They dropped the 190 Gallon

[Vanessa K]

After my to be quarantine tank started to leak my husband simply refused to get my main tank started, a 190 Gallon. It became a big no-no, so I had to re-think. We sold the 190 Gallon, the buyer was responsible for the transport after they'd signed a buyer's contract that stipulated that as soon as they'd started to move the tank, it wasn't our responsibility anymore. This was necessary because we live on the third floor with no elevator. They came, fought like heroes, 190 Gallons is  h e a v y  and managed to carry it down all the way, without getting themselves or the tank harmed. My husband had told them over and over again that they had to be more than just two men, that they needed straps and so on but the buyer wouldn't listen. So that they managed to get it down in one piece, it was so impressing. They drove away, and just on a hint I messaged them and said that I hoped everything went well. It hadn't. They'd dropped the tank when they'd tried to unload it "My friend slipped" and he was so very unhappy. He had Siamese Catfish that needed a bigger home. The front glass had cracked. This is in Sweden and their Swedish was everything but perfect. And they lived in a small place that God forgot. I said I'd check what could be done. I checked for retailers of glass suitable for aquariums (I never  knew how many kinds of different glass there are). One aquarium builder said that they'd have to take the whole aquarium apart, not just the front since silicon doesn't stick to silicon (that's already "burnt"). The buyer felt overwhelmed and I could see why. This man couldn't actually afford an aquarium of that size, this was it. I decided to refund him some of the money he'd paid. He was so thankful that he sent me(and my husband) a bouquet of flowers. These are the best flowers I've ever received. (My own journey, how I'll move on - is in the making.

Edited May 15, 2021 by Vanessa K

[H.K.Luterman]

Oh man, that's awful. That was very nice of you to check in on them and offer a partial refund. I hope they can find an affordable replacement soon.

[Vanessa K]

9 minutes ago, H.K.Luterman said:

Oh man, that's awful. That was very nice of you to check in on them and offer a partial refund. I hope they can find an affordable replacement soon.

Yes, I hope so too. I turned out that the glass in it self isn't that expensive, it's the work and he lives in a small flat. 190 Gallons is a lot of water.

[Trish]

@Vanessa K This is so sad. Very kind of you to refund.  This is what happens when you don't listen to good advice.  I hope it is a structurally sound thing for him to do as well.  

[Cory]

That's always the nightmare. Even more so when you own a store. Some people have gotten very upset when breaking a tank at home after buying it. We've had people break them by setting them on seat  belts. We've had people chip the tank taking it out etc. Each one is a bad situation to deal with because the customer is always disappointed. Short of refunding 100% of their money, they are never truly happy. Nor are we, as we will lose a customer and not make any money. The problem with aquariums in America, the mark up is so small, that 1 damaged tank, takes 5 tanks selling to break even.

[CalmedByFish]

That's all so frustrating. I hope they, and you, find solutions soon. 

[lefty o]

ouch, thats painful.

[Vanessa K]

19 hours ago, Cory said:

That's always the nightmare. Even more so when you own a store. Some people have gotten very upset when breaking a tank at home after buying it. We've had people break them by setting them on seat  belts. We've had people chip the tank taking it out etc. Each one is a bad situation to deal with because the customer is always disappointed. Short of refunding 100% of their money, they are never truly happy. Nor are we, as we will lose a customer and not make any money. The problem with aquariums in America, the mark up is so small, that 1 damaged tank, takes 5 tanks selling to break even.

Yeah, I get it. If you're trying to run a business that's a completely different thing. My late Father had a record store and in the late 70's early 80's we're talking vinyl (yes I'm that old). Vinyl may be retro chic but it's also very sensitive. You're only supposed to touch the edge. I f you can see finger prints somebody's not been careful enough. Sometimes customers came back with records that obviously had been used as breakfast trays. They could be very upset "It was like this when I bought it". We knew that it was a straight out lie, but how to deal with it was a delicate thing. Reputation is everything. On the other hand, like you say, every time somebody made such a claim and we accepted the "truth" and gave a refund, we lost money and the margin wasn't big at all.

[gardenman]

I've been intrigued by the idea of making a tank lifting crane. Something like the cranes they use to lift and move boats. (A photo of a boat crane below. Think the same idea, just on a much smaller scale.) If you had a tank maintenance company or did a lot of retail tank sales/deliveries, it could be a smart tool to build. You might be able to make one out of PVC pipe, but the extruded aluminum might be more effective. Steel would be cheapest and strongest, but also heaviest on its own. Old steel bedframes made of angle iron could be a good starting point. A few nylon straps that would slide under the tank then crank them up to lift the tank, wheel it to the new location and then ease it back down onto the stand. (If you were bold you could even try moving tank and stand together.) It could be built to be adjustable for height, width, and length. It could be a handy gadget for the right person/store. Creating one that would walk up steps would be an issue, but for flatter areas it could be a very effective and cheap way to move heavy tanks. Just a one or two person team could even move a tank and stand like Cory's 800 gallon one with the right type of crane like that and have essentially no risk of damaging either the tank, stand or workers. You could even rent the crane out to hobbyists who need to move a big tank. Now if you need to move a big tank you need five, six, or more big strong guys/gals to help you out. With something like this, you could pretty much do it yourself. Drain the tank down. Lever up one end enough to slip the nylon strap under it. Repeat on the other side. (Maybe the middle also if it's a long tank.) roll the tank crane into position. Lift up on the straps. Wheel the tank/stand to where you want it. Lower the tank. Lever the tank up to remove the straps. Wheel away the crane. All done and no one dies. When you need to move a boat you could find twenty or thirty beefy guys/gals to pick it up and move it, but the boat crane is much easier. The same could be true of fish tanks. I think it's a doable project. If you're building custom stands also, you could even build lifting points into the stand.