Reef Breeders Meridians
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tharbin
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@Reef Breeders, this is a very unfortunate choice on your part. A lot of us were excited to see some of the new features being teased and looked to their inclusion, not because we needed them but because they would make a good light even better. I have been recommending Meridians whole-heartedly. That changed today. I will not be recommending Reef Breeder products, services, or the company any longer. Do I need the new 'features'? No, so it doesn't affect my usage of the product but your decision to move to a subscription service for 'premium' features says a lot about your company.
I do not buy products that contain paywalls. I don't buy cars that you need a subscription to heat your seats. I don't buy dishwashers that need a subscription to run a separate rinse cycle. I won't buy a reef light that needs a subscription for basic, and yes acclimation mode is a basic, no matter how much you spent implementing it, feature.
On top of that your subscription pricing, if real, is just plain silly. $9.99 for a month for acclimation mode, a feature you may use once or twice when setting up a tank, or individual panel control, a nice feature but something again used once or maybe twice when setting up a panel?
For comparison, Adobe has lost hundreds of thousands of users because of their 'usurious' subscription model. For $11.99 a month you can get Adobe Lightroom, a program with millions of lines of code and that the people using it use it often, not twice a year.
I think you will see many people buying competing products in the future that would have bought your product just because of this decision. I'm also pretty sure that many more Meridians will start showing up in the used market. That is unfortunate because the Meridian is a very good light.
Your new pricing philosophy says that you can not be trusted to continue offering even the original product features for free in the future, no matter what you say today. This subscription creep is common. Almost all streaming services are a cautionary tale. Once you decide to offer subscriptions for features you lock users into your ecosystem and eventually you will put more and more of your product behind the paywall.
I do not buy products that contain paywalls. I don't buy cars that you need a subscription to heat your seats. I don't buy dishwashers that need a subscription to run a separate rinse cycle. I won't buy a reef light that needs a subscription for basic, and yes acclimation mode is a basic, no matter how much you spent implementing it, feature.
On top of that your subscription pricing, if real, is just plain silly. $9.99 for a month for acclimation mode, a feature you may use once or twice when setting up a tank, or individual panel control, a nice feature but something again used once or maybe twice when setting up a panel?
For comparison, Adobe has lost hundreds of thousands of users because of their 'usurious' subscription model. For $11.99 a month you can get Adobe Lightroom, a program with millions of lines of code and that the people using it use it often, not twice a year.
I think you will see many people buying competing products in the future that would have bought your product just because of this decision. I'm also pretty sure that many more Meridians will start showing up in the used market. That is unfortunate because the Meridian is a very good light.
Your new pricing philosophy says that you can not be trusted to continue offering even the original product features for free in the future, no matter what you say today. This subscription creep is common. Almost all streaming services are a cautionary tale. Once you decide to offer subscriptions for features you lock users into your ecosystem and eventually you will put more and more of your product behind the paywall.
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The Meridian itself has not changed. The same light people were using, enjoying, and recommending before premium was announced is still the same light today.
Nothing about the core operation of the product is being taken away. Scheduling, channel control, moonlight, manual control, and the normal controls needed to run the light remain included.
Premium is not about taking the product people already bought and putting it behind a paywall. The standard light control experience remains intact.
The reason we added a premium side to the app is because we do not want the app to stay as a basic light controller forever. We want to keep building tools that go beyond what reef lighting apps have traditionally offered. That requires ongoing development, testing, maintenance, infrastructure, and support.
Without a way to support that continued development, many of these advanced features either would never have been built at all, or they would have been many years away.
There are also a lot of additional features we want to build beyond what is currently included in premium. This is not the end of what we want the app to become. It is the starting point. Whether we are able to keep building those larger ideas will depend heavily on whether premium is successful.
The monthly option is there so someone can try the features before committing to a larger one-time purchase. The annual option is there for people who may only need or want premium tools for a certain period of time. The lifetime unlock is the best option for people who want to own it permanently.
The lifetime unlock is tied to your ReefBreeders account. It is not limited to one individual light. It applies to your current lights, future ReefBreeders lights added to that account, and future premium features as they are released.
So customers have options. Try it for a month, use it for a year, or unlock it permanently.
The pricing is also affected by Apple’s in-app purchase fees. Apple takes a very large percentage of those payments, so that has to be factored into the pricing.
I understand why people are cautious about subscriptions. Nobody wants to feel like a product they already bought is being moved behind a paywall. That is not what is happening here and it never will be that way with ReefBreeders.
ReefBreeders is not a large corporation with a massive software department. We run a very lean operation, and a lot of people in this community already know that. That is part of how we have been able to keep our products competitive while still offering strong performance.
