You might look at Aquasabi
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Help Please - New Aquarium (after not being in the hobby for 3 years)
- Thread starter Adam Chambers
- Start date
Adam Chambers
Member
Thank you for the comment. I have indeed considered but feel that the industrial look of the SS pipes are something I would like to try and make a feature out of them instead.
This of course may change once the tank is in place but I feel the SS would match the cab colour as well as I am leaning towards the Super-Matt Anthracite finish.
Regards,
Adam
Adam Chambers
Member
Thank you alto, you have been most useful throughout this thread with help and links 🙂
I have bookmarked that site for now so I can await for filter to arrive and check piping placement prior to ordering anything so I know what I am doing. The Borneo Wild are certainly what I was looking at in regards to quality and finish.
Regards,
Adam
😀
I almost forgot to include my vote on cabinet finish ...
yes, as you guessed, I'm going with the more neutral Super-Matt Anthracite 😉
Your alternate favorite will impact perception of (certain) plant colors/hardscape stones/wood ... though I appreciate the intensity of those deep jewel tone cabinets, over time I'd end up wanting a more neutral background to the tank
Have you considered access into the house & rooms for this tank - measure it out before the tank arrives
For the background, I'd go light & then use color LED strips to manipulate shades - have you read through Mark Evans journals? they are among my favorites, the detailing & photography ... extraordinary
I'll link this one as it came to mind again with the IAPLC results being released
If I recall 😳 which journal has the background effects discussion I'll link that later
I almost forgot to include my vote on cabinet finish ...
yes, as you guessed, I'm going with the more neutral Super-Matt Anthracite 😉
Your alternate favorite will impact perception of (certain) plant colors/hardscape stones/wood ... though I appreciate the intensity of those deep jewel tone cabinets, over time I'd end up wanting a more neutral background to the tank
Have you considered access into the house & rooms for this tank - measure it out before the tank arrives
For the background, I'd go light & then use color LED strips to manipulate shades - have you read through Mark Evans journals? they are among my favorites, the detailing & photography ... extraordinary
I'll link this one as it came to mind again with the IAPLC results being released
If I recall 😳 which journal has the background effects discussion I'll link that later
Adam Chambers
Member
That was my thought, colour would wear thin and want a more natural finish soon. Will take photo of area later tonight and will be going through back gate and double patio doors so that's no problem.
Only concern is the carpet and it sitting level. But am sure I will be able to sort it as needed.
My initial was always light background but thought I would try dark as well just to make sure. I was looking through the all the IAPLC stuff at work today and that tank does look lovely.
It's just trying to g et back lighting to work with the 3 Kessil lights then.
And always appreciate the links you add to this.
Kind regards,
Adam
Only concern is the carpet and it sitting level. But am sure I will be able to sort it as needed.
My initial was always light background but thought I would try dark as well just to make sure. I was looking through the all the IAPLC stuff at work today and that tank does look lovely.
It's just trying to g et back lighting to work with the 3 Kessil lights then.
And always appreciate the links you add to this.
Kind regards,
Adam
Adam Chambers
Member
Have confirmed the colour as Super-Matt Anthracite so that is now officially ordered through EA, who have confirmed that the 1500+ aquarium is in stock and they are just awaiting the board to arrive which is the 3-4 weeks.
Other than that I have some pictures here of where tank is going on and how am getting it in the room 😉
The acrylic has arrived at home today so ready for when the tank gets here as well.
Tank location (wall is 2000mm from left to right and the window/rad is 800mm from back of wall so plenty of room for the 1500mm x 600mm tank).
Doors to get tank in, sofa will go outside for the day/maybe put in garden room if weather bad so can walk it all in and have it organised as needed. Still need to organise 3 other burly people to be about to help lift tank mind 😛
Rear garden gate is 800mm wide so a little tight there and will mean can't just bring it direct through with pallet.
Kind Regards,
Adam
Other than that I have some pictures here of where tank is going on and how am getting it in the room 😉
The acrylic has arrived at home today so ready for when the tank gets here as well.
Tank location (wall is 2000mm from left to right and the window/rad is 800mm from back of wall so plenty of room for the 1500mm x 600mm tank).
