Reefbreeders app

[mike550]

I see the app and have downloaded it but my 48” v2+ I cant figure how to get the wifi to link

I think you need to purchase an upgrade kit for your lights. People are pre-ordering it. I think this is the link

Reef Nexus Integration Kit - ReefBreeders.com

The all new Reef Nexus Integration Kit allows you to fully control your Photon V2 and V2+ via our Reef Nexus App

reefbreeders.com

 

[Waboss]

I'll post a review this weekend

I see the app and have downloaded it but my 48” v2+ I cant figure how to get the wifi to link

Do you have the WiFi module? If not, you need that first.

 

[mike550]

I'll post a review this weekend

Do you have the WiFi module? If not, you need that first.

@Waboss do you have the module?

 

[Roush2000]

I'll post a review this weekend

Do you have the WiFi module? If not, you need that first.

I didn’t see them fs on their site, and in a previous post on this thread the reefbreeders ppl said the current v2+ should be compatible without an adapter???

 

[Waboss]

@Waboss do you have the module?

I do. I had a chat with Logan and he was cool enough to send it to me and is allowing me to write up a review if I want to. I just got it today and got it all set up pretty quickly.

 

[Roush2000]

I do. I had a chat with Logan and he was cool enough to send it to me and is allowing me to write up a review if I want to. I just got it today and got it all set up pretty quickly.

I saw them just now on sale on the website??

 

[Waboss]

I saw them just now on sale on the website??

They're technically pre-order right now with an estimated ship date of 03/31/2021, so end of next month. I asked Logan if I could get mine early (now) since I've done a lot of beta testing of hardware and software both professionally and in this hobby.

 

[mike550]

They're technically pre-order right now with an estimated ship date of 03/31/2021, so end of next month. I asked Logan if I could get mine early (now) since I've done a lot of beta testing of hardware and software both professionally and in this hobby.

Looking forward to your feedback.

 

[rockdiver]

Well I order the upgrade yesterday hopefully it comes out quicker.
Is it hard with the remote ? No but it is time consuming and kinda annoying.
I would like to try different settings but don't want to mess with the remote.
I like the lights alot
So the upgrade is well worth it to me

 

[mike550]

Well I order the upgrade yesterday hopefully it comes out quicker.
Is it hard with the remote ? No but it is time consuming and kinda annoying.
I would like to try different settings but don't want to mess with the remote.
I like the lights alot
So the upgrade is well worth it to me

Would love to see your thoughts on the upgrade and functionality after you get the upgrade.

 

[rockdiver]

Sounds good

 

[joshbd]

FYI, I submitted my pre-order a few weeks and just got my shipment confirmation (delivery tomorrow). Looks like they got things rolling early. Excited to get it up and running. Like others, I love the light while the remote is usable, it is time consuming and a pain to make small adjustments. The app should hopefully be a big upgrade in this regard.

 

[rockdiver]

Cool hopefully I'll get mine earlier then planned also

 

[mike550]

FYI, I submitted my pre-order a few weeks and just got my shipment confirmation (delivery tomorrow). Looks like they got things rolling early. Excited to get it up and running. Like others, I love the light while the remote is usable, it is time consuming and a pain to make small adjustments. The app should hopefully be a big upgrade in this regard.

Keep us posted on how the upgrade goes! Would really appreciate hearing your thoughts

 

[ajskennes]

got my kit in today, took about 30 mins to change, mainly because I've got the 50" so lots of screws and my stupid dog bumped the fixture and i had to put all the lenses back on if not for that probably 15 mins, it connected right up and programing was simple, I've not been able to confirm the ramp cycles yet but I'm sure it will work fine, these are already awesome lights but i think this might change the game for the better, i know the app is new and may already be in the works but 1 thing i would like to see if possible is a 24h schedule preview ill keep everyone posted

 

[rockdiver]

Cool ! Thanks for the update can't wait to get mine thanks

 

[mike550]

got my kit in today, took about 30 mins to change, mainly because I've got the 50" so lots of screws and my stupid dog bumped the fixture and i had to put all the lenses back on if not for that probably 15 mins, it connected right up and programing was simple, I've not been able to confirm the ramp cycles yet but I'm sure it will work fine, these are already awesome lights but i think this might change the game for the better, i know the app is new and may already be in the works but 1 thing i would like to see if possible is a 24h schedule preview ill keep everyone posted

Thanks for the update. How does the programming in the new interface work? Is it like the Aqua Illumination interface?

