Totally Irate

vetteguy53081 · Dec 19, 2018

Not intended to chastise a vendor but I have poured so mush $$ in Aqua Illuminations and their products and nearly burned down my den due to a HOT power adapter for my Hydra 26 on Saturday. I was denied access to fill out a request but able to fill out message box and No reply from them as serious as this matter is/was.
I called and left voice messages yesterday and today- Again without reply. This is absurd, poor customer retention and a belief that I will No longer buy any of their products and may even sell all my Ai items .
I have 4 primes, one hydra 26 and a few other Ai products and never would have thought after being a former store owner and in the industry for over 30 years that They would be the ones to perform this way.
Maybe im totally serious, maybe I'm venting BUT I am Less than pleased. I will go on Amazon and order a new one but this is likely the end of any support or recommendations to others I have for them.

DesertReefT4r · Dec 19, 2018

Go Radion or Kessile or back to good old metal halides.

vetteguy53081 · Dec 19, 2018

DesertReefT4r said:
Go Radion or Kessile or back to good old metal halides.

I have Kessil AP700 pair on my 360g as well as ReefBrite and SB Reef. All great customer support

KrisReef · Dec 19, 2018

"Nearly" is good in the first instance. I'm glad this wasn't any worse and hope they come around an do better.

Lorenz725 · Dec 19, 2018

Sorry to here this!

4FordFamily · Dec 19, 2018

I’ve always had fantastic customer service from them. I have 3 Hydra 52 HD, 5 Hydra 26 HD, and 2 Prime HD. I hope they make it right. It took them about 48 hours to resolve my recent issue but communicated within 12.

I am sorry for your troubles.

Sharis100 · Dec 19, 2018

vetteguy53081 said:
Not intended to chastise a vendor but I have poured so mush $$ in Aqua Illuminations and their products and nearly burned down my den due to a HOT power adapter for my Hydra 26 on Saturday. I was denied access to fill out a request but able to fill out message box and No reply from them as serious as this matter is/was.
I called and left voice messages yesterday and today- Again without reply. This is absurd, poor customer retention and a belief that I will No longer buy any of their products and may even sell all my Ai items .
I have 4 primes, one hydra 26 and a few other Ai products and never would have thought after being a former store owner and in the industry for over 30 years that They would be the ones to perform this way.
Maybe im totally serious, maybe I'm venting BUT I am Less than pleased. I will go on Amazon and order a new one but this is likely the end of any support or recommendations to others I have for them.

This week, I went online and reported a fault in one of my primes at Aqua illuminations website under support. provide your name, date purchased, issue, serial number and support will email you back. You need to send photos of your issue- the product, a copy of your original receipt. For me, They emailed me back and we went back and forth for a few days. But they agreed to send me a new product and RMA to return defective device. They stand behind their products. You just need a little patience and work through their system- which is a bit daunting like many companies.

vetteguy53081 · Dec 19, 2018

Sharisnewreeftank said:
This week, I went online and reported a fault in one of my primes at Aqua illuminations website under support. provide your name, date purchased, issue, serial number and support will email you back. You need to send photos of your issue- the product, a copy of your original receipt. For me, They emailed me back and we went back and forth for a few days. But they agreed to send me a new product and RMA to return defective device. They stand behind their products. You just need a little patience and work through their system- which is a bit daunting like many companies.

I did all this and after Captia, site said i was blocked??? I then sent instant message. I am dealing with a tank At DAY 6 with a desk lamp. That’s why im irate. A near fire hazard and no lighting is a little urgent in my book

Sharis100 · Dec 19, 2018

vetteguy53081 said:
I did all this and after Captia, site said i was blocked??? I then sent instant message. I am dealing with a tank At DAY 6 with a desk lamp. That’s why im irate. A near fire hazard and no lighting is a little urgent in my book

It took me 8 days to settle my claim with them and you do have to plug away until resolution. Try Alex Young at 1-515-223-5105 ext 2. Also, Brandon was great as well. Hopefully, you can work it out.

vetteguy53081 · Dec 19, 2018

Sharisnewreeftank said:
It took me 8 days to settle my claim with them and you do have to plug away until resolution. Try Alex Young at 1-515-223-5105 ext 2. Also, Brandon was great as well. Hopefully, you can work it out.

Thank you for info

vetteguy53081 · Dec 20, 2018

I contacted them again today, and they requesting that I send it all (light and cords) in for testing. That means I will be without a light at least another 8 days and have No choice but to go out and buy another light before I lose all these corals below as it is going on a week that this happened.
I Know its the power adapter but they want it all. Guess i'll send this off tomorrow and get this process started

jda · Dec 20, 2018

AI is owned by EcoTech now. The customer service went way down once the merger happened... no answers, no more upgrades (after AI promised that all of their stuff would be upgradeable), etc. Sorry to hear about your experience.

Expect them to tell you that the unit cannot be repaired that that you can get a slight discount on a brand new unit. If you get better than this, then you are in REALLY good shape and have one of the better outcomes.

vetteguy53081 · Dec 20, 2018

Just wonderful. I have NO luck with ecotech, and why I got rid of my radions.
Yes, they are always ready to sell rather than resolve. Based on this discovery, I found a power pack on Amazon and will order it and resolve the problem Myself.
Thank you for heads up.

Ai charges $70 for a powerpack/adapter. Amazon is $23.00 and shipping would be $17.70.
for $5 more I will buy from Amazon and get it in 2 days and problem resolved

T-5unsystem · Dec 20, 2018

Power adapters always get at least warm, often hot. What makes you think it was defective? If you had a zip tie or similar type restriction on it that will often lead to this as well since it cannot expand and contract with temperature.

jda said:
AI is owned by EcoTech now. The customer service went way down once the merger happened... no answers, no more upgrades (after AI promised that all of their stuff would be upgradeable), etc. Sorry to hear about your experience.

Expect them to tell you that the unit cannot be repaired that that you can get a slight discount on a brand new unit. If you get better than this, then you are in REALLY good shape and have one of the better outcomes.

The owner of AI now owns EcoTech, so its more of a merger than a "owned by EcoTech" situation. Not that it matters.

vetteguy53081 · Dec 20, 2018

T-5unsystem said:
Power adapters always get at least warm, often hot. What makes you think it was defective? If you had a zip tie or similar type restriction on it that will often lead to this as well since it cannot expand and contract with temperature.

The owner of AI now owns EcoTech, so its more of a merger than a "owned by EcoTech" situation. Not that it matters.

You could hear a buzzing sound from supply and it had an electrical burning smell and obviously the light is out and my director shows it is on schedule for daily lighting schedule

vetteguy53081 · Dec 20, 2018

Just ordered the power adapter and it will be here Saturday

jda · Dec 20, 2018

I hope that solves it. It is always possible that there is something wrong with the unit and it is drawing too much power, but if it is running and not too terribly hot it's self, then this is probably not likely.

vetteguy53081 · Dec 26, 2018

Update: The cord I ordered arrived and Hydra 26 works like a champ. As suspected, it was the power adapter which is in an enclosed environment for protection.

Jet Sled · Dec 26, 2018

They should have just sent you out a new power supply no questions asked and you would have been praising their customer service! Others that read this now will be hesitant to purchase their products in the future like me. Thanks for the heads up!