Doors to get tank in, sofa will go outside for the day/maybe put in garden room if weather bad so can walk it all in and have it organised as needed. Still need to organise 3 other burly people to be about to help lift tank mind 😛
Rear garden gate is 800mm wide so a little tight there and will mean can't just bring it direct through with pallet.
Kind Regards,
Adam
Depending on who's delivering, it's not unusual to expect tank to actually appear indoors rather than the roadside 😉
Also don't sign off on the delivery sheet that tank etc are intact/undamaged until you've actually observed the condition
I'd check for "level" sooner rather than later - while some slope front to back or side to side might be tolerated, anything that causes torsion or twisting will lead to disaster (this is also a major concern when moving the empty tank into position so look for burly people that have some lifting/moving experience) ... although you might wait for tank arrival, the size of this tank will (usually) require team effort
Also don't sign off on the delivery sheet that tank etc are intact/undamaged until you've actually observed the condition
I'd check for "level" sooner rather than later - while some slope front to back or side to side might be tolerated, anything that causes torsion or twisting will lead to disaster (this is also a major concern when moving the empty tank into position so look for burly people that have some lifting/moving experience) ... although you might wait for tank arrival, the size of this tank will (usually) require team effort
Adam Chambers
Member
Yeah it's technically pallet road side delivery so shall see. My to unit is about 300kg and me one other lifted that in and I've walked a 4ft tank 4 flights of stairs with someone once so just need 3 people to help.
And the floor is level, I have checked that but just more thinking its carpet and allowing the stand to settle for a day and check level then and then place the tank. Otherwise if needed I can get some hard flooring but I ideally wouldn't want to cut the carpet locally.
Yeah read about that on their website and to sign unseen and then have 48 hours to check.
Regards,
Adam
Adam Chambers
Member
Aye, never worried before with stuff like that but with the costs involved and all that. I have sent EA an email and been in contact with Jeremy there regularly. I am trying to see if I can source the same board (Matt Anthracite 18mm MDF) so that I can make some drawer boxes and similar to go internally in the cabinet for better storage. Will build them myself. Push click drawer runners are about £25 a pair and looking to make 3 drawers for it, 2 shallow and 1 deeper base drawer.
EA do a 600x500x360 tank (£199) so will be ordering one of them as well to go in cupboard for the quarantine tank. If I can get these wood panels I may build a plinth to place tank on so I can have some storage below for items as otherwise the space will be wasted.
Will also get some cheap LED spot light with door switch for inside cab so when doors open it turns on so can see what doing etc.
But I will do some drawings in Sketchup today and hopefully upload tonight.
Kind Regards,
Adam
EA do a 600x500x360 tank (£199) so will be ordering one of them as well to go in cupboard for the quarantine tank. If I can get these wood panels I may build a plinth to place tank on so I can have some storage below for items as otherwise the space will be wasted.
Will also get some cheap LED spot light with door switch for inside cab so when doors open it turns on so can see what doing etc.
But I will do some drawings in Sketchup today and hopefully upload tonight.
Kind Regards,
Adam
MrHidley
Member
Myself and my girlfriend once carried a Fluval Roma 200 up four flights of very narrow stairs because the delivery driver wouldn't help, only once we go to the top did we realise there was an extra 25kg of gravel and a load of other accessories inside the tank...
Manisha
Member
MrHidley
Member
Adam Chambers
Member
So without knowing, EA tried to deliver the tank today, no one was in but have re-arranged for Thursday 1st September so looks like this weekend will be setting the tank up and seeing how it all looks.
Adam Chambers
Member
So yeah tank and cabinet arrived, wrong cabinet!! Very frustrating, after having had a number of issues. There a few problem with the cabinet as well.
One door has two dents in which because it's gloss can be seen but can't feel them cause they have just laquered over the dents, the cabinet doors can't be adjusted right because the centre door is too far out of plum where one hinge has not been installed at the same height as the others.
Am surprised by this because they are normally CNCed on a machine so drill holes should all be the same but no tolerance is left with the hinges used.
