CAD Lights Review

[Migggel]

I have the CAD LIGHTS ARTISAN II 100 galloon . After 2 years the glue in the sides leaked open and the glass fell off and destroyed the condo below me . NOy recommending it .... I am giving up this hobby . Very traumatic :-(

 

[CMO]

I have the CAD LIGHTS ARTISAN II 100 galloon . After 2 years the glue in the sides leaked open and the glass fell off and destroyed the condo below me . NOy recommending it .... I am giving up this hobby . Very traumatic :-(

Sorry to hear that. That's terrible. I'm terrified I will meet the same fate with my cadlights 165 given enough time. When you say the glass fell off, what are we talking. Like an instant catastrophic blow out or something that started as a slow leak followed by the glass coming loose?

 

[HB AL]

I've had a 92cad a little over two years. It's been my favorite in over 30 years. Have had no issues with it.

Almost 3 year mark and fascinated by how much my corals and fish grew in the last 9 months.

 

[pecan2phat]

This is the quality control product that they send out to customers, should be ashamed to market aquariums!
Unpolished edges

Chipped overflow holes

 

[CMO]

Yeah same on mine with the non polished back side edges and crap covering. Mine is peeling off.

 

[James Weir]

I was going to start up an aquarium business in a little over a year ago. I was looking for inventory and came across Cad Lights. After speaking with the owner (i forget his name), I ended up purchasing about 100 various tanks from him. After many excuses of not shipping the product after I had already paid, I threatened to call AMEX and issue a chargeback. Immediately, he gave me a massive refund, included several large sumps, and some other stuff I can't remember, and still shipped out the freight (6 pallets). Upon unpacking, everything I ordered was there and all but 1 sump divider piece was in tact and in perfect condition. Which is a miracle. By the time the product arrived (3-4 months after purchase), I had already decided to move in a different direction as my gun business started to get crazy busy. I just recently (over a year later) started to build the tanks/stands in hopes of selling the inventory for what I paid wholesale. I haven't taken a CLOSE look at the glass quality yet, some of you mentioned issues with the glass. I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary yet though. As soon as I have some time to take a closer look i'll post an update.

 

[James Weir]

I've put together several tanks from the Artisan II series and the ZEN series, as well as a lot of the nano stuff they have. so far so good. There is one 70gal tank that has imperfections hardly noticeable on the epoxy but its very tiny and would not affect holding water or anything. The stands seem well built on the artisan series but the zen 80 gallon setup is very questionable as its built with low quality mdf wood. i think over time if there's too much water penetration at the ends of the boards it will rapidly deteriorate. My suggestion is to paint any unpainted surfaces with a hard enamel paint and that should solve the issue. all in all, im pleased....i mean, its no red sea...its literally a copy but with lesser materials and lesser quality labor.. Thats what these companies do...they take a reputable company, and try and counterfit and copy it using lesser quality materials and labor (china). There are good Chinese companies, but usually those Chinese companies are owned or run by Europeans or Americans, and there's high standards for quality control. Im not knocking the Chinese but it is what it is. But, you get these fly by night companies like Cad Lights who just use any manufacturer in China and import into the USA and dont care about quality or long term reputation. You're gonna get some good stuff, but half the time you'll get trash. They want to make a quick buck and move onto something else. That is the obvious situation in this case. But I got lucky and didn't receive visibly faulty goods. Time will tell though. Sorry for the rant but in this industry, its better to spend more money on the reputation than try to save a few bucks and buy something questionable.

 

[James Weir]

BTW marine depot dropped them as a vendor. Not sure if its due to complaints or if the company has finally folded.

 

[HB AL]

BTW marine depot dropped them as a vendor. Not sure if its due to complaints or if the company has finally folded.

Your situation is very unique, who really knows why or cares if marine depot stopped carrying them. Doesn’t seem the company folded I’m sure they are just fine www.cadlights.com

 

[James Weir]

Well I'd think that if it was a good product with good margins, which is probably what Marine Depot thought at first, which is why they probably carried them at first....then suddenly not carry them..that speaks volumes to a potential buyer. But whatever, who cares! I sure the hell don't.

 

[DanInMichigan]

I'm awaiting the arrival of my new 178G. Took a risk with this company, I know, based on many people's experiences. but hopefully all goes well. Super excited.

 

[Rooki3]

Wanted to bring this thread back to the top. I am looking into Mode Aquariums and I believe Cadlights and Mode are the same company.

Can anyone else chime in on their experiences with Cadlights/Mode. Just wondering if they took a turn and are now doing better with quality control, customer service etc.

I looked at DanInMichigan’s 165g build thread. The thread is pretty recent from 05/2019. There were some QC issues but it seemed they made it right. However, I would of definitely sent back the cabinet and not drilled into a new cabinet. The main thing is that the company corrected the issue. That is all I would ask for from a business.

 

[DanInMichigan]

Hi. Yeah, Mode and Cadlights are the same company. My tank is still going well and am still happy with my Cadlight's experience. I haven't run into any defects that make me regret the purchase.

 

[Rooki3]

Hi. Yeah, Mode and Cadlights are the same company. My tank is still going well and am still happy with my Cadlight's experience. I haven't run into any defects that make me regret the purchase.

Cool that you are happy with your purchase. Good to know that they made things right where they screwed up.

I’m really considering their 135g Mode tank. I really like their dimensions and stand. Noticed no other manufacturer offers same. However, I’m going to hold off a bit till some more reviews go up.