Aquabiomics Sample Handling Hit A New Low

[Dan_P]

Edit: Aquabiomics has resolved the lost sample issue, sent me the results AND sent a very nice note explaining how my samples went wayward.

All I can say is that I really appreciate that sort timely response. Maybe what I perceived as a low is a turn around.

Maybe ignore the following post…


I had enough experience with Aquabiomics to know that I should stop using their service but the company provides unique testing that could extend the knowledge I obtain from my aquarium experiments. When Aquabiomics routinely either lost my sample or sent damaged unusable test kits last year, I doubled down and started sending replicate samples. I am reporting this was a mistake. Aquabiomics just lost my replicate samples!

I can afford taking this sort of risk, but if throwing away $80 USD is not your idea of wise use of your reefing budget, skip working Aquabiomics. And if you haven’t heard, the company rarely if ever responds to email.

I haven’t mentioned anything about the quality or usefulness of Aquabiomics data. I was finally lucky and received replicate testing results. After I cool down, I will figure out a good way to share. Spoiler alert: the data quality is too low for me to pursue trying to obtain sample testing from Aquabiomics.

 

[EnterName]

That's really unfortunate. I really love the idea of DNA analysis for reef tanks.

- Finding out which bacteria are actually in bottled bacteria products,
- Finding out if there are actually only 3-4 common dinoflagellate species in our tanks or if there are thousands that simply look alike and make treatment difficult
- Observing the effect of various treatments or simply tank age on bacteria composition in a tank
- ...

There would be so many interesting things to test. It's a shame their service appears so unreliable.

 

[Subsea]

I had enough experience with Aquabiomics to know that I should stop using their service but the company provides unique testing that could extend the knowledge I obtain from my aquarium experiments. When Aquabiomics routinely either lost my sample or sent damaged unusable test kits last year, I doubled down and started sending replicate samples. I am reporting this was a mistake. Aquabiomics just lost my replicate samples!

I can afford taking this sort of risk, but if throwing away $80 USD is not your idea of wise use of your reefing budget, skip working Aquabiomics. And if you haven’t heard, the company rarely if ever responds to email.

I haven’t mentioned anything about the quality or usefulness of Aquabiomics data. I was finally lucky and received replicate testing results. After I cool down, I will figure out a good way to share. Spoiler alert: the data quality is too low for me to pursue trying to obtain sample testing from Aquabiomics.

Dan,
That is disappointing, if it is standard operating procedure.

Between you & @Jay Hemdal, I thought there was a process to remove marketing hype from snake oil products and lift science in our hobby.

Jay,
Do you have any thoughts on Aquibionics customer service?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Dan,
That is disappointing, if it is standard operating procedure.

Between you & @Jay Hemdal, I thought there was a process to remove marketing hype from snake oil products and lift science in our hobby.

Jay,
Do you have any thoughts on Aquibionics customer service?

I’ve only run a dozen or so samples with them. About half were microbiome and half were eDNA. No problems with the mechanics of sampling, just a kind of slow turnaround.

I’ve found that the eDNA tests reflect what I already knew about the systems being tested. I have had some emails go unanswered, and twice I’ve had to reset my password on their site, needed their help when I got locked out due to too many log on attempts.

I’m waiting on one more report before I dive into a full write-up.

 

[Subsea]

I’ve only run a dozen or so samples with them. About half were microbiome and half were eDNA. No problems with the mechanics of sampling, just a kind of slow turnaround.

I’ve found that the eDNA tests reflect what I already knew about the systems being tested. I have had some emails go unanswered, and twice I’ve had to reset my password on their site, needed their help when I got locked out due to too many log on attempts.

I’m waiting on one more report before I dive into a full write-up.

I like third party documentation. When I worked for Fortune 500 companies, corporate engineers inspected vendors quality control & quality assurance protocols.

Aquibionics has been around for a decade. I assume they have professional standards. Looking forward to their report on @Paul B tank.

 

[rtparty]

Just listening to them on videos was enough for me to know to avoid them

 

[Subsea]

Just listening to them on videos was enough for me to know to avoid them

Could you provide a link?

Introducing Microbiome 2.0

DNA testing for aquariums and aquaculture

aquabiomics.com

I read their overall scientific protocol and it is above my pay grade to evaluate. However, I trust Jay’s experience and I want to believe that Aquibiomics can do it.

 

[rtparty]

Could you provide a link?

Introducing Microbiome 2.0

DNA testing for aquariums and aquaculture

aquabiomics.com

I read their overall scientific protocol and it is above my pay grade to evaluate. However, I trust Jay’s experience and I want to believe that Aquibiomics can do it.

There are a dozen plus videos with them all over YouTube but the first time I remember seeing and hearing them talk was on a BRS live. Knew right then it was a no go

 

[Dan_P]

Dan,
That is disappointing, if it is standard operating procedure.

Between you & @Jay Hemdal, I thought there was a process to remove marketing hype from snake oil products and lift science in our hobby.

Jay,
Do you have any thoughts on Aquibionics customer service?

Aquabiomics is pretty good about making realistic product claims. No issues there. The poor service and lack of customer service are the issues that disappointed me

 

[Subsea]

There are a dozen plus videos with them all over YouTube but the first time I remember seeing and hearing them talk was on a BRS live. Knew right then it was a no go

OK. After I listened to Colby, one of the owners of Aquibionics and realized he was not the scientific expert. However, that does not necessarily eliminate the quality of the science.

