The Planted Tank Forum banner

ADA 90-P faulty. Or...?

18K views 130 replies 36 participants last post by  Matsnork 
#1 ·
I´ve got a bit of a delicate conundrum and would like some input from other ADA aquarium owners.

Would you say that it is within acceptable limits that the side panels on a brand new ADA 90-P are slightly skewed by about 3mm? The sides are not exactly parallell wich results in the corners not being exactly 90-degrees. Because of this the aquarium does not line up perfectly with my cabinet.

Am I just picky or should I expect perfection for the premium price payed for this item?

Picture illustrating the issue. The problem is mirrored on the other side:
 
See less See more
1
#79 ·
I've always considered ADA to be the Apple Computer of the aquarium hobby. They started the nature aquarium with their minimum equipment approach and it captured and inspired many in the hobby, but like Apple, competitors have moved in and have produced some of the same product for less money and less hassle. Let's face it in the U.S. most of the products consumed are aquasoil and the medium to small tanks. So I'm not surprised there are issues with the marketing approach. Unlike Apple that doesn't have Steve Jobs anymore, ADA still has Amano so I'm fairly confident there is more good stuff to come.
 
#84 · (Edited)
OT:

The Germans have finally given me some information. The Japanese have not replied to me nor the German distributor. Bad form imho.

The German distributor feel they want to help me out, but the shipping costs and the risks involved are pretty high so they prefer to compensate me instead of sending a new tank. They mention discount on other ADA items. Not sure cash refund is up on the table.

What do you guys n gals think is adequate compensation to make you feel comfortable keeping and using this crooked aquarium?
What would it be the sale % off if sold as a defective item in a shop? -30%? -50%?

After a while I guess one would stop thinking about the hardware estetics and only concentrate on the inards of the tank as one should.
 
#85 ·
OT:

The Germans have finally given me some information. The Japanese have not replied to me nor the German distributor. Bad form imho.

The German distributor feel they want to help me out, but the shipping costs and the risks involved are pretty high so they prefer to compensate me instead of sending a new tank. They mention discount on other ADA items. Not sure cash refund is up on the table.

What do you guys n gals think is adequate compensation to make you feel comfortable keeping and using this crooked aquarium?
What would it be the sale % off if sold as a defective item in a shop? -

After a while I guess one would stop thinking about the hardware estetics and only concentrate on the inards of the tank as one should.
50% off a Superjet!!!
 
#86 ·
Well yeah, had similar thoughts but found a super jet copy thats already half the price. Plus I have already purchased a filter for this project.

Maybe an aquasky 602 for my 60P? Not shure how good they are though. They are seriously overpriced. No dimming etc.
 
#87 ·
I, too, hope ADA catches on that people are taking notice of inferior quality control. This thread has just talked me out of their tanks. As has been said, I won't pay premium price for anything less than premium quality. I have no sympathy for companies that outsource anything to China. I'll be shopping their competition for my next tank...
 
#89 ·
talontsiawd;

Thanks for your insight. I agree with you but I´m not too keen on shipping the tank to Germany. Can´t even move the tank by myself, so it´s kind of a bog ordeal for me.

Very strange that ADA does not answer on the customer support mail adress.
 
#90 ·
Can the distributor or whoever is willing to compensate you back on the tank contact ADA? In the US, it seems that the 2 major distributors over the years (only one now) deal directly with ADA on their ordering. I am not sure on retailers if you are not working with an ADA distributor but it's worth a try. They may be able to help you get in contact with ADA and skip the whole compensation idea.
 
#91 ·
I would post this to a few more forums to get the word out about your problem, then send another e-mail to ada linking to each thread. If they care about maintaining their high end brand, and the amount of negative feedback this generates, they might be more inclined to help out.
This is sort of a last attempt, if this doesnt get you anywhere i would look in your area and see if anybody manufacturers aquariums, or has experience and get an estimate to get the tank re-sealed and set square. Your german supplier might even foot the bill to have this done.
 
#95 · (Edited)
I doubt one could file an "international complaint", but if possible I don´t think it would make much difference for a private consumer. It´s hard enough as it is sometimes when companies are clueless, and Sweden has got pretty tough trading laws. For example we have a standard 3 year warranty.

The distributor seems willing to keep me happy so lets not get carried away with international vendettas, not yet at least. :)

Edit2:

According to the Swedish consumer trading laws/guidelines it´s the end trader (lfs) that has to resolve any problems. So basically the responsibility lays with the lfs and they would have to pay up if the distributor backs out.

edit:

Oh, and when you visit this AFA guy/store, would you mind having a look at any 90+size display tanks they might have to check the craftmanship?

Sorry for all the edits. Its 03:30 here now so I´m not very focused :O
 
#96 ·
Oh, and when you visit this AFA guy/store, would you mind having a look at any 90+size display tanks they might have to check the craftmanship?

Sorry for all the edits. Its 03:30 here now so I´m not very focused :O
I will. I can take pictures too. Have not been there in a few months but last time I was there, I believe a 90P was set up (was having some drinks down the street, don't quote me on that). It was perfect. My local friend has a 60P and 120P, both are very well made. My basic point, I have never seen an ADA tank as off as yours. I was the one who thought it may be a counterfeit/knock off.

If I make it tomorrow, I will take pics of both display tanks and tanks to sell (they are usually out but they often don't have big ones out). I will PM you and send you pictures if I am there.

I will also see if there is some direct email, I don't think they will give it to me but who knows.
 
