI. The GFI would have tripped the second the water touched the electrics and would shut all the equipment plugged into the GFI down. Surge protectors work great for doing exactly that, protecting computers etc, from sufering a electrical surge. They however do nuts for stopping water from frying everything. I know GFIs can and do fail, and if you had one, Im sorry for saying you need one.

 

I am glad to hear that it didnt burn down your home. I guess you are lucky it only cost you a $250 carpet cleaning bill and a hood.

On a side note, isn't blamming a pump connection coming loose on JBJ just like blamming Fluval or Ehiem for having a hose come loose and flooding the house?

Checking all pump fittings should be part of a weekly/bi weekly routine.

[icenine]

Wow, my apologies.

Ya know I never saw that line about diy in the poop sheet.... that's darn stupid of them. Apperently I was giving jbj a little too much credit.

And as long as they are advertising like that, they would have a tough time cutting off the warranty at July 1st by me considering I just read that and it's the 13th of July according to my calander and thier own web site just told me it's great for modification.

[uscreef]

I have a 12 gal nanocube for a year w/o any problems at all...

[sNEIRBO]

WOW! I just saw that DIY statement on JBJ's site as well. I for one just printed a copy of that and stuck it in my "Nano Cube File".

 

Brandybx - you need to go to the "JBJ Official Thread" and make that point there as well!