I am not big on BRS marketing, however, I do not see the incompetence that you refer to.

 

[exnisstech]

Aren't the samples in the US handled by reef moonshiners? I have no experience and my be confusing them with another service so I apologize if that is the case. Ive read more than once of people who wanted to use the lab service but refused to use RM as the service to handle the samples. Just wondering if its the lab or the way the samples are handled before reaching the lab?

 

[Subsea]

About us – AquaBiomics

aquabiomics.com

This is the founder and scientific expertise of Aquibiomics:

AquaBiomics is owned and operated by Dr. Eli Meyer, a marine biologist with over 20 years of experience using DNA sequencing to study marine organisms. Dr. Meyer earned his PhD in Biology from the University of Southern California and worked at research universities in Texas, California, and Oregon, publishing over 40 peer-reviewed research papers on coral biology, marine genomics, and organism responses to environmental stress.

 

[rtparty]

Aren't the samples in the US handled by reef moonshiners? I have no experience and my be confusing them with another service so I apologize if that is the case. Ive read more than once of people who wanted to use the lab service but refused to use RM as the service to handle the samples. Just wondering if its the lab or the way the samples are handled before reaching the lab?

RM sells and use Oceamo ICP testing

 

[Subsea]

There are a dozen plus videos with them all over YouTube but the first time I remember seeing and hearing them talk was on a BRS live. Knew right then it was a no go

I actually listened to all of the video. It was tapped during Covid so it’s 3 years old.

I thought the exchange of ideas were good. Reef dynamics is complicated; it’s not just chemistry, biology and physics. As Martin Moe said at MACNA conference in the early 1970’s: it’s not rocket science; ITS MORE COMPLICATED.

I am in complete agreement that biodiversity in a reef tank is a good thing.

I accomplish that by using diver collected live rock and don’t share the fear of hitch hikers associated with maricultured on the reef:

Gulf Live Rock.com

gulfliverock.com

The Package - ships Air Cargo

Tampa Bay Saltwater sustainably farms ocean aquacultured live rock and hand harvested sand. TBS Live Rock provides beneficial microorganisms, creates a less stressful environment for inhabitants and provides natural biofiltration by the lifeforms found in and on it. Healthy live rock, from our...

tbsaltwater.com

“AquaBiomics is pretty good about making realistic product claims. No issues there. The poor service and lack of customer service are the issues that disappointed me”

Dan,
I suspect that the company payroll may include only two people. Both individuals have other occupations: one is a tenued university professor and the other is a coral farmer.

 

[exnisstech]

RM sells and use Oceamo ICP testing

Thank you. I thought i may have been remembering wrong. Seems to happen a lot these days.

 

[Subsea]

Aquabiomics is pretty good about making realistic product claims. No issues there. The poor service and lack of customer service are the issues that disappointed me

I watched 75 minutes of Ryan’s BRS video with Colby, one of the owners of AquaBiomics. The last 5 minutes of the video is where my interest lay: mariculturing mature live rock without reef pest.

I consider micro biome testing that identifies potential problem areas important for diagnosis and from my point of view as a potential farmer of live rock, I can guarantee no problems with biodiversity.

When I first started this hobby, local hobby clubs had live sand swaps to promote biodiversity. Coral frag swaps also contribute to biodiversity. If eDNA testing provides quality assurance to allow frag swaps without the pest, I am all in.

Eventually, this technology will introduce probiotics to offset vibrio in our captive systems.

 

[GSPClown94]

Good luck ever getting a response from them if you have questions or issues with an order. Customer service department is nonexistent over there.

 

[Subsea]

I watched 75 minutes of Ryan’s BRS video with Colby, one of the owners of AquaBiomics. The last 5 minutes of the video is where my interest lay: mariculturing mature live rock without reef pest.

I consider micro biome testing that identifies potential problem areas important for diagnosis and from my point of view as a potential farmer of live rock, I can guarantee no problems with biodiversity.

When I first started this hobby, local hobby clubs had live sand swaps to promote biodiversity. Coral frag swaps also contribute to biodiversity. If eDNA testing provides quality assurance to allow frag swaps without the pest, I am all in.

Eventually, this technology will introduce probiotics to offset vibrio in our captive systems.

@Paul B
When Aquibiomics sent their report to you, was it signed by one of the owners.

 

[areefer01]

When I worked for Fortune 500 companies, corporate engineers inspected vendors quality control & quality assurance protocols.

I very well could be reading more into your reply but you can't compare a Fortune 500 company to a single person business. I am not making any excuses for the vendor but we need to be realistic.

With all due respect to @Dan_P and his threads I would hope that this thread does not turn into a vendor bashing one. I fully understand the reason for the post but some threads turn sour quickly and serve no purpose.

Often times I find more value buying, and blowing up, a bozo the clown punching bag and leaving it in an unused room so later the nurses can go in there an smack it. Easy way to let them vent...that and a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies after.

 

[Dan_P]

Good luck ever getting a response from them if you have questions or issues with an order. Customer service department is nonexistent over there.

I am at the point of not wanting to bother trying to obtain replacements for the three lost tests and even just throwing away the last unused kit I have. Maybe I’ll have a cookie before I do that :-)