Hydros and BRS?

[areefer01]

No, they literally said to censor content as well as prove credentials. The latter will never be viable or happen. It is on the viewer to research that, not the platform.

Right. If you are not a doctor in the respected field you are creating content for it shouldn't be allowed. It is misleading. That is how I read their post.

If you have a broken ankle do you want to go to a licensed doctor or do you want to go to someone who says they are a doctor but not licensed or practicing doctor? There is a distinct difference. I understand there are NP's, PA's, and a lot of other things but let us just keep this simple.

I understand this is my interpretation and yours may be different all good.

 

[javajaws]

BRS is greedy, sure. But so are hobbyists. I constantly see random people asking RIDICULOUS prices for frags and used reefing equipment. I have a lot of corals in my tank that need a trimming yet I’m hesitant to give them away to strangers fearing they’re just gonna post it online to make a few bucks. This hobby is expensive as it is, why are we trying to rip each other off

Unless you've seen their books I don't think I would call them greedy. Every for-profit corporation's goal is to make a profit. That's not greed that's just the basics of running a company and keeping the lights on. If they are wildly successful their profit margins might look better than average. But when that happens, the market usually adjusts over time as that's an indicator and opening to potential rivals to undercut them (or for new competitors to enter the market).

Sometimes, companies make a move to further increase their profits - and sometimes (like in this thread) that can tick off some of their customers as well. Whether its a good or bad move for them long term....well only time will tell. I can tell you where my bet would go though...

 

[javajaws]

But were they a couple of guys to be loyal to, or was that just good marketing tugging on the right heart strings by a couple of guys that just wanted your money?

It is a rhetorical question. There is no verifiable correct answer. Just food for thought.

Why not both? To repeat an earlier comment - smaller companies are better at connecting with their customers and getting them what they need. Oftentimes that can be covered by marketing, and in areas like reefing such marketing can also cover education. You help the customer to better understand what they need to buy and be successfull (so they'll keep buying maintenance items, etc). You also build your brand as "trusted content and equipment provider", etc. Its win win - even SaltwaterAquarium.com has started making videos and its not unique to this hobby either.

But as companies get larger and decisions get based more on short term profit/loss...well, that's when companies start to lose their connection to their customer. So for BRS, I expect it was great marketing that aligned with the goals and ideals of the owners to help their customers which eventually became not so viable or twisted more towards marketing rather than helping as the company got larger.

Just my opinion based on experience...

 

[BeanAnimal]

Why not both?

Certainly one of the possibilities.

To repeat an earlier comment - smaller companies

There are any number of dynamics at play here. My take is that the majority of people posting don't understand them (not an insult) to begin with, let alone any of us having enough information to define motives (good or bad, brilliant or in error) for any party involved.

Jut a lot of tilting at windmills for the sake of tilting....

 

[jhadaway]

BRS is greedy, sure. But so are hobbyists. I constantly see random people asking RIDICULOUS prices for frags and used reefing equipment. I have a lot of corals in my tank that need a trimming yet I’m hesitant to give them away to strangers fearing they’re just gonna post it online to make a few bucks. This hobby is expensive as it is, why are we trying to rip each other off

Agreed!

 

[Bj’s Reef]

Aquarium speciality has hydros products in stock.

 

[shred5]

No, they literally said to censor content as well as prove credentials. The latter will never be viable or happen. It is on the viewer to research that, not the platform.

How come everyone else gets what I meant.

But you know what I do think they need to censor some stuff or not post certain videos since they are a publisher.

I do not think they should allow people to impersonate doctors, police, firefighters or commit crimes.

Like this kid with two big body guards that goes out and assaults people and goes what are you going to do about it and steps back behind his two giant body guards.. Think YouTube/TikTok should make money off people committing a crime? Or pay people to commit crimes because that is what they are actually doing when they pay them for their videos? Do you think it is ok? This kid has been in jail. By paying someone for committing crimes makes you a accessory.

I think there should be certain things not be allowed like violating copy rights..

Since you seem to hate any Censorship how do you feel about Rev Censoring some content in this thread? yea thought so.

I am sorry but sometimes it need to be done because some people cross the line. Censoring people opinions or difference of opinions is not ok though.

I am done with this conversation it derailed this thread.

