Huge Shoutout to Reefbreeders

[riche]

I recently picked up a Reefbreeder Photon 32 v Pro from a friend who only used is a few week before switching to Neptune leds.

Well I couldn’t get the light to connect to my network, I made a post on here and @Reef Breeders commented to send an email through there website

Well Yesterday was Sunday and I figured it would be a few days before I received a response, well low and behold Logan the owner reached out to me with in a hr of me sending the email

We exchanged emails all day yesterday and a few more today.

He was very detailed in his response, never once gave up, kept offering suggestions and trying to get the light to work.

I ended up downloading the older app and it connected first try.

So I will be a fan/customer for as long as I’m in the hobby

Plus he is a Huge supporter/sponser of the Legasea Aquarium here in Michigan. It has a special spot in my heart as they lost there founder Brian to Pancreatic cancer and that is what took my father in 1993

So Logan if you read this THANK YOU

I’m a Reefbreeder for life!

 

[exnisstech]

Interesting that you had to use the old app. I have 3 photons pros, two 32s and one 24 and I'm on the old app still. I've been hesitant to switch to the new app mostly because I'm not big on change and I don't feel like having to set the lights up again. The old app works fine for me so I'm glad that reef breeders isn't forcing us to update to the new version, especially after reading your issue.

 

[vlangel]

I am also a ReefBreeder Photon owner. I still use the remote and I like it, although I hear most folks are not a fan. I just keep it in a drawer of the end table next to the tank. Anyway I love my ReefBreeder Photon!

 

[Reef Breeders Verified Sponsor]

Interesting that you had to use the old app. I have 3 photons pros, two 32s and one 24 and I'm on the old app still. I've been hesitant to switch to the new app mostly because I'm not big on change and I don't feel like having to set the lights up again. The old app works fine for me so I'm glad that reef breeders isn't forcing us to update to the new version, especially after reading your issue.

His issue was because the lights only work with one app or the other, he bought his light used so we had no information on why it wasn’t connecting to the new app. If you try to use the new app right now it won’t work for you either since your light can only work with the old app. You’d have to go through the app migration process to make your light compatible with the new app. There was no problem on the end of our app.

 

[Reef Breeders Verified Sponsor]

I recently picked up a Reefbreeder Photon 32 v Pro from a friend who only used is a few week before switching to Neptune leds.

Well I couldn’t get the light to connect to my network, I made a post on here and @Reef Breeders commented to send an email through there website

Well Yesterday was Sunday and I figured it would be a few days before I received a response, well low and behold Logan the owner reached out to me with in a hr of me sending the email

We exchanged emails all day yesterday and a few more today.

He was very detailed in his response, never once gave up, kept offering suggestions and trying to get the light to work.

I ended up downloading the older app and it connected first try.

So I will be a fan/customer for as long as I’m in the hobby

Plus he is a Huge supporter/sponser of the Legasea Aquarium here in Michigan. It has a special spot in my heart as they lost there founder Brian to Pancreatic cancer and that is what took my father in 1993

So Logan if you read this THANK YOU

I’m a Reefbreeder for life!

Thank you so much for giving our products a shot. Even though you had some trouble getting it set up, I really appreciate you reaching out and giving us the chance to help. I am glad everything is sorted now and that you are enjoying your light. It really means a lot to hear your kind words, and we are looking forward to staying in touch for years to come. Hopefully for life, just like you said. That would be amazing.

Your connection with LegaSea means a lot to us. Our involvement with the LegaSea Aquarium is something we truly care about. We love fish and corals, of course, but a lot of people don’t know that we are also big into reptiles. Brian was a huge inspiration for us, and when we saw him getting into aquariums, we were beyond excited. We really wanted to work with him directly, but while that unfortunately didn’t happen, we got as close as possible by working with his family, and they are absolutely incredible people.

What they have built after going through such a difficult experience is nothing short of amazing. Taking on something like that takes an incredible amount of strength and determination. We feel so grateful to be a small part of their journey, and we thank God for putting us on this path with them. They are going to do some incredible things, and I truly believe Brian is watching over it all, proud of what his legasea is becoming.

 

[exnisstech]

His issue was because the lights only work with one app or the other, he bought his light used so we had no information on why it wasn’t connecting to the new app. If you try to use the new app right now it won’t work for you either since your light can only work with the old app. You’d have to go through the app migration process to make your light compatible with the new app. There was no problem on the end of our app.

Thanks for the reply. Are there any plans in the future that will force me to migrate to the new app? Im perfectly happy with the old one as it is and not looking for additional features but if I will be forced to change I'd rather do so at my convenience and will plan accordingly. I'm not much into tech and apps so apologies if these seem like silly questions.

 

[Reef Breeders Verified Sponsor]

We have no plans to force anyone to switch to the new app. If it were entirely up to me, you could stay on the old app indefinitely, but unfortunately, I can’t guarantee its long-term availability since that’s not solely within our control.

The old app was not owned or developed by ReefBreeders. If you go into the App Store and scroll down to the bottom, at least on iOS, you will see the app’s owner. I do not use Android, so I am not sure how it appears there, but on iOS, it should show the app’s owner. I believe it says Creative Labs or something similar, which makes it clear that the app was not owned by us.

We partnered with the company that developed that app to customize it for our lights and allow our customers to use it indefinitely. As part of the agreement, we paid a fee for each user who connected their light to the app. While this arrangement was designed to provide long-term access, the reality is that we did not own the app or the company behind it. This meant we could not guarantee its availability forever, as ownership changes, business decisions, or unforeseen circumstances could impact its future.

