JoshH
Tank Status: Wet...ish, growing things....
I had an absolutely horrible experience with Coast 2 Coast and would never, ever, EVER buy from them again or recommend them to anyone else. Tank was about $6K, 7' x 28" by 25". Tank was delivered to freight depot, not to my home. I went there, opened crate, and climbed in looking for the sort of damage you would expect: did the tank get cracked? Seeing no cracks, I climbed out and signed off to take possession. Unfortunately, only after getting the tank home and fully disassembling the crate -- something not reasonably possible at a commercial freight depot -- was I able to see what a sh**ty job C2C did.
Bracing had numerous chips, and there was grotesque fissuring of the silicone between the bracing panels all the way around the tank. (See pictures below; just one panel shown.) I had been talked out of starphire for the bracing -- was told it was so narrow you wouldn't notice the difference -- but the regular old float glass stood out like a sore thumb with its greenish edges. Plus, it wasn't even polished smooth, giving it a wavy/distorted appearance when viewed edge on.
I called C2C to complain about the workmanship, and was told too bad, so sad, you signed off on it. I was also told, well, you don't focus on the tank, you focus on the life in the tank. (For 6K, I'm looking for a tank that is as beautiful as the life in it.) They also told me that the fissures in the silicone are as per what they told me could happen. What they TOLD me was that "the anomalies in the seams are not covered in the warranty...they just happen. Although they are not usually a "bubble" as much as a sort of ripple, they are just an unfortunate aesthetic result of the silicone doing what it does, shrinking and grabbing the glass from both sides." That was a gross misrepresentation; those are hardly "ripples."
When I showed them pictures of the chips in the glass, they told me that UPS must have damaged the tank by dropping it. For a while, I believed them, given how I saw forklift operator manhandle the tank in the warehouse. When putting together a quote to have the tank replaced at UPS' expense, C2C asked if I wanted them to include the cost to rebuild with starphire bracing as I had originally requested. In other words, stick UPS with the higher cost of a rebuild to do things right, as I had originally requested. (I declined; that's just plain dishonest.) Subsequently, I saw other people posting online with similarly cr*ppy workmanship, and I realized it was C2C's fault, not UPS'. Even though UPS had offered me about $2300 to resolve the matter, I dropped the claim against them and declined to take the money. It just wouldn't have been right to do so.
Thoroughly disgusted with the tank, I cut off the bracing (no easy task THAT was) with plans to re-do it myself. C2C tells me that I voided the warranty doing so, since I "released pressure" and now the structural integrity was compromised. After some discussion, they told me that if I brought the tank up to them in NJ, they would re-brace it and the warranty would be restored. So if cutting off the bracing "released pressure" and ruined the structure and hence the tank, how is it that they could re-warrant after THEY re-braced the tank??? If you ask me, they were talking out of their ****. Also, they would only re-brace as per their original configuration, not a different configuration per my request that would eliminate the inter-panel fissuring, so I told them I would do it myself. When I asked if I could buy some of the "special-formula" silicone that is allegedly only made for them, they refused. They claimed they had spent too much money developing the formula, and it's patented and the trade secrets........ (Note: I'm a patent attorney; I found NO patents to C2C or the owner or salesman pertaining to silicone (or any other product.....); just plan b.s.)
During phone call at same time period, owner asks whether I had bad-mouthed the company on line. At that time, I had not posted about them, so I said, "No." His response: "Good. Because I will make it my life's mission to go after anyone who badmouths the company." Is THIS the sort of company you want to do business with?
Ultimately, I re-braced the tank myself. It took me two years to get clean lines with silicone and a final product that makes me happy, with the tank sitting in the garage and preventing me from getting my car in the whole time. Given glass for two attempts to re-create original configuration that went south (once due to panels getting bonded together in wrong orientation prematurely, necessitating a whole new set of glass panels), followed by other configuration I went with; at least two dozen tubes of silicone; razor blades; cleaning supplies; etc. etc. etc., I probably put another $2k into the tank before it was ready to go forward with the build.
What kills me is that originally I had ordered from Reef Savvy, but the six-month deliver-by date came and went. Felix was apologetic and offered to make things right, but I was impatient and cancelled the order and went with C2C. How I wish I had stayed the course with Reef Savvy....... my experience with C2C was bad news all the way around.
Thank you for sharing your experience and all I can say is wow. That is incredibly disappointing to read. Getting a new tank is supposed to be an exciting time and that's certainly not what you experienced. After all you have been through I hope your tank is set up now and you can put this all behind you