 

[AquariumSpecialty Verified Sponsor]

Reading along. We just received a new shipment of Hydros equipment this week. Also anything that is out of stock can ship quickly as long as CoralVue has stock. As a small business we certainly appreciate your support! Also since we are a small business we haven’t reached the Nexcess tax limits so no sales tax is collected outside of South Carolina and we offer free shipping and 5 times rewards.

Ok enough on the sales pitch.

 

[Jmp998]

Reading along. We just received a new shipment of Hydros equipment this week. Also anything that is out of stock can ship quickly as long as CoralVue has stock. As a small business we certainly appreciate your support! Also since we are a small business we haven’t reached the Nexcess tax limits so no sales tax is collected outside of South Carolina and we offer free shipping and 5 times rewards.

Ok enough on the sales pitch.

Looks like you have nice selection.

Does your ORA livestock drop ship directly from ORA?

 

[AquariumSpecialty Verified Sponsor]

Looks like you have nice selection.

Does your ORA livestock drop ship directly from ORA. We stock some and drop ship from ORA. The listings reflect how each are shipped. Our goal is to ramp up our inventory but we want to keep pricing low. Thank you.

 

[tritonpower]

I have been in the hobby since early 2020 (just before COVID19). I learned most of what I know from BRS videos and reef2reef. I have been a loyal BRS customer for 4 years and spent many thousands with them. Many of us have enjoyed the honest "research" studies about many products done by BRS and have made our purchases based on those studies. Watching Randy and Ryan was like learning to make a stool from your grandpa. It felt right. In addition, the customer service for BRS has been like Costco. Amazing. I have returned many items that have had technical issues and BRS has stood by them every time. They have never forced me to contact the manufacturer, they just take it back. Then Ryan and Randy left and...things have changed. Those honest videos are gone. If Ryan and Randy were still there a video discussing GHL vs Apex vs Hydros would have already been made. Obviously, it has not. Clearly, BRS makes more money off Apex than the other brands.

For many of us, the loss of the honest reefer is what bothers us the most. Ryan and Randy always seemed willing to sell us the product that worked the best even if they made less off it than other products. That trust is gone.

I am at a somewhat of a loss at what to do. I will be ordering more from saltwater.com and other sites for sure. I also have gone all in on hydros and love it (all except the X10/iV which has been less than accurate so far-hoping new Milwaukee pH controllers will help). I have the X10/iV, XP8, Kraken, control XS, control X3, and wave engine (most purchased from BRS). I love these controllers. They are so simple to use and set up. They work all the time with no issues at all. I have never used any apex products and have no comparison. If apex is this easy to use and this dependable, good for them. Competition is always a good thing.

I just feel a little sad losing that feeling you were on an adventure with Randy and Ryan and discovering this thing called reefing with them. I was a prior business owner who has gone through the sale of a business and I understand why they did so. No hard feelings at all.

I am excited about the future of this hobby. The hydros controllers are amazing. My MP40s and Vectra M2s are amazing. My reef octopus skimmers are amazing (in the house and garage tanks). My redsea and reefbrite lights are amazing. My avast marine kalk stirrer and BRS dosers work great. I like the BRS 2 part products and the tropic Marin part C and trace elements. If we have to buy these products from various websites, so be it. I will miss the one stop shop but I like the idea of supporting the little guys as well.

I hope we can look at the bright side of this and support the little guys. I just hope the advancements in this hobby that were supported by Randy and Ryan are not lost. I enjoy YouTubers like polo reef, reef builders, reef bum, reef dudes, parkers reef, melevsreef, and others. If someone else can do what BRS did in the past they will take over. If not, we will all have to continue to advance this hobby through whatever means we can.

Happy reefing everyone.

 

[theatrus]

For many of us, the loss of the honest reefer is what bothers us the most. Ryan and Randy always seemed willing to sell us the product that worked the best even if they made less off it than other products. That trust is gone.

Well said, and covers the sentiment. I started shopping at BRS a _long_ time ago, back when they were just doing food and bulk chemicals.

Now it's like buying at PetsMart or PetCo. Or even Walmart or Amazon. No soul, so it's just another reseller. One who also makes their own products or clones other people's products.

