Hydros and BRS?

[TrottingReef]

The chips they use are only 2.4ghz chips. If you don't believe me you can ask them but I have seen this ask numerous time on their facebook group and the Hydros forum and the answer has always been the controller are 2.4ghz only but the wifi strips will connect to 5ghz but if they do they will not be able to talk to the controllers on 2.4ghz.

They are talking to my 5ghz AP just fine

 

[n2585722]

They are talking to my 5ghz AP just fine

Then it must also have a 2.4ghz channel but it could be the same name as the 5ghz channel. Some do not allow you to setup a different name. I have one setup using the same name on both channels and all the Hydros devices are on the 2.4ghz channel. There are only three devices on the 5ghz channel.

 

[shred5]

They are talking to my 5ghz AP just fine

Do not know how, they are 2.4ghz. You must also be running a 2.4 along with it.

 

[Richard baker]

It is still social media content and marketing. Trust is up to the hobbyist regardless of brand or provider.



Who is we and why use the word betrayed? Why can't it just be that someone is tired of giving 150 percent into something and want out? Look at it from the viewpoint of the person burning the midnight oil. It takes a lot of effort to make your first million. A lot more to make five. There is no let down or betrayal. It was a decision that doesn't involved us.

I do hear you that maybe there is a concern as it relates to product availability, pricing, and so forth. Still not a huge issue in my opinion. If you want something that isn't carried it will be by another outlet.




You are taking this way to personal in my opinion. Then again maybe I'm reading more into what you threw down. It is a hobby and it isn't unique to this one. Power tools, scuba, sewing, cars, and more have had some form of product or brand consolidation.

We as in my local reef group and no I don’t take it personal and no I’m not mad at the guy . My point is he was attached to some reefers emotions and they are expressing how they feel nothing more

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Then it must also have a 2.4ghz channel but it could be the same name as the 5ghz channel. Some do not allow you to setup a different name. I have one setup using the same name on both channels and all the Hydros devices are on the 2.4ghz channel. There are only three devices on the 5ghz channel.

This. My home setup with 3 extenders does 2.4 & 5ghz on the same network name.

I run a dedicated 2.4 wifi router since I use a LOT of chinesium stuff and it's the only way to have a reasonable connection.

 

[frydaddy]

You calling me a liar? Because they were replying to me. I have a WEv2, an X4 and an X2 and they DO in fact connect to my 5ghz ONLY Netgear Orbit WiFi 6 AP.

Which model Orbit do you have? All the WiFi 6 orbits I have seen run 6, 5, and 2.4 ghz. So curious if you have a model I have not seen. I’ve had problems with hydros on mesh networks and talking with Carlos, hydros only runs on 2.4 and coralvue recommends running a specific 2.4ghz ap just for their devices if you have a mesh network.

 

[dank.reefer]

I was away from the hobby for many years and when I came back was bummed to see that marine depot was gone and that their site took me straight to BRS. Me being the anti corporate/small buisness guy and seeing that my first purchase from them was billed through APL I forced my self to do a dive. I decided right then and there even if I had to buy things from BRS it wouldn't be from their product line.

I am a professional auto technician and have seen first hand what happens to quality when corporate "parent companies" get involved. Grab a good trusted brand name slap it on a bunch of cheaply made gear and sell it at a premium. The consumer is generally the one who looses. Thanks to all who are now joining my previously silent BRS boycott. Down with the man.

Then I learned about Hydros an american engineered and built product that runs on CAN bus rather that a parent controller. My controller choice was a no brainer. I hope they keep up the same practice.

I also buy most of my gear from Marine and Reef because they are closer and can ship to me faster.

Ecotech, AI, and Apex are all out in my book. Sorry to all who feel like they got burned. Glad I went with Hydros, Sicce, and Kessil.

 

[DCR]

BRS was always about promoting the products they sold. They were just good at making you think they were just trying to help you with their videos. Behind every one of their videos was a sales pitch. Nothing has really changed in that regard. If you prefer products they no longer sell, then go elsewhere. There are plenty of other options.