#100 ·
So unfortunately I did not have much time at AFA. They had a 90P setup (notice old logo) but not out for sale. I didn't have time to speak to anyone and my pictures came out a bit blurry. It was hard to get a good angle as they had many tanks for sale right infront of the display tanks. Hopefully the pictures at least help. I can verify what I already knew, all there tanks were as close to perfect as it gets.

I wonder if you may try calling AFA and see if they can help you either get a better contact, or maybe they would be nice enough to try to help. I haven't found them to be particularly helpful or hard to deal with myself, they aren't bad but are just so busy. If they have pride in the brand they stand behind, I would think they could do something for you.


Here are the few pictures I got, sorry some are a bit blurry but you can see that their are no noticeable flaws both in how square the tank is and the silicone work. What looks what could be an imperfection on the top right of the tank is just some algae on the front glass.





 
#101 ·
Thanks a bunch!

First pictures I´ve seen (after hours of googling) that really show how close the tank follows the stand. Any alignment issues would be very noticeable if I had an ADA stand. The tank would hang over the edge. That is an ADA stand in the picture isnt it?

My non-ADA stand has an extra 5mm width.

A few months after I ordered my tank, ADA Norway became the official Nordic dealer. So I´ll be contacting them to hear if they´ve had any faulty tanks come through and what experiences with ADA customer support. I ´ll leave the yank-dealer alone for now ;)
 
#102 ·
I am not familiar enough with ADA stands to know a real one from a different brand or DIY. I don't think AFA sells any DIY stands but I don't know. They did have a few stands (only one on display, all others for sale) that didn't look like any ADA stand I have seen, it had a raised or recessed section, I can't remember off the top of my head. They didn't seem to be as nice as the other stands on display. That stand was probably the nicest looking, if you like white, of all the stands there. If it is not ADA, it was still an excellent quality stand and fit the tank perfectly without any gaps or edge hanging over, etc. Perfectly matched, felt it with my fingers.
 
#105 ·
Very good to hear. This thread actually got me thinking that I would not likely buy an ADA tank online or shipped for that matter. I am lucky enough to have AFA in my area but that doesn't mean they have everything in stock which could take months. My only reason for saying that is I hope they are paying attention because this should have been a straight forward affair, IMO. I actually decided to skip ADA lily pipes (stainless) due to seeing more rust than I would have expected on a display, with this thread in the back of my head.
 
#106 ·
I agree, buying in a shop is always the way to go when dealing with this kind of merchandise. Or maybe if you have a good dialog with a seller who can double check the item before shipping it, snap some pictures and so on.

Good thing you brought it up. I´m going to send an email about this. Ask ze germanz to do a quality check before shipping... Otherwise, with my luck, I´m going to get a tank from a bad batch again.
 
#107 ·
Ok so no new tank is going to be shipped to me any time soon. Distributor is very reluctant because of the extreme costs involved. If they would ship it they want proof that I destroy my faulty 90-P(!) Sounds kind of nutty.

The store I bought it from is reluctant to pay for shipping but is still kinda good natured towards me. If no new tank then hoping for atleast a partial refund.

Never buying an unseen tank again thats for sure.
 
#109 ·
I would just go ahead and destroy it, after you get the new tank. I bet they are just concerned you may resell it when they are already taking the loss.

Question, how do the NA tanks compare to ADA (assuming this isn't your first ADA tank of course). Also, what is there availability? It seems like they are still trying to hassle you, if NA makes comparable tanks and are easy to get, maybe you can get them to just cut a check. Trust me, I am a big fan of ADA stuff but now there are too many other brands for anything to be less than perfect. Maybe it's because we don't get NA stuff here but their products as appealing if not more than ADA to myself.

Just thinking you may have another route here that may make your life easier.
 
#108 ·
I have one of the older ADA tanks and the dimensions are near perfect down to the millimeter. I would not have been happy either.

It would seem the costs have gone up and the quality has gone down. I have heard that they moved production from Germany to China.
 
#111 ·
Maybe you should have something in writing if you want to go ahead with things. I don't know if that would make things more complicated or not. I would be hesitant to smash it before you get the new one because as far as I can tell, they have not done a great job at establishing trust here.

I don't think you will have an issue with glass thickness. I was actually kind of surprised when my friend graciously gave me his 60P for a wedding present. I thought the glass was rather thick (not overly thick) for the tank size.

I did forget the NA was a bit taller. I think the 90P has perfect dimensions so that could bug me if I had already purchased the 90P.

It just seems strange to me how they are dealing with the whole thing.
 
#112 ·
Not smashing anything.... yet. Maybe later for completely different reasons ^^

The NA 90x45x50cm is 200usd + 70usd delivered. Thats what I paid for my 60-P not including shipping. I could live with a few flaws for that price. Well well, too late now.
 
#114 ·
Got a refund offer of 26% with the catch that no responsability taken if the tank leaks. Dealership basically paying to get out of any warranty claims, cheaply I might add. No deal. At least 40% refund required imho.
 
#115 ·
Wow, they really don't want to claim responsibility. If you are not including shipping, as per US pricing, you could not even go out and buy a knock off to replace it. Given some of ADA's competitors are sending out new tanks for cosmetic flaws (without return shipping or expectation to destroy), I don't know where they came up with that number.

I they saying for 26%, you loose your warranty? I have never heard of anything like that if that is what you are saying. It's like saying, we know your tank is messed up so we will pay you a fraction back but not honor what we should because we know that the quality of the tank will void the warranty anyway.

That said, what is the warranty of an ADA tank? All I can find is "2 year quality warranty" which leads me to believe you have a warranty claim right there. I would assume that would be replacement or 100% money back but I am sure that there is more than that, never have purchased an ADA tank.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top