There is minor damage to the surface of the cabinet on the top but this cannot be seen because the tank sits on it.
In regard to the tank itself it's lovely. The seams of silicon are spot on and can't complain at all on that, the foam mat works well but a few minor niggles.
You can't tell what the front is easily with the boxing so the stickers were at the back not the front as such (all sides are the same) but talking of the sticker it's already peeling off and looks like someone placed it while having greasy hands.
Even though I asked for no side holes and this was agreed by Charterhouse Aquatics and Jeremy at EA they are still present. Looking at them the main thing that strikes me is their position is not symmetrical each side. So the left side the hole is closer to the front edge and on the right the hole is closer to the rear. This means if you had lights either side you couldn't line them up.
Again appears to be an issue from factory having selected either two left or two right panels prior to them being sprayed.
This was neither picked up by the people supplying the cabinet to to EA or from EA themselves
So mixed views at the moment to be honest and think I am going to ask for the aquarium to picked up and rectified at their cost.
Will keep you all up to date but yes this really had put a downer on all of this.
Regards,
Adam
One door has two dents in which because it's gloss can be seen but can't feel them cause they have just laquered over the dents, the cabinet doors can't be adjusted right because the centre door is too far out of plum where one hinge has not been installed at the same height as the others.
Am surprised by this because they are normally CNCed on a machine so drill holes should all be the same but no tolerance is left with the hinges used.
There is minor damage to the surface of the cabinet on the top but this cannot be seen because the tank sits on it.
In regard to the tank itself it's lovely. The seams of silicon are spot on and can't complain at all on that, the foam mat works well but a few minor niggles.
You can't tell what the front is easily with the boxing so the stickers were at the back not the front as such (all sides are the same) but talking of the sticker it's already peeling off and looks like someone placed it while having greasy hands.
Even though I asked for no side holes and this was agreed by Charterhouse Aquatics and Jeremy at EA they are still present. Looking at them the main thing that strikes me is their position is not symmetrical each side. So the left side the hole is closer to the front edge and on the right the hole is closer to the rear. This means if you had lights either side you couldn't line them up.
Again appears to be an issue from factory having selected either two left or two right panels prior to them being sprayed.
This was neither picked up by the people supplying the cabinet to to EA or from EA themselves
So mixed views at the moment to be honest and think I am going to ask for the aquarium to picked up and rectified at their cost.
Will keep you all up to date but yes this really had put a downer on all of this.
Regards,
Adam
Very disappointing 🙁
- this is a substantial cost on both sides so the lack of quality control is going to be an issue for EA if they can't find a way to prevent these sorts of costly errors ... mistakes happen but they shouldn't make it all the way through to the client end point.
Take photos of the problem sites & clarify exactly what's been requested/agreed
If EA has a storefront near you, easier to inspect the replacement before it's delivered to your home
- this is a substantial cost on both sides so the lack of quality control is going to be an issue for EA if they can't find a way to prevent these sorts of costly errors ... mistakes happen but they shouldn't make it all the way through to the client end point.
Take photos of the problem sites & clarify exactly what's been requested/agreed
If EA has a storefront near you, easier to inspect the replacement before it's delivered to your home
Adam Chambers
Member
Thanks Alto,
I have a load of photos of the aquarium and honestly in principle it looks lovely and if I didn't point out the issues with the dents you would never see them (apart from when you view the aquarium from the sofa with the sun on it). There are photos of everything although the dents are not obvious.
I am still awaiting delivery of stuff from Charterhouse as well since they messed the order up and can't track the parcel so now someone is stuck at my house all day for a 2nd day waiting on parcels again 🙁
EA don't have any store fronts and are an online retailer only although they have an address it's in Wigan which is their sales and manufacturing and that is also about a 400 mile round trip.
Seriously contemplating what do or what they are going to offer as I am not willing to move the tank/aquarium again due to it's size/weight and damage and feel they should provide the people to collect and replace accordingly. Even to the point that the new/correct cabinet should be built and delivered and then the existing one removed. Whatever happens it will take a few weeks to do as EA outsource the cabinets and build them on their site and are meant to QA them and ship them out.