Advanced app development is different. Building, testing, maintaining, supporting, and continuing to expand software takes ongoing resources. Premium is what gives us a realistic way to keep investing into that side of the platform.
The goal is simple: keep the core light controls included, while giving users who want more advanced tools a way to support the continued development of the app. We are trying to build the best reef lighting app we possibly can, not just maintain a basic version of one.
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Thank you for clarification! I will update my post.
Marco_99
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Slap me silly and call me Harry but I saw this coming from 10 miles away the first go around with the app, and the… we’re just a small company, we can’t afford this upkeep or absorb these costs. Stop it, you’re playing with the big boys in the lighting game and your products are demanding a premium price. The only thing that whole first fiasco screamed to me was when it comes to upkeep or apps on RB products
is exactly, they can’t be trusted. And here you are, the slope is greased and ready to go, who would’ve guessed.
sl0th
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I feel like your responses here are being purposefully obtuse. There has been plenty of discussion from yourselves in this very thread about these additional app features (which really are standard for most premium reef lights) being in development. Many will naturally assume these features are included in the cost of the light - not a future subscription to a "premium" app.
People are well aware that things cost money, but when you are paying a fortune for a reef light, things like acclimation mode should really be standard.
Can't understand why you are surprised that customers are unhappy about yet another company shoving subscription models down their throats. Really disappointing.
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Love my Meridian but this is unacceptable, especially the costs at what some have said is used few times a year.
I am old school. If I buy a product I expect to be able to use all the features contained in it, not pay extra.
I was planning on using Meridian on my next tank, but not now.
I am old school. If I buy a product I expect to be able to use all the features contained in it, not pay extra.
I was planning on using Meridian on my next tank, but not now.
BryanM
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I'm a little surprised at all the negative responses. You have what you bought initially, nothing was removed, and a small USA company added features and decided to charge for the new features to offset new feature development costs.
This doesn't seem unreasonable to me.
This doesn't seem unreasonable to me.
MegabiteOG
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I will add my two cents as I too am an owner and big fan of the lights. They have performed extremely well on my tank and have recommended them as an option to many when asked.
I do not pretend to know your revenue, expenses, margins, volume or anything else about your business. But I do know that in the niche environment you live in with lots of competition, making loyal customers unhappy is really not good for future business. Also, for new customers looking at your lights, I would think that having to pay a monthly charge for something as basic as acclimation would be a big turn off.
Understanding that R&D can come at a substantial cost, recouping that cost is essential to any business. Although I understand the reasoning behind it, I'm curious if you used the best vehicle to achieve your recoup goal. Personally I would have considered increasing pricing (you may have) of new product by a small percentage to recoup cost while your current loyal customer base enjoyed the new features. That would provide more value to new customers with more robust app features while making your current loyal customers very happy.
Personally, I don't have a problem with this as I still have all the features I received when I purchased the lights. If that ever changes, my tune would be very different. That said, I would have liked to have those new features and would have been an even happier customer that I am today with your product.
I'm a HUGE fan of small businesses and continue wishing you the very best. But as a small business, your customer base means everything and keeping them happy will contribute most to future growth in my opinion.
Good luck @Reef Breeders
I do not pretend to know your revenue, expenses, margins, volume or anything else about your business. But I do know that in the niche environment you live in with lots of competition, making loyal customers unhappy is really not good for future business. Also, for new customers looking at your lights, I would think that having to pay a monthly charge for something as basic as acclimation would be a big turn off.
Understanding that R&D can come at a substantial cost, recouping that cost is essential to any business. Although I understand the reasoning behind it, I'm curious if you used the best vehicle to achieve your recoup goal. Personally I would have considered increasing pricing (you may have) of new product by a small percentage to recoup cost while your current loyal customer base enjoyed the new features. That would provide more value to new customers with more robust app features while making your current loyal customers very happy.
Personally, I don't have a problem with this as I still have all the features I received when I purchased the lights. If that ever changes, my tune would be very different. That said, I would have liked to have those new features and would have been an even happier customer that I am today with your product.
I'm a HUGE fan of small businesses and continue wishing you the very best. But as a small business, your customer base means everything and keeping them happy will contribute most to future growth in my opinion.
Good luck @Reef Breeders
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We announced our premium app plans publicly on Reef2Reef back in February 2025. In that post, acclimation mode was listed as part of premium, so this has been public for roughly a year and a half.
