Are you careful about "endorsing" reefing products and what does it take?

How often do you "endorse" reef aquarium products?

  • Every Chance I get

    Votes: 35 6.5%
  • Only In Certain Situations

    Votes: 247 45.8%
  • Not Too Often

    Votes: 170 31.5%
  • Never

    Votes: 77 14.3%
  • Other (please explain in the thread)

    Votes: 10 1.9%

  • Total voters
    539

revhtree

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Endorse - to declare one's public approval or support of.

I was thinking today about how awesome this "certain" salt has been for my reef tank recently. But then I got to thinking about the impact of endorsing a certain salt, dry goods, equipment or really anything for my reef. (I have in the past of course) In today's world of "influencers", paid advertisements, Youtube videos, forum threads, etc. sometimes it's hard to differentiate the truth from a paid spot. But there is no doubt that the best way to find good product is to learn from the reviews or endorsements of others. We should, however, be careful with what products we do endorse in the public forum as many people will undoubtedly read now and in the future.

I thought this could make for a great discussion today. So answer me this:

1. Are you careful with the products you endorse in the hobby?

2. What does it take to get an endorsement from you?

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Quietman

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Few situations cause me to do a write up or a review.
-Product that does exactly what I expect will get a review at vendor site.
-Vendors that support their product when there's issues.

I don't usually post poor reviews for bad service or failed products unless I think it's a systemic, design or new issue. So far that just hasn't come up with the hobby. I've had some bad product or service but always a one off that was corrected so don't feel fair to post.
 

Pau Hana Reefer

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My approach for endorsing is similar to how I endorse any other non-reefing product or service that I purchase. I have a couple YouTube channels, one is an unboxing channel and another is about gardening. I'm not sponsored in either and very careful about whether or not I endorse anything.

In general, to get my endorsement, I look for at least several of the following criteria:
1) Quality of the product/service
2) Cost (and relation to quality) - cheap products can be great and expensive products can be terrible
3) Results - does the product/service deliver what is advertised and promised
4) Customer service - are they helpful? do they even actually respond?
5) Warranty - what are the terms? do they actually honor it?

The last one is consistency, but this typically only applies to multiple purchases. For example, is the quality of the salt consistent with every purchase?
 

Brew12

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I have to be extremely excited about a product to endorse it. I'm not known for blind brand loyalty. I use a Profilux controller and love it. I think an Apex is a better choice for some people. I couldn't stand my MP40 power heads but I think they are great for some systems. I've used 4 different salts and they were all fine, I only switch if I'm going to change my target Alk and Calc.

For me to endorse something it needs to be proven reliable, designed and built well, be easy to use, and have great customer service. I'm extremely excited about the new BRS heaters. They are the only heater I would recommend and I don't even have one yet. Before buying my last heaters I tried getting some from the company that makes the heaters for BRS and was going to convert them to 120V (they are German). Couldn't make it happen. I love the easy access now.

I'm a big fan of the products from Underwater Creations. I started using their Chroma product and my already fairly quickly growing tank has absolutely exploded in growth. It took less then a month to get me to justify switching from 2-part to a calcium reactor.

I have a few products from Avast and they are all top notch as is their customer service. It was a no brainer to order their calcium reactor based on the quality of the other equipment they offer. Can't wait until it arrives!
 

ca1ore

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Although I have done it on occasion, I try to avoid recommending products. I will share my experiences with products and note where something has worked well for me … or not, as the case may be. Sometimes I will share a 'short list' of things to consider. I'm more likely to recommend something in person where I can get a better sense of what would work best.

I'm mostly not brand loyal, preferring to get something based on it's particular attributes. I have stuff from neptune, ecotech, avast, GHL, MTC ...... etc. etc.
 

Nep2nRevision3

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I'll endorse a product only after I've used it for at least a couple of months (relative to the product) and determined that it's performance exceeded my expectations. Average quality or performance gets no endorsement.

On the other end of the spectrum, I refrain from slamming a product unless it's obviously misrepresented (as advertised) and again only after giving it a reasonable amount of time to perform.

In between are items that arrive damaged, doesn't make the product bad. At that point it becomes a customer service question. If I feel that I was treated fairly (or better) by customer service, the item in question may still warrant my endorsement.
 
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thaistalyn

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I work daily with fortune 500 companies providing consulting for manufacturing software systems. You have to be very careful with the term "endorse". I'll expand on your definition - from merriam-webster:
Code:
Definition of Endorse
transitive verb

2a: to approve openly
endorse an idea
especially : to express support or approval of publicly and definitely
endorse a mayoral candidate
b: to recommend (something, such as a product or service) usually for financial compensation
shoes endorsed by a pro basketball player

I only consider endorsing products if :
  1. Functionality - I use or have used them and they perform to my standards.
  2. Quality - built well, documented well, long lasting
  3. Support - support is immediate, warranty is fair, and support is user friendly.
  4. Compensation - Once all the above are met, I would consider endorsing the product publicly in exchange for payment.
On the other hand, if you are asking about me providing a "recommendation" (as shown in the picture) - I follow the same thought process but do not require compensation. I will provide my recommendations freely along with my experience of the product. Good products meet items 1, 2, and 3 and rely on our word of mouth or recommendations.

Endorsement relies on compensation to promote products. Therefore, before endorsing a vendor may have to approach me and ask me to try his products so that I can confirm 1, 2 and 3 before providing my endorsement.
 