 

[kenchilada]

BRS was always about promoting the products they sold. They were just good at making you think they were just trying to help you with their videos. Behind every one of their videos was a sales pitch. Nothing has really changed in that regard. If you prefer products they no longer sell, then go elsewhere. There are plenty of other options.

It’s true. There was good info to be found but they were mainly pedaling stuff.

I think WWC has put some great content out lately and its not super pushy. Plus they have amazing tanks to back up what they say.

 

[Cell]

I knew I should have added a caveat. Yes, I understand BRS and Neptune are not literally the same company. It was a response to the post saying BRS is not Coralvue and BRS is not Neptune.

 

[ryeguyy84]

Aperture exclusively distributes these brands.

Didn't know about Aquaforest. I don't really use their stuff.

D-D is David Saxby's company. They list a ton of products... I'm not sure what their affiliation with each of these is. I thought they make Rowa and Deltec?

Personally, I am just going to avoid Aperture brands. It won't be difficult for me (other than MP40s).

They took the distribution of maxspect and aquaforest from coralvue about a year ago. That's why if you notice a lot of vendors no longer stock those lines.

 

[boogie79]

Man if I was any of those companies I would be nervous about hitching up to an exclusive partnership with a brand that seems to only care about their owned brands.

Also, regarding Neptune's future, I think CoralVue's tenacity in the market has Neptune pretty worried to be honest. CoralVue doesn't need to convert long time Apex users, they just need to capture the new market with a more friendly user interface and solid product features, which it seems like they are easily accomplishing. However, it also seems like they are converting a lot of Apex users to Hydros as well, anecdotally. I haven't seen any postings that I can recall of Hydros users switching to Apex because they were frustrated.

I'm a part of the new market, what sold me on Hydros was the compatibility with many products I had and the ease of setup.

Are there a lot of reports of their wifi chips being subpar like Neptune? Has Neptune just gotten everyone nervous about wifi? If they use good wifi chips there will be no problem and and no need for hardwired connections. I've lost count of all the wifi devices in my house and I don't have issues with any of them. The only device that's hardwired in my house is my Ring alarm, not even my gaming PC. Wifi has come such a long way that it is extremely dependable.

I haven't had an issue with the wifi (Launch and WE V2). I use an Orbi RBR850, with the satellite in the same room as the Hydros.

 

[BigMax]

It appears to me that CoralVue's primary revenue stream was being the North American distributor for many products, such as Reef Octopus. I assume Aperture will put a lot of pressure on those companies to take CoralVue out of the middle for product sold through BRS, and with Aperture's size and weight I would expect that to be the next domino. Once CoralVue becomes a shell of itself will their exclusive products, such as Hydros, suffer with a reduced 'other product' revenue stream? CoralVue may have some real problems on the horizon.

Conjecture on my part, but it may be interesting to watch this unfold from a business perspective.

 

[23761783172]

It appears to me that CoralVue's primary revenue stream was being the North American distributor for many products, such as Reef Octopus. I assume Aperture will put a lot of pressure on those companies to take CoralVue out of the middle for product sold through BRS, and with Aperture's size and weight I would expect that to be the next domino. Once CoralVue is a shell of themselves will their exclusive products, such as Hydros, suffer with a reduced revenue stream? CoralVue may have some real problems on the horizon.

Conjecture on my part, but it may be interesting to watch this unfold from a business perspective.

Possibly, but I would think RO has the size and influence to tell even Aperture to kick rocks. Losing Reef Octopus would likely be worse for BRS than vice versa.

 

[dank.reefer]

BRS was always about promoting the products they sold. They were just good at making you think they were just trying to help you with their videos. Behind every one of their videos was a sales pitch. Nothing has really changed in that regard. If you prefer products they no longer sell, then go elsewhere. There are plenty of other options.