 

[Solo McReefer]

We came full-boar into the aquarium automation market, and our network of HYDROS Controls came along, culminating in the release of our flagship items...the Control X10 and LAUNCH. In the meantime, there is little product overlap, rather a variety of options of various ports needed for multiple aquarium jobs. You have seen our path, and it took a little to get there. However, there is NO "discontinued support"; in fact, NO HYDROS CONTROL WILL EVER GO OBSOLETE...because we have those command bus ports, linking to the whole system...a staple of what we call the HYDROS Collective.

We also do announce upcoming HYDROS Controls, such as the heads-up on the X10 months in advance and the recent MAVEN announcement, for consumers to prep, learn, and get started with HYDROS in the meantime. We also use tradeshows like Reef-A-Palooza and Aquashella to showcase new products coming to market, followed by videos and website updates.

I urge anyone to reach out to our support with questions, learn the HYDROS line, what it offers, and how we are taking this head on, which includes multiple HYDROS innovations, without the intention of product overlaps.

With all the online retailers either closing up shop, consolidating

Or outright just boycotting your products. I have no idea what Premium Aquatics is doing(going BK in the slowest way possible?)

One would think that the writing on the wall, and what I read it says, "CoralVue needs to sell your stuff online directly to customers"

I mean I know you already do sell stuff. I have bought from CoralVue

But I can't see any rhyme or reason as to what you sell, and what you don't sell to customers

Additionally, I have a orphaned Hydros gyre controller, which can't take a update. The controller still does whatever it was that I programmed into it 4 years ago, so it still works. I just can't see it or change it. Don't worry about this particular device instantiation, it's going into the trash this weekend

So that leads to my main question, if I decide to go with HYDROS, instead of GHL, what assurances can CoralVue give me that it won't orphan some random device or controller from among the myriad of devices in the Hydros 'family'. That I happened to be using on my system

 

[Solo McReefer]

If it was just a firmware update CoralVue will still do that if you contact them about that but if there is a harware failure the it is best to update. That controller is not a Hydros branded controller but the one that comes with those pump now is. It is a WELE and was specifically designed as the replacement for that controller so that the new controller can be a member of the Hydros collective and it still does what the older controller did and also can be in the collective. The WEv2 was the replacement for the original WE even though the original WE still can be used the WEv2 can also be a wifi master in a collective so basically it was to upgrade it into the Hydros. Both the original WE and the controller you had were out before the Hydros controllers came out. So that was done to integrate them into the Hydros controller family. I don't know of any of the Hydros controllers that were discontinued since originally the original wave engine and the dual controller you had were released well before the Hydros controllers. I kind of agree instead of repairing the old controller it would be better to replace it with the WELE since that can be a part of the Hydros collective if you get into the Hydros controller.

Ah

Sounds exactly like what my issue is

The problem is software. The device still works, mine does. I just can't access it

CoralVue has just orphaned the controller, at the software layer

It works fine without the required firmware update, the update that can't happen. But it requires the firmware update before you can access the controller

I suspect it was orphaned intentionally, to force the user to purchase a new device

If this is so, I would NEVER buy, or use, at any cost any product by such a company

All they needed to do, was let the controller continue working, as it did before it as orphaned

 

[Solo McReefer]

Seems like a good time to discontinue BRS....

They are just doing what corporations do

Consolidation and monopolization

A least it didn't do what Dr Fosters and Smith and Marine Depot did

Fold up their tents and close

 

[Solo McReefer]

I have been in the hobby since early 2020 (just before COVID19). I learned most of what I know from BRS videos and reef2reef. I have been a loyal BRS customer for 4 years and spent many thousands with them. Many of us have enjoyed the honest "research" studies about many products done by BRS and have made our purchases based on those studies. Watching Randy and Ryan was like learning to make a stool from your grandpa. It felt right. In addition, the customer service for BRS has been like Costco. Amazing. I have returned many items that have had technical issues and BRS has stood by them every time. They have never forced me to contact the manufacturer, they just take it back. Then Ryan and Randy left and...things have changed. Those honest videos are gone. If Ryan and Randy were still there a video discussing GHL vs Apex vs Hydros would have already been made. Obviously, it has not. Clearly, BRS makes more money off Apex than the other brands.

For many of us, the loss of the honest reefer is what bothers us the most. Ryan and Randy always seemed willing to sell us the product that worked the best even if they made less off it than other products. That trust is gone.

