| Jellyfish Art |
| selling faulty aquarium |
| 16th of May, 2012 by ecb |
My wife and I purchased a jellyfish aquarium from Jellyfish Art (JFA) that was received on February 20th 2012. A second tank was purchased to replace the first one on March 14th 2012 after the first tank suffered serious cosmetic damage after normal application of an acrylic brush for cleaning purposes. We have since had numerous issues with JFA, the aquarium, and their ability to keep jellyfish alive while following the directions provided by JFA. These are:
1. There is a structural flaw in the tank that causes the jellyfish to be pulled into a water circulating channel that kills them.
2. After we were sent our tank setup, JFA decided that use of a heater and water testing kit was necessary, something that earlier customers were not alerted to. We have experienced total tank die out on many occasions while following the original directions of JFA and seen others with the same problems.
3. The directions on the website and user’s guide give a particular schedule for cleaning the tanks to ensure the health of the jellyfish. Their schedule is much more optimistic than our experience and many others including marine biologists that we went to for help. This significantly increases the time and complexity to maintain the tank and goes against their description of required tank maintenance. On their website they promise a desktop tank that is as easy to care for as a standard freshwater tank and this absolutely is not the case.
4. At this point in time they are also unable to furnish jellyfish for the tanks, rendering them further useless to owners who are choosing to keep theirs.
5. We were early investors in JFA via Kickstarter.com. In this program we paid $350 and were told that we would receive a discounted price on the tank. Since then JFA rescinded on that contract by offering the same setup for $285.
We presented all of this information to JFA on May 11th seeking a refund due to the faulty design of the tank. We did not return it immediately because we wanted to make sure the problems were not due to user error and we had invested in this product with good faith. However, after trying multiple times to get the tank to work properly as well as seeing the experience of many others who have similar issues we asked for a refund. JFA said that since we were outside the 30 day window for returns that they would not refund our money. However, 30 days does not give enough time to rule out user error around these issues. In addition there is no stated 30 day window for returns in any of the literature, nor is it mentioned in the warranty covered in the user’s manual. Now that it is clear there is a significant problem with these tanks we are seeking a refund for the cost of the tank.
We purchased this tank understanding it would take some time to learn the right way to take care of the jellyfish. However, it is clear the tank cannot sustain jellyfish in accordance with their documentation or statements of ease and we are entitled to a refund. The website promises “Easy Maintenance and Care, Just Like a Regular Aquarium” which is not true. This tank is extremely labor intensive and required additional monies spent to simply slow down the death process of the fish. This included water testing kits, heaters, filters, new air pumps, etc that were not included with the tank, were not suggested for use, however were deemed necessary after market by aquarists, biologists, and later Jellyfish Art.
Included are some links on people’s experience with this tank:
http://reefbuilders.com/2012/03/18/desktop-jelly-fish-tank-turns-sting-owners/
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?s=0a7eab1d867773ab3a26981a7171a7b7&showtopic=220619&st=0
http://www.betabeat.com/2012/03/15/jellyfish-tanks-funded-54-times-over-on-kickstarter-turn-out-to-be-jellyfish-death-traps/
http://www.yelp.com/biz/jelly-fish-art-san-francisco
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1497255984/desktop-jellyfish-tank/comments |
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| I purchased from them in 2010. The only advice I ever received was to feed more, feed more often, and do a 20% water change. I dealt with one employee who only offered curt, simplistic answers which ultimately didn’t help any of the problems. My third try with their jellies brought jellyfish romance to our tank. I found this strange given that I was told (by said employee) that this could never happen because ‘they require strict conditions for breeding’. After the initial moment of passion these creatures reproduce asexually, meaning the tank will be permanently covered in orange polyps that will start as miniscule cells in the crevices of the live rock – so I will never be able to completely remove these. The only jelly I kept alive (by feeding it live brine shrimp) ultimately died when it was shredded by getting caught in the bubble tube (I bought the first edition tank). Feeding was always a problem and a quick review of current FB comments on their pages reveals that an employee now acknowledges that their frozen food may be ineffective – and ultimately each customer learn this. This was two years of only disappointment and wasted money and effort, so we’re working through all the channels that California provides for consumer protection to recoup what we spent. |
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