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Product Review NACD aquariums

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Andrew Butler

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1 Feb 2016
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Banbury, Oxfordshire
A quick product or more company review..........
BE WARNED, AVOID NACD AQUARIUMS AT ALL COSTS!

This is a very serious review which people should take note of and wherever you get anything from, be warned and always use a payment method that gives you rights, I suggest a credit card, which gives you section 75 protection wherever possible for anything over £100 as the best option.

Since the end of August I have been messed around something chronic by NACD; they missed the original delivery date by weeks, only for it to then turn up not as per my drawing, a replacement was promised by a certain date and that date came and went before finally last week, a few weeks after the promised revised replacement date an aquarium turned up which was not upto the standard promised but I accepted as things had gone on long enough and it was workable.
I got a chance to test it week only for the silicone to start parting, after calling them it turns out this was my fault. I did not ask if I could fill the aquarium (which I did not know I was meant to) and although I do not recall this ever being said in any verbal or written communication the clear silicone needed longer to cure, something I had been told many times according to Sam/Przemyslaw the director of NACD aquariums; quite how long I've no idea. I had always assumed if a product was delivered to you it should be ready for immediate use and I was certainly not advised otherwise.

I will add there were repeated promises of delivery days and times which kept changing and when things changed it was me that had to chase him to find out what was going on as he did not come to me.

This is just the tip of the iceberg and as much information as I'm willing to share in public so please be warned and spread the word. This company seemed so highly recommended on this forum and I now have many questions over the company and not just what I've mentioned above.

I have somehow managed to get the aquarium collected and a full refund, I'm not willing to go into details over this on a public forum but I was very lucky indeed
 
Your consumer rights intitled you to a full refund as the purchase was not fit for purpose
So they didnt have a leg to stand on really
Cheers
J
 
Your consumer rights intitled you to a full refund as the purchase was not fit for purpose
So they didnt have a leg to stand on really
Cheers
J
You say this but if I paid using part bank transfer and part cash so aside from your bank possibly stepping in to help with the bank transfer side of things (which I don't believe they're obliged to) there's no easy way of resolving this. Trading standards don't deal on a case by case scenario so who enforces your rights given the above information?
You're right to say consumer rights legally should protect me but there's no easy way of enforcing them unless you have paid using credit card but that's still not a 5 minute job.
Anything over £100 paid using a credit card puts joint liability on both the person paid and the credit card company so you have a chance to reclaim money if you can prove things that is.
Non standard products are also tougher on the consumer and give less rights of power.

Martin Lewis likes the acronym SAD FART to surmise consumer rights here in the UK:

Satisfactory Quality
As
Described

Fit for purpose and last
A
Reasonable length of
Time
 
Thanks for the review Andrew, I'm glad you got your money back, but it's disappointing and a complete pita. And I know how you feel, I thought I'd take one for the team and order a tank from APS to see if they were any good. It didn't go particularly well either.

PayPal backed up with a credit card may also be a good option. Theoretically you're then doubly protected.
 
PayPal backed up with a credit card may also be a good option. Theoretically you're then doubly protected
I don't believe this to be true Tim, something I've unfortunately come across before.
If you use your PayPal account and funded it using a credit card then you have infact paid PayPal, not the retailer - sound strange I know but I've first hand experience and this is what I was told.
PayPal do offer buyer protection providing you pay for goods/service and not make a friends/family type payment although this is down to PayPal not legally enforced like a credit card would be using section 75.

It was actually reviews on here that led me to NACD and I now know there are other cases where 'Sam' and NACD has disrespected customers, not responded and provided sub-standard work.
Hopefully other people will speak out and support this review although I know people sometimes don't like to.

I've an alternative builder I'm talking with who seems friendly, have a well equipped workshop and quite a collection of good looking projects completed out there, mainly for the salty side of things but I've also seen some very neat looking rimless, minimal silicone projects. Maybe a builder to look to, we will see how things go.
 
A few years has past now so I don't think it's fair that I name them again, despite what happened as things may be very different now
Some companies can be very on/off but that's no excuse to produce sub standard products. Mistakes happen; like silicone colour but when attempts to rectify are not prioritised and an apology made that is just disrespectful to the customer, especially when it's you that has to continually chase and promises not met.

Custom built aquariums are a topic that seem to come up from time to time and we need a company who makes quality custom aquariums at reasonable prices consistently, hopefully similar reviews such as this about companies from first hand experience may be an idea.
 
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Got a couple of cabinets built by Sam from NACD, quite similar experience... persistent deadlines missed with zero communication and although I'm happy with the finished product I would never use them again as my confidence in this company is now zero.

Very quick to take the money, very slow and sloppy when delivering the product. I know another member who is still awaiting a replacement part to their cabinet... over a year now with no response
 
Oh man, now you have me worried! I got my tank and cabinet made and delivered by them a couple of weeks ago. I haven't filled it yet but it seems OK from what I can see at the moment. PM me on the side Andrew if there's anything in particular I should be wary of.