I am at a somewhat of a loss at what to do. I will be ordering more from saltwater.com and other sites for sure. I also have gone all in on hydros and love it (all except the X10/iV which has been less than accurate so far-hoping new Milwaukee pH controllers will help). I have the X10/iV, XP8, Kraken, control XS, control X3, and wave engine (most purchased from BRS). I love these controllers. They are so simple to use and set up. They work all the time with no issues at all. I have never used any apex products and have no comparison. If apex is this easy to use and this dependable, good for them. Competition is always a good thing.

I just feel a little sad losing that feeling you were on an adventure with Randy and Ryan and discovering this thing called reefing with them. I was a prior business owner who has gone through the sale of a business and I understand why they did so. No hard feelings at all.

I am excited about the future of this hobby. The hydros controllers are amazing. My MP40s and Vectra M2s are amazing. My reef octopus skimmers are amazing (in the house and garage tanks). My redsea and reefbrite lights are amazing. My avast marine kalk stirrer and BRS dosers work great. I like the BRS 2 part products and the tropic Marin part C and trace elements. If we have to buy these products from various websites, so be it. I will miss the one stop shop but I like the idea of supporting the little guys as well.

I hope we can look at the bright side of this and support the little guys. I just hope the advancements in this hobby that were supported by Randy and Ryan are not lost. I enjoy YouTubers like polo reef, reef builders, reef bum, reef dudes, parkers reef, melevsreef, and others. If someone else can do what BRS did in the past they will take over. If not, we will all have to continue to advance this hobby through whatever means we can.

Happy reefing everyone.

I didn't know Ryan was gone

When did that happen?

 

[theatrus]

They are just doing what corporations do

Consolidation and monopolization

A least it didn't do what Dr Fosters and Smith and Marine Depot did

Fold up their tents and close

Marine Depot was acquired by BRS before the further consolidation happened. But it was the start of capital injection to consolidate.

DrFS was mostly hopeless and spun out their one viable business, Live Aquaria, to PetCo.

As for the other resellers, no idea. But at least if I need another PanWorld pump I know where to go (PA).

 

[SpyC]

With all the online retailers either closing up shop, consolidating

Or outright just boycotting your products. I have no idea what Premium Aquatics is doing(going BK in the slowest way possible?)

One would think that the writing on the wall, and what I read it says, "CoralVue needs to sell your stuff online directly to customers"

I mean I know you already do sell stuff. I have bought from CoralVue

But I can't see any rhyme or reason as to what you sell, and what you don't sell to customers

Additionally, I have a orphaned Hydros gyre controller, which can't take a update. The controller still does whatever it was that I programmed into it 4 years ago, so it still works. I just can't see it or change it. Don't worry about this particular device instantiation, it's going into the trash this weekend

So that leads to my main question, if I decide to go with HYDROS, instead of GHL, what assurances can CoralVue give me that it won't orphan some random device or controller from among the myriad of devices in the Hydros 'family'. That I happened to be using on my system

What other retailers are removing hydros and/or all coral vue products from their shelves?

 

[n2585722]

With all the online retailers either closing up shop, consolidating

Or outright just boycotting your products. I have no idea what Premium Aquatics is doing(going BK in the slowest way possible?)

One would think that the writing on the wall, and what I read it says, "CoralVue needs to sell your stuff online directly to customers"

I mean I know you already do sell stuff. I have bought from CoralVue

But I can't see any rhyme or reason as to what you sell, and what you don't sell to customers

Additionally, I have a orphaned Hydros gyre controller, which can't take a update. The controller still does whatever it was that I programmed into it 4 years ago, so it still works. I just can't see it or change it. Don't worry about this particular device instantiation, it's going into the trash this weekend

So that leads to my main question, if I decide to go with HYDROS, instead of GHL, what assurances can CoralVue give me that it won't orphan some random device or controller from among the myriad of devices in the Hydros 'family'. That I happened to be using on my system

Have you contacted CoralVue support to get the IceCap controller firmware updated. The IceCap controller uses the Hydros app but is not a Hydros controller. The reason for replacing it with the WELE was that it could not be a member of a Hydros collective. The WELE can do that and still do what the IceCap controller could do.

 

[Solo McReefer]

.