Glass Defect

[sbash]

I just discovered a bubble INSIDE my new custom made tank walls. I have had the tank up and running for almost a month now and I am concerned about potential long term problems (such as the tank exploding), as well as if I should take this up with the manufacturer. Has anyone out there dealt with issues like this before?

[ThRoewer]

If it's a small round bubble, it's just an optical material flaw (and an indicator that they used cheap glass, likely from China).

My 42 gallon CAD Light tank has a whole bunch of those tiny bubbles.

Who made your tank?

[sbash]

Miracles Aquarium in Ontario, Canada. These guys are supposed to be top notch, however they seem like a bunch of sketchy people to me. They were several weeks later shipping it than they said they would be, poor communication, etc...

There is only one bubble, I would like to think their QA simply missed it (as it took me weeks to notice it). However, I find this unacceptable, I doubt this would have happened if I bought the cheap Perfecto or Marineland tanks for a fraction of the cost. That said, I am pretty far down the rabbit hole to simply swap it out for a new tank.

[Dkuhlmann]

I think you should have contacted Miracles Aquarium instead of posting this here. Take a picture of the bubble and email them and see what they tell you.

[sde1500]

^^ Agreed. You went from not noticing it, to trashing this company, calling them sketchy people without even trying to contact them about it. That seems a little much if you ask me. Call or email them, plenty of threads on here talk highly of Miracles, no one is 100% perfect.

[sbash]

Woah, settle down!

My "trashing the company" was immediately followed by a benefit of the doubt comment. Using the word "seem" was an opening for someone to reassure me that they are not. Have you dealt with them before?

As in my original post, I am posting here to see if "anyone out there dealt with issues like this before?" Telling me what I should have done without being in my shoes is not helpful. Yes, I will certainly talk to the manufacturer, however waiting a few days to get other peoples experiences does not seem like an unreasonable thing to do.

[AUFishGuy]

When did sharing ones experience with a company become trashing them. All he said was it was sketchy due to poor communication and the fact that they shipped weeks later than he was told. That is something I would want to know before spending big bucks on a tank from a custom manufacturer

[Dkuhlmann]

Woah, settle down!

My "trashing the company" was immediately followed by a benefit of the doubt comment. Using the word "seem" was an opening for someone to reassure me that they are not. Have you dealt with them before?

As in my original post, I am posting here to see if "anyone out there dealt with issues like this before?" Telling me what I should have done without being in my shoes is not helpful. Yes, I will certainly talk to the manufacturer, however waiting a few days to get other peoples experiences does not seem like an unreasonable thing to do.

I wasn't telling you what you should have done. I was telling you what I would have done. The only time I would have even mentioned anything would have been if they did nothing. This is all of course in my opinion, which is what I was stating. You can handle anything in anyway you wish. Right or wrong its your opinion and way of doing things. But since you put it out here you will get varying degrees of opinions as to what you did.

[Frostyfishman]

I had a problem with pure water club.posted that on my first post and everyone jumped down my throat. When you spend large amounts of cash on something like an aquarium you expect them to inspect the thing before it ships. I would be upset to dude. It's accountability. If I did that kind shirty job at my work and set out a defective product I would get in trouble. You have every right to be annoyed. Especially on a custom job. I would call them and tell them to make it right.

[Sounds Fishy]

I ordered a Marineland 180 gallon last January,and it arrived with a crack that wasn't noticeable till it was filled with water.They replaced it immediately.Your bubble is likely something that Quality Control didn't catch and you were the first to see it,as was my case.I would not hesitate to call the builder.I would not give an opinion about whether your flaw will cause your new aquarium to fail,however,you should report it to them a get a response,right away.

[sbash]

I ordered a Marineland 180 gallon last January,and it arrived with a crack that wasn't noticeable till it was filled with water.They replaced it immediately.Your bubble is likely something that Quality Control didn't catch and you were the first to see it,as was my case.I would not hesitate to call the builder.I would not give an opinion about whether your flaw will cause your new aquarium to fail,however,you should report it to them a get a response,right away.

How did they handle the replacement? How did you handle the replacement? Mine is a 220 gallon, so close to the same size as yours. Did they cover shipping costs and the workers to get it into your house and in place? What about dealing with the defective tank?

Thanks!

[ThRoewer]

Small bubbles are very hard to catch unless you provide the right light (strong, focused flashlight from one of the sides) and use the right background (black).
Though if done right they light up clearly.

A single bubble can happen, even with high quality glass made with a state of the art manufacturing process. Though it speaks against the glass manufacturers quality control system that they didn't catch it before the glass pane left the factory.

The other issue is that the aquarium manufacturer didn't catch this and either rejected it or uses it somewhere where such imperfection doesn't matter (sump, back panel, overflow,...)

I would definitely contact them and see what they intent to do about this.

[Sounds Fishy]

How did they handle the replacement? How did you handle the replacement? Mine is a 220 gallon, so close to the same size as yours. Did they cover shipping costs and the workers to get it into your house and in place? What about dealing with the defective tank?

Thanks!

I literally had just finished filling it with salt water,for the first time.It was only obvious when water was in it.I dealt with the LFS where I purchased it.I initially didn't call,thinking it was a scratch and assuming that a warranty would not cover that.However the manager from the LFS store came over and viewed it after I called.He ascertained it was a stress crack and he took care of everything.A new aquarium was delivered and all expenses were paid including removal and delivery of the replacement,and placed onto the stand.I probably could of even had the cost for the salt water covered but I was so thankful they made the process easy,so I didn't bother.

[gottalikesharks]

I literally had just finished filling it with salt water,for the first time.It was only obvious when water was in it.I dealt with the LFS where I purchased it.I initially didn't call,thinking it was a scratch and assuming that a warranty would not cover that.However the manager from the LFS store came over and viewed it after I called.He ascertained it was a stress crack and he took care of everything.A new aquarium was delivered and all expenses were paid including removal and delivery of the replacement,and placed onto the stand.I probably could of even had the cost for the salt water covered but I was so thankful they made the process easy,so I didn't bother.

They did the right (smart) thing, now you are a customer who will buy more from them knowing they cared to take cared to take care of you.

[gottalikesharks]

I just discovered a bubble INSIDE my new custom made tank walls. I have had the tank up and running for almost a month now and I am concerned about potential long term problems (such as the tank exploding), as well as if I should take this up with the manufacturer. Has anyone out there dealt with issues like this before?

You should definitely call the place you purchased from and have them look at and replace it!!

[Sk8r]

Everybody calm down, please. I think the advice to contact the manufacturer is good: at this point we don't know how they will respond, so any speculation is premature. Photograph the issue, and email them with a copy of your receipt or the shipping invoice: it will have numbers that will help them trace what was used and which unit it is. I'd give that time to get there, like 30 minutes, and then call them on the phone and politely ask them if it will be possible to get this dealt with, and whether you can trade out tanks for one without a bubble.