WVNed

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LOL
I am sure the world is waiting to know what I think about something.

I am easy. Something just has to do what it says it will do. Then I will "endorse" it.

If it doesn't I will tell that too.
 

littlebigreef

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Bionic
Reef flux
Lugol's Solution
Furan-2
Reef roids
Instant Ocean (since you're gonna supplement it anyway).
ATI T5s
Asorbic Acid (for Vitamin C dosing).
Tunze ATO
Eheim Pumps
Jabo Heaters

Done. Everything else is negotiable.
 

andrewkw

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It depends. I have certain powerheads and pumps that have been in use for 10+ years. Of course I would mention this if someone asked my opinion on them. I started using a product last week that so far seems great (spoiler its vibrant) but I'm not about to be all wow this product is amazing...

There are a lot of different categories too. Obviously revhtree has more influence then 98% of people on R2R maybe more even but you endorsing a salt is really only going to effect newbies. Any experienced reef keeper knows every single salt can be used to have a successful reef. Just because a salt is better doesn't mean most people will switch to it. However if you were endorsing say a pump then more may be inclined to try it.

The biggest thing about endorsing something is showing how it worked, a lot of times this can't be done or the person endorsing is not going to put in the effort to conclusively prove it. Still for the most part there is no harm telling others about what products you like. There are so few things that are for everyone and so many different things that can be used to accomplish the same goal.
 

Js.Aqua.Project

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1. Are you careful with the products you endorse in the hobby?

Very, I don't want to voice my support for a product that I have not personally used.

2. What does it take to get an endorsement from you?

I first need to have extended time using the product. Second, it has to have a positive impact on my reefing.

To give some examples:
1- I fully support and will recommend @Reef Nutrition Oyster Feast, PhytoFeast, RG Complete, and R.O.E. because I have spent at this point years using these products and have seen the benefits of using them in my aquarium (increase pod population, polyp extension, fish health) with no negative effects. So when people ask me about trying to get a balance nutrition within their reef, these are my go-to recommendations.

2- I won an Neptune Systems Trident at MACNA and set it up in November. While I enjoyed reading the multiple daily results and then later trusting it to handle my dosing, I did not begin recommending it until about a week or so ago after almost two months of use and spot checking my parameters with other test kits to ensure its accuracy.
 

Cell

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Need 1st hand experience is all. And then just a willingness to update if anything changes.
 

ReefGrammie

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1. Are you careful with the products you endorse in the hobby?

Extremely.

2. What does it take to get an endorsement from you?


Generally, long-term satisfaction, as in years. For example, I've had the same Tunze ATO system running for over 6 years. It has been flawless over countless vacations, with me spying on my tank from far away using a camera/phone app. To me, that's endorsement worthy!
 

fishguy242

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HI ,30 years reefing,old school imo salt is salt ,buy a tank guy gives you 1/2 bucket,i have 1/2 mix em,will only tell people what i know has worked for me for years ,to help in situation,re: old school still using ice cap vho t12 bulbs,try to buy all i can find ballasts,bulbs,some bulbs on this pic are25 years old,using until burn out will grow anything ,but tell people what i am using ,but do not recomend because too hard to find,ballasts are touchy,will tell research what you need,food flake any and all,except eels,horses,etc..thanks for reading this book
WP_20160405_001.jpg
 

Bpb

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The person endorsing the product is the most important part. An endorsement by someone with a great deal of experience with many competing products, success, and no financial incentive will mean the most.

Those seem to be a small fraction of what you find

What you mostly find are endorsements by people who

Are relatively inexperienced overall (first tank, 3 months old)

Have only owned the product a short period of time (can’t recommend this skimmer enough, Just came in the mail and it seems really well built)

Or lastly, people with incentive to endorse a product outside of their own enjoyment (the more we promote THIS light fixture in particular, the deeper discounts we get for using them, and the more units we will sell in our shop)
 

fishguy242

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awesome answer bpb
  • 3 minutes ago
  • Are you careful about "endorsing" reefing products and what does it take?
REMOVE
The person endorsing the product is the most important part. An endorsement by someone with a great deal of experience with many competing products, success, and no financial incentive will mean the most.

Those seem to be a small fraction of what you find

What you mostly find are endorsements by people who

Are relatively inexperienced overall (first tank, 3 months old)

Have only owned the product a short period of time (can’t recommend this skimmer enough, Just came in the mail and it seems really well built)

Or lastly, people with incentive to endorse a product outside of their own enjoyment (the more we promote THIS light fixture in particular, the deeper discounts we get for using them, and the more units we will sell in our shop)
 

Mical

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In a past life I was an area rep for BMW of NA and I handled ALL the warranty, paint and customer service complaints in central Florida. It was "then & there" I decided I would start complimenting folks, business', etc on good deeds. This world has its' hands full of bad news but good news gets overlooked. Yes, I still let folks know if I'm displeased w/something but I make it a point to compliment or share an experience for those that meet or exceed my expectations. "Dwelling on bad experiences is like driving via the rear view mirror".
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

  • Ball valves.

    Votes: 76 51.7%
  • Gate valves.

    Votes: 75 51.0%
  • Check valves.

    Votes: 37 25.2%
  • None.

    Votes: 32 21.8%
  • Other.

    Votes: 9 6.1%
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