Regards,
Adam
Adam Chambers
Member
As you can see it certainly isn't a matt finish and the side cut-outs which actually look better than I thought however since the one on the right you can see is near the rear and the one on the left is near the front you could never have a light beam with cabling coming out without it trailing diagonally along the glass sides. I don't know if this is by design but if that is the case I would hope it is rectified. Ideally they should be both at the rear or central to the side panels in my view.
I didn't want them because I would of cut my own to suit as needed. The cups they use are about £2 a pop from Hafele so no issue there.
Regards,
Adam
This is always a consideration with high gloss finishes, EA should be well acquainted with this aspect & cabinet construction should be appropriate to the chosen/offered finishes
OTOH as it's the Real World, you might have a blunt conversation with EA directly & determine if their cabinet makers are capable - may be better to just switch to a matt finish ...
AT this point EA should take complete responsibility for system removal & replacement etc (but be prepared for the possibility of a compromise - decide your priorities)
Adam Chambers
Member
Thanks Alto,
I would be happy to sort moving the tank myself other than I had to bribe people with beer and a curry to help me the first time of getting it in the house and I don't want any damage to occur due to me removing it for collection (other than lifting the tank off if needed).
In honesty I never wanted the gloss finish, I am aware of how the finish ends up, all the marks it leaves, the fingerprints, water droplets, scratches (even with a proper gloss cleaning cloth) as I had a gloss black kitchen for 5 years. That is why I asked for the Super-Matt Anthracite originally and avoided the High Gloss Plum we discussed previous when selecting a colour to avoid these issues 🙁
The cabinet itself construction wise is fine, the holes should all be done on a CNC machine likely from two boards (based on amount of timber) and thus should line up. The only reason they may not is that a board has slipped on the CNC bed when it was being cut and drilled. This also leads me to believe that the side cut outs are actually how they intended which kind of makes it worse because the holes for the VB's to line up too would also be drilled on the CNC machine unless for some reason this cabinet maker uses a different machine after cutting for the holes (not likely as another process and cost).
I am only aware of this and checked it all in more detail because I used to design high end built in wardrobes where we produced products in the same fashion as this cabinet is produced.
I have to go through Charterhouse as they is who my contract is with as brought tank with them and although I could phone EA direct to discuss this will likely increase time waiting to find out the resolution. In honesty some of the things are minor but with the costs involved I feel they shouldn't be.
Based on this cabinet I would rate the product the following:
Quality of Finish (paint. edge trim): 7/10
The edge trim is a little rough in places and as stated there are two small dents on the right door panel. Everything else is finished very well and feels lovely to touch. The actual gloss is polished lovely with no visible swirl marks on any of the panels.
Quality of hardware (hinges, soft close, push click-open, VB's, desk cup): 8/10
the hinges are you usual 2 way adjustment with built in soft close but are pretty basic. The adjustment (assuming hinges are installed correctly) should be enough to line the doors fine and the soft close works as expected. The push-click open is the most basic version and are not set far enough back to get the doors to sit flush with the unit properly so all the doors looking from top down are at a slight angle. If you do adjust so they are not the push-click stops working as there is not enough throw in the lever used. The VB's used are metal and of good quality so no complaints with the fixtures there. The desk cups used for the side holes are alright and metal rather than plastic, however the little windows do not stay up if you try and close them so if you have them facing up you cannot keep the little holes closed.
Overall Construction: 6/10
The overall construction is solid. The tolerance on the panels is excellent and as expected with it being cut on CNC. The rear cut outs/open sections work well and allow plenty of tubing options although having an internal cut out between the left and right cabinet sections would be handy to pass through tubing for filters and wires so its not all behind the tank apart from where you you want it.
There are no adjustable feet and the base of the cabinet itself makes the support for it so you need a very level floor prior to placing the tank. No where is this stated on EA's website and I never got a response about this prior to the tank being shipped.
I have written about the cup quality above but the issue of their position is a big let down if this really is how the CNC machine cuts them and is as intended. It reduces flexibility and means they become almost worthless.