This is one of the key reasons why we developed the new ReefBreeders app. Beyond making improvements and adding new features, full ownership ensures that we have complete control over its functionality and long-term availability. With the new app, there are no uncertainties. We own it, manage it, and can guarantee that it will remain available for our customers.

If you check the App Store and scroll down on the ReefBreeders app, you will see that it is listed as owned by ReefBreeders. It does not show another company’s name, which is an important distinction. When using a company’s app, this is how you can verify whether they truly own it or are relying on a third-party platform.

The developers of the old app were great to work with, and we have no complaints about them. However, we felt it was important to take full ownership of our app to provide our customers with long-term stability and support. By doing so, we can ensure that no outside company can make changes or decisions that affect our users, giving everyone peace of mind moving forward.

I hope that answers your questions.

 

[Reef Breeders Verified Sponsor]

Thanks for the reply. Are there any plans in the future that will force me to migrate to the new app? Im perfectly happy with the old one as it is and not looking for additional features but if I will be forced to change I'd rather do so at my convenience and will plan accordingly. I'm not much into tech and apps so apologies if these seem like silly questions.

Sorry I responded below though I was responding to you.

 

[exnisstech]

Sorry I responded below though I was responding to you.

Thank you for the full explanation. It sounds like the best thing would for me would be to go ahead and migrate to the new app. I have 3 pros running but one is over a tank with nothing too critical so I'll probably do that one first then do the other two over my acro tank.

 

[redseaenroute]

Yup, Logan is great and the lights are awesome! It's funny when I was doing my research on lights there was one thing that really stood out to me... Pretty much all of the reviews and feedback I saw were positive. Most other light brands had a pretty even mix of positive/negative. Even the "top tier" stuff. But I had to REALLY dig to find any negative reviews on the Photons. And even those were primarily pointed at App or connectivity issues. And those could have easily been user error. "This light can grow anything" was the main comment I saw.

I actually prefer the remote only version. But I also don't trust apps or anything connected to a network nowadays. To much of a critical path to success and single point of failure. App goes down or company changes hands and now you have a paper weight.

But yeah, I'm with you... Reef Breeders only for me. As long as they maintain current standards, it's the only lights I will buy!

 

[VintageReefer]

I am also a ReefBreeder Photon owner. I still use the remote and I like it, although I hear most folks are not a fan. I just keep it in a drawer of the end table next to the tank. Anyway I love my ReefBreeder Photon!

I like and prefer the remote also, I keep mine on the built in remote stand

 

[vlangel]

Yup, Logan is great and the lights are awesome! It's funny when I was doing my research on lights there was one thing that really stood out to me... Pretty much all of the reviews and feedback I saw were positive. Most other light brands had a pretty even mix of positive/negative. Even the "top tier" stuff. But I had to REALLY dig to find any negative reviews on the Photons. And even those were primarily pointed at App or connectivity issues. And those could have easily been user error. "This light can grow anything" was the main comment I saw.

I actually prefer the remote only version. But I also don't trust apps or anything connected to a network nowadays. To much of a critical path to success and single point of failure. App goes down or company changes hands and now you have a paper weight.

But yeah, I'm with you... Reef Breeders only for me. As long as they maintain current standards, it's the only lights I will buy!

I like and prefer the remote also, I keep mine on the built in remote stand

I am glad that I am not the only Photon user to prefer the remote. I always feel so out of touch with tech but like @redseaenroute I distrust apps. Hey, I considered it a win when I mastered setting up my custom light schedule with the remote! LOL

 

[Reef Breeders Verified Sponsor]

Yup, Logan is great and the lights are awesome! It's funny when I was doing my research on lights there was one thing that really stood out to me... Pretty much all of the reviews and feedback I saw were positive. Most other light brands had a pretty even mix of positive/negative. Even the "top tier" stuff. But I had to REALLY dig to find any negative reviews on the Photons. And even those were primarily pointed at App or connectivity issues. And those could have easily been user error. "This light can grow anything" was the main comment I saw.

I actually prefer the remote only version. But I also don't trust apps or anything connected to a network nowadays. To much of a critical path to success and single point of failure. App goes down or company changes hands and now you have a paper weight.

But yeah, I'm with you... Reef Breeders only for me. As long as they maintain current standards, it's the only lights I will buy!

I completely understand your concerns regarding apps. The Meridian offers manual control for people that don’t want to rely on an app.

 

[redseaenroute]

I completely understand your concerns regarding apps. The Meridian offers manual control for people that don’t want to rely on an app.

That was an awesome decision on the NRE side of development. Thank you for including the manual option! I'm keeping my eye on the Meridians once they get another year on the market, just to make sure everything works as intended (nothing against you guys, just a personal rule with any new release) then I'll look at potential upgrade.

Keep up the good work (and the great customer service) over there!

 

[redseaenroute]

I am glad that I am not the only Photon user to prefer the remote. I always feel so out of touch with tech but like @redseaenroute I distrust apps. Hey, I considered it a win when I mastered setting up my custom light schedule with the remote! LOL

Logan called me after I placed my order and offered to set up a baseline schedule for me based on my tank size, preferred on/off time, and intended corals. So all I had to do was tweak things a bit once I got it. Try getting that service from Ecotech...

 

[riche]

While I’m using the old app still, is there any lightning schedules that I can download on the old app? I see a few different schedules on there but I’m looking for a more blue heavy schedule