I understand the comparison to other brands offering acclimation mode without a separate charge. The only thing I would point out is that those features are still paid for somewhere. App development, support, updates, connectivity, and long-term maintenance all have to be covered. Some companies build that into a higher fixture price. Some charge separately for hardware or connection options. Some make other tradeoffs. Every company has to choose its own structure.
That is how we have had to look at this as well. When premium was first discussed, Bluetooth was also grouped with premium. As development moved forward, we decided that all new Meridians would include the hardware needed for Bluetooth control at no additional charge. Bluetooth support is being added through the app as part of this rollout.
The hardware part is important though because Bluetooth is not something that can be added to earlier Meridian units with a software update, because those lights do not have the required Bluetooth hardware inside them. New Meridians going forward will have that hardware included.
The reason we made that choice is because Bluetooth can affect basic access to the light for some customers. Network restrictions, firewall issues, unreliable WiFi, or setups without practical WiFi access can make Bluetooth important for normal app control. When something affects someone’s ability to reasonably connect to and control the light, we do our best to include it where possible.
Acclimation mode is different. It is a convenience feature. A useful one, and one I think people will like, but it is not required to run the light or even to acclimate corals. Customers can already manually acclimate by creating schedules, lowering intensity, and adjusting over time. The premium feature only automates and simplifies that process.
When people compare feature lists between brands, I think the full picture matters. Meridian includes WiFi control, app control, and we offer an affordable manual controller option. New Meridians will include Bluetooth-capable hardware at no additional charge. We are doing our best to include the things that affect access and normal control of the light.
For the more advanced software tools, we could build those costs into every light, but that would raise the price for everyone, including customers who may never use those tools. Our approach is to keep the light price as accessible as possible, include the control options people need, and make the advanced convenience features optional for customers who want them.
The bigger goal here is continued development. The more support premium gets, the faster we can put resources back into new app features, updates, and improvements. The goal is to keep building the app into something far beyond basic light control and to ultimately push the limits of what reef lighting can do.
That may not be everyone’s preferred model, and I understand that. But this is the direction we announced from the beginning, and it gives us the most realistic way to keep improving the app over time without building every future software feature into the upfront price of every light.
t5Nitro
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I haven’t read the last few pages of updates in this thread, but your post is entertaining. For some reason, my scatter brain went to the subscription for acclimation mode to layering eggcrate over the tank to reduce light intensity. There we go, acclimation mode! Sounds pathetic if that is real. Thanks for the laugh.
Thank you for the thoughtful reply, and I do appreciate the kind words about the lights. I understand the idea you’re suggesting, and I agree there are different ways a company could approach this.
One thing I want to push back on is the idea of raising the price of future lights so current owners can receive every new software feature at no charge. That does not make the cost disappear. It simply shifts the cost to new customers.
In practice, that would mean new Meridian buyers are paying more so existing Meridian owners can receive advanced software features for free. I do not see that as the fairer option. It may feel better to current owners, but it creates a new fairness issue for the next customer buying the light.
That is even more true with the recent price increases from tariffs. Many current Meridian owners purchased before those increases, so they bought their lights at a lower price than new customers are paying now. Raising prices again on future customers to cover premium access for earlier purchases would mean newer customers are paying even more to subsidize advanced software features for customers who already bought in at a lower price. I do not think that is the right answer.
That is why we are not going to solve this by raising the price of new lights to cover free premium access for older purchases. That may sound better at first, but it just moves the cost to the next customer, and I do not think that is the fairest way to handle it. Our approach is more direct: core access and normal control stay included, features that affect someone’s ability to use the light are included where possible, and advanced convenience tools are optional for the customers who want them.
I understand not everyone will prefer that structure, and that is okay. We are trying to balance keeping Meridian accessible, treating new and existing customers fairly, and giving ReefBreeders a path to keep improving the app. That is the model we chose, and we are going to stand behind it.
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We announced this direction publicly on Reef2Reef back in February 2025, and acclimation was shown as part of premium at that time. That post has been public for roughly a year and a half, so while I understand not everyone follows every update closely, this should not come as a surprise.
NCsalt
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Completely true, I remember.
I also understand peoples concerns, after what has been done with software like Microsoft office where you bought the product they intentionally eliminate your ability to use it and make you get a subscription for the price of what the ownership cost should be.
Reef Breeders also put out significant notice about the new app and what was necessary to allow the continued use of the older product instead of just saying too bad like we see in other industry.
Message didn’t make it to everyone. And there was concern about future products if you missed something like this.
Manual knobs to control the meridians were offered to alleviate these concerns.
They also offered them for free with Purchase during black friday on top of discount for product.
They responded to me quickly on here just today to my issue. Which may even turn out to be user error. It will get sorted and isnt really a big deal.