 

[joshbd]

Thanks for the update. How does the programming in the new interface work? Is it like the Aqua Illumination interface?

So, just installed the WiFi module two days ago, and the short answer is "not really." I have an AI Prime on my QT tank, so very familiar with myAI (and Mobius at least for MP10s).

The physical install of the WiFi module on my Photon 24 v2 was straight forward and took about twenty minutes. You do need to melt some red wax holding the cables with a hair dryers, and be careful to realign the optics if they get gently knocked out of place, but really pretty easy and painless. When it came to connecting it to the app, the process unfortunately was a bit more frustrating. I'd say it took roughly 15-20 tries, including resetting the wifi board, uninstalling/reinstalling the app when it kept crashing and wouldn't open again, adding/removing the light in the app, etc. Maybe I just got unlucky and YMMV, but definitely sub-optimal. That said, I was able to finally get it connected, which is obviously a huge plus.

Having now spent some time with Nexus app, I can safely say it's a step up from the remote, but still a very fair cry from myAI. Basically, you go in and set a "Sunrise" and Sunset" time and then for each of the six channels separately add/remove individual adjustment points based on desire ramp up, max intensity, and ramp down, with the only default option for moonlight being cool blue. I actually prefer the violet for a moonlight, and since you can't add adjustment points outside of the sunrise/sunset times which I found a little annoying as I played with settings, I set both to 12pm effectively eliminating it and then adjusted everything else I wanted from there. This seems to be an easy enough work around, but still a little awkward. You also have to click through the entire scheduling setup process from the beginning if you want to make any changes.

Other things in myAI not in Nexus include, ability to see/set all six channels for a single adjustment point or time at once, ability to scale the entire intensity of the schedule up/or down (two finger drag in myAI), ability to save/switch between different stored presets, ability to test spectrum settings across your scheduled day without doing a separate manual override, ability to see the spectrum chart output for a given setting (to the extent accurate in myAI), no automated acclimation setting, etc.

In short, it's just very basic but serviceable. I don't want this review to come off too negative, as I do very much like the light, particularly at it's price point. But people shouldn't go into this thinking that the app, at least currently, is going to be anywhere near as refined as myAI or Mobius. Again, not surprising given the likely difference in development cost and time. All in all, I'd say this is a survivable initial app, but could greatly benefit from additional upgrades in terms of layout, design, functionality and error handling, which I very much hope are in the works and part of the product's evolution.

 

[mike550]

So, just installed the WiFi module two days ago, and the short answer is "not really." I have an AI Prime on my QT tank, so very familiar with both.

The physical install of the WiFi module on my Photon 24 v2 was straight forward and took about twenty minutes. You do need to melt some red wax holding the cables with a hair dryers, and be careful to realign the optics if they get gently knocked out of place, but really pretty easy and painless. When it came to connecting it to the app, the process unfortunately was a bit more frustrating. I'd say it took roughly 15-20 tries, including resetting the wifi board, uninstalling/reinstalling the app when it kept crashing and wouldn't open again, adding/removing the light in the app, etc. Maybe I just got unlucky and YMMV, but definitely sub-optimal. That said, I was able to finally get it connected, which is obviously a huge plus.

Having now spent some time with Nexus app, I can safely say it's a step up from the remote, but still a very fair cry from myAI. Basically, you go in and set a "Sunrise" and Sunset" time and then for each of the six channels separately add/remove individual adjustment points based on desire ramp up, max intensity, and ramp down, with the only default option for moonlight being cool blue. I actually prefer the violet for a moonlight, and since you can't add adjustment points outside of the sunrise/sunset times which I found a little annoying as I played with settings, I set both to 12pm effectively eliminating it and then adjusted everything else I wanted from there. This seems to