That covers the general really and it is a shame as I would expect it to be overall a product that should attain 9/10 in my opinion and this has fallen short. Considering the cabinet costs £500 by itself which is hefty price I would struggle at this time to recommend EA tanks to people. Assuming the issues are resolved and the side cups are not as intended I would suggest the product would be more inline with what was originally expected at this price point.
Regards,
Adam
p.s I have spoken to Charterhouse and they have already Emailed EA asking about what has happened and I am awaiting a response from Charterhouse once they hear back so hopefully it shouldn't take too long to hear back from them.
I would be happy to sort moving the tank myself other than I had to bribe people with beer and a curry to help me the first time of getting it in the house and I don't want any damage to occur due to me removing it for collection (other than lifting the tank off if needed).
In honesty I never wanted the gloss finish, I am aware of how the finish ends up, all the marks it leaves, the fingerprints, water droplets, scratches (even with a proper gloss cleaning cloth) as I had a gloss black kitchen for 5 years. That is why I asked for the Super-Matt Anthracite originally and avoided the High Gloss Plum we discussed previous when selecting a colour to avoid these issues 🙁
The cabinet itself construction wise is fine, the holes should all be done on a CNC machine likely from two boards (based on amount of timber) and thus should line up. The only reason they may not is that a board has slipped on the CNC bed when it was being cut and drilled. This also leads me to believe that the side cut outs are actually how they intended which kind of makes it worse because the holes for the VB's to line up too would also be drilled on the CNC machine unless for some reason this cabinet maker uses a different machine after cutting for the holes (not likely as another process and cost).
I am only aware of this and checked it all in more detail because I used to design high end built in wardrobes where we produced products in the same fashion as this cabinet is produced.
I have to go through Charterhouse as they is who my contract is with as brought tank with them and although I could phone EA direct to discuss this will likely increase time waiting to find out the resolution. In honesty some of the things are minor but with the costs involved I feel they shouldn't be.
Based on this cabinet I would rate the product the following:
Quality of Finish (paint. edge trim): 7/10
The edge trim is a little rough in places and as stated there are two small dents on the right door panel. Everything else is finished very well and feels lovely to touch. The actual gloss is polished lovely with no visible swirl marks on any of the panels.
Quality of hardware (hinges, soft close, push click-open, VB's, desk cup): 8/10
the hinges are you usual 2 way adjustment with built in soft close but are pretty basic. The adjustment (assuming hinges are installed correctly) should be enough to line the doors fine and the soft close works as expected. The push-click open is the most basic version and are not set far enough back to get the doors to sit flush with the unit properly so all the doors looking from top down are at a slight angle. If you do adjust so they are not the push-click stops working as there is not enough throw in the lever used. The VB's used are metal and of good quality so no complaints with the fixtures there. The desk cups used for the side holes are alright and metal rather than plastic, however the little windows do not stay up if you try and close them so if you have them facing up you cannot keep the little holes closed.
Overall Construction: 6/10
The overall construction is solid. The tolerance on the panels is excellent and as expected with it being cut on CNC. The rear cut outs/open sections work well and allow plenty of tubing options although having an internal cut out between the left and right cabinet sections would be handy to pass through tubing for filters and wires so its not all behind the tank apart from where you you want it.
There are no adjustable feet and the base of the cabinet itself makes the support for it so you need a very level floor prior to placing the tank. No where is this stated on EA's website and I never got a response about this prior to the tank being shipped.
I have written about the cup quality above but the issue of their position is a big let down if this really is how the CNC machine cuts them and is as intended. It reduces flexibility and means they become almost worthless.
That covers the general really and it is a shame as I would expect it to be overall a product that should attain 9/10 in my opinion and this has fallen short. Considering the cabinet costs £500 by itself which is hefty price I would struggle at this time to recommend EA tanks to people. Assuming the issues are resolved and the side cups are not as intended I would suggest the product would be more inline with what was originally expected at this price point.
Regards,
Adam
p.s I have spoken to Charterhouse and they have already Emailed EA asking about what has happened and I am awaiting a response from Charterhouse once they hear back so hopefully it shouldn't take too long to hear back from them.