True BRS was always promoting but, the videos were informative. Though they never promoted competitors products they still gave a good idea of what the general uses and functions of the various products were. I attend many professional training seminars and in those seminars there are always shameless sales pitches after which there is still useful information. For example BRS ran numerous videos on test kits and while I didn't by the kits from them I did still learn about the various options.

 

[ReefED!]

I'm curious: How many of the posters that are up in arms over BRS making a financial decision to sell their business, at what they perceived as their peak operating range, to a Private Equity firm (which for those not in business' is a fantastic exit strategy when you have none planned) are pontificating from a device which ALSO benefited from such a transaction?

What is commonly lost in the world of consumerism is that a business needs to have an exit strategy otherwise when it has run its course, the only option is to die on the vine. I do not fault anyone with ownership in BRS prior to the Bertram/Aperture sale for doing so, nor do I think that APL integrating products is inherently terrible. Does nobody here not realize that's what automotive groups have been doing for decades? GM? Toyota? Stellantis? Volkswagen? I don't see anyone being up in arms that Dodge no longer "sells" RAM trucks. In my mind, it makes more business sense to offer three tiers of products for your consumers to choose from, and in doing so re-evaluating some existing vendor relationships.

Bulk Reef Supply is NOT Coral Vue. Coral Vue is NOT Bulk Reef Supply. BRS not selling Hyrdos products anymore should not be a reason for people to abandon Neptune Systems products.
Bulk Reef Supply is NOT Neptune Systems. Neptune Systems is NOT Bulk Reef Supply. BRS selling Neptune Systems products should not be a reason someone squats on Apex.

People need to separate the brand from the retailer and realize that this situation is no different than shopping at Aldi and buying their "Clancy" brand chips while complaining that they can't find them at <insert appropriate grocer here>.

BRS was always about promoting the products they sold. They were just good at making you think they were just trying to help you with their videos. Behind every one of their videos was a sales pitch. Nothing has really changed in that regard. If you prefer products they no longer sell, then go elsewhere. There are plenty of other options.

If you needed any further justification to stop doing business with BRS, then look no further than what they're charging for Aquaforest media reactor replacement sponges.

$50 - $60.

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/replacement-sponge-set-af90-media-reactor-aquaforest.html
How much do they cost in the EU?

Bout 10 bucks.

https://charterhouse-aquatics.com/products/aquaforest-af90-media-reactor-sponge-set
How about the strainer/diffuser plate?

Best BRS can do is $90 (lol)

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/replacement-upper-strainer-af130-media-reactor-aquaforest.html
How much do they cost in EU?

About 30 bucks

https://www.seaflowerstore.com/aquaforest-af-upper-strainer-af110/
Quite the import markup for something that weighs next to nothing.

 

[RoanokeReef]

If anyone needs a separate 2.4 network, I use this one and it works great for the random IOT that don't like mesh. It also doesn't need to be hardwired to your router. Amazon Link

 

[thedon986]

If you needed any further justification to stop doing business with BRS, then look no further than what they're charging for Aquaforest media reactor replacement sponges.

$50 - $60.

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/replacement-sponge-set-af90-media-reactor-aquaforest.html
How much do they cost in the EU?

Bout 10 bucks.

https://charterhouse-aquatics.com/products/aquaforest-af90-media-reactor-sponge-set
How about the strainer/diffuser plate?

Best BRS can do is $90 (lol)

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/replacement-upper-strainer-af130-media-reactor-aquaforest.html
How much do they cost in EU?

About 30 bucks

https://www.seaflowerstore.com/aquaforest-af-upper-strainer-af110/
Quite the import markup for something that weighs next to nothing.

Funk BRS.

Good thing they are the exclusive distributor in the US for AF products!

 

[ReefED!]

Good thing they are the exclusive distributor in the US for AF products!

Yeo

I do business with SWaquarium.com now

And I have nothing but love for Ryan but it’s not his show anymore

 

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