Cheers

Johnny
 
Oh man, now you have me worried!
Sorry to worry you Johnny, I'd heard great things but from some of the comments and things I now know it seems those great things have gone downhill big time.
This is a review and I've given my experience, as have others.
Maybe you received exactly what you asked for, on time, without repeated delays and to a good build standard - if that's the case then it would only be fair you share that experience in my opinion.
 
Yeh, my delivery was a week late but I kind of expect that to a certain degree when given an initial 20 day delivery time on a bespoke item. I did have to chase a bit as you say and I haven't filled the tank yet so hopefully none of the silicone curing issues that you experienced. Comms were definitely not great though as you say but the tank and cabinet do look fine from my limited experience! Time will tell. I did actually look at Aquariums4life and their comms were super good. My big kicker was that the price was considerably higher so I took a punt on NACD. Hopefully I won't regret that!

Cheers

Johnny
 
@Fisher2007 @strat100 maybe it would be worth you starting a product review about the custom made aquariums you have from this other company, your experience and consider removing any photos or naming them? - just to avoid any confusion with regard to the product or company this review is about.
 
My only experience with nacd was when I asked for a quote, they didn't respond so I left it there.
 
I recently took delivery of a brand new NACD Aquarium. I had read many positive reviews about their aquariums.
Delivery took longer than stated. While i waited, and waited, i Googled 'NACD' and discovered this forum. To my horror, i read a post posted by someone who had a bad experience with NACD.

When the aquarium arrived, it looked fine, with cardboard on the top and bottom, complete with clear plastic wrap around the sides, protecting the glass.
On removing the plastic wrap, i could see quality cut 8mm glass, with smooth edges. So far so good.

On inspecting the quality of the silicone, the workmanship looked average. I own a Jewel aquarium, and the silicone work is high end factory quality. I did wonder if NACD aquarium was a one man band set up?

The silicone where glass meets glass looks ok. The silicone looks slightly iffy on the inside. Very thin weak. Take a look at this photo:

IMG-0875.jpg


To me the silicone looks on the thin side.
On flipping the tank upside-down, i set about removing the brown paper on the bottom, stuck to silicone that had bled through the areas where the side panels meet the base panel. I spotted a 4inch line about 4mm deep, where there was no silicone.

IMG-0881.jpg


The next thing i noticed. The thickness of the silicone from the bottom of where the front and side panels meet varied from 3mm or 4mm at the bottom to 1mm or 2mm at the top.

I decided to keep the aquarium and beef up the silicone on all internal corners, and filled in the 4inch line about 4mm deep on the bottom.
I used HA6 silicone (for aquarium) and the 45 degree 12mm option on a Fugi silicone tool. The results look better, stronger. After 24hrs the silicone set. I plan on waiting 7 days before adding water, to allow for 100% cure of the silicone.

Here is a photo. This is the first time i have ever attempted to silicone an aquarium.

IMG-0879.jpg


I have thought about adding a length of black perspex along the top front to hide the area where water meets air (once the tank has been filled up).

This 4FT aquarium has been constructed using 8mm glass.
Many years ago, i owned a 4FT aquarium, and i recall it being constructed from 10mm glass.

I hope, once the tank has been filled up with water, all will be well.
 
NACD AQUARIUM 120cm 300litre.jpg

NACD AQUARIUMS Aquarium Fish Tank 120Lx50Wx50H cm/ 300L + sliding glass cover

Here is my NACD tank with upgraded silicone. The border around all corners is 16mm (8mm glass + 8mm silicone).
The plan is to give the silicone 7 days to 100% cure.

All this work for one goldfish who has outgrown her current tank. Come Wednesday, the plan is to add gravel and fill the tank with water. Providing all is well, switch on the Eheim filter and run for two weeks to remove any nasties, via the activated carbon foam pad.

The goldfish had babies many months ago, about 30 of them. They are currently in a tub. The plan is to move those to the tank the big goldfish currently lives in. Once the baby gold fish grow large enough, they can join mum. Ideally i should install a pond. I might do that once the house sells.
 
Thanks for posting these reviews. I was going to buy one of their tanks, now decided against.
 
My personal experience is there's often a big difference between ordering a standard item and one that is bespoke. I started with a small NACD and have had no problems. Trying to get bespoke items I have always had delays and bad communication, with both companies I've used.
 
I got a bespoke NACD tank about four years ago and while I didn't get much in the way of communication, bar the order conformation, I did get the tank more or less when I expected it and have been very happy with it. Apart from the chip I put on the rim within five minutes of having it in the house (luckily hidden by the light clamp) it still looks pretty much like new. No complaints on the build quality, the silicone is very neat. My one regret is that the reason I got a bespoke build was to put it on an EA cabinet (depth 500mm rather than the more standard 450mm) which means now that the cabinet is looking tatty I've got the problem of trying to find somewhere I can buy a DD (which seems to be what EA morphed into) as a separate which is a lot harder than it was a few years back. I'm currently looking to add a bigger aquarium to my set up and I'd certainly consider an NACD one – but a standard size this time.
 
Has anyone ordered anything lately? Have they improved? ebay reviews seem decent
 
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