My Meridians were exactly what i was looking for.
Not associated at all just a consumer. I feel like this is being treated a little to harsh, but concerns noted.
MegabiteOG
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Thanks for your thoughtful response. A couple of points I want to clarify where I was coming from.
“One thing I want to push back on is the idea of raising the price of future lights so current owners can receive every new software feature at no charge. That does not make the cost disappear. It simply shifts the cost to new customers.”
My point wasn’t to raise prices on new products so current owners can get the new features. My point was that the new product costs more due to R&D and include the new features moving forward. The new features are common on most lights that are considered premium and I’m sure new customers would find additional value with them included instead of having to pay for them after paying a considerable amount for these great lights.
In practice, that would mean new Meridian buyers are paying more so existing Meridian owners can receive advanced software features for free. I do not see that as the fairer option. It may feel better to current owners, but it creates a new fairness issue for the next customer buying the light.
I disagree with your point here. It’s not about fairness to one side or the other. It’s about a more complete product to all customers new and current. As I’m sure you are well aware, your current customers are the ones that put you in the position to continue investing. Your current customers are also the ones that continually promote your products. Meaning, your current customers continue providing you a lot of value.
To be fair to you, you didn’t offer the premium features to new customers and make the current ones pay. You were fair and made it available to all if they pay. And to your point, you announced this way in advance. There is no surprise here.
In the end, I respect your position and I am confident that a lot of thought was put into your choice on how best to do this for your company and product. After all, you’re the one dishing out the investment money here. Just wanted to clarify where I was coming from.
Good luck on the continued success of ReefBreeders. I love the lights.
“One thing I want to push back on is the idea of raising the price of future lights so current owners can receive every new software feature at no charge. That does not make the cost disappear. It simply shifts the cost to new customers.”
My point wasn’t to raise prices on new products so current owners can get the new features. My point was that the new product costs more due to R&D and include the new features moving forward. The new features are common on most lights that are considered premium and I’m sure new customers would find additional value with them included instead of having to pay for them after paying a considerable amount for these great lights.
In practice, that would mean new Meridian buyers are paying more so existing Meridian owners can receive advanced software features for free. I do not see that as the fairer option. It may feel better to current owners, but it creates a new fairness issue for the next customer buying the light.
I disagree with your point here. It’s not about fairness to one side or the other. It’s about a more complete product to all customers new and current. As I’m sure you are well aware, your current customers are the ones that put you in the position to continue investing. Your current customers are also the ones that continually promote your products. Meaning, your current customers continue providing you a lot of value.
To be fair to you, you didn’t offer the premium features to new customers and make the current ones pay. You were fair and made it available to all if they pay. And to your point, you announced this way in advance. There is no surprise here.
In the end, I respect your position and I am confident that a lot of thought was put into your choice on how best to do this for your company and product. After all, you’re the one dishing out the investment money here. Just wanted to clarify where I was coming from.
Good luck on the continued success of ReefBreeders. I love the lights.
VintageReefer
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Not much more to add here, the light is exactly the same as when anyone bought it. New things are being added, as in-app upgrade OPTIONS. Nobody is being forced to pay extra money to continue using the light, which does have a fully functional app that’s easy to use.
Some other lights include some of these features, but its built in the price in someway and those lights are probably more money than the base meridian price
Personally, I’d rather save money up front and get the light then decide later if I need any of those extra features. Are they essential or are they luxury?
I’ve been running photons and meridians over my tanks for years, check my build thread, I’ve never needed these extras to have highly successful tanks.
In the last 4 months I’ve bought and sold over 350 corals. Let me tell everyone about my feelings on acclimation mode….
…I’ve never needed it, I never wished I had it, and it’s never been a problem. If a coral doesn’t like its spot, I adjust by moving the coral. Why alter the entire tank, to cater to one thing? Just move the coral to lower light, then move it slowly into its desired location.
I am excited to see what future updates bring.
Some other lights include some of these features, but its built in the price in someway and those lights are probably more money than the base meridian price
Personally, I’d rather save money up front and get the light then decide later if I need any of those extra features. Are they essential or are they luxury?
I’ve been running photons and meridians over my tanks for years, check my build thread, I’ve never needed these extras to have highly successful tanks.
In the last 4 months I’ve bought and sold over 350 corals. Let me tell everyone about my feelings on acclimation mode….
…I’ve never needed it, I never wished I had it, and it’s never been a problem. If a coral doesn’t like its spot, I adjust by moving the coral. Why alter the entire tank, to cater to one thing? Just move the coral to lower light, then move it slowly into its desired location.
I am excited to see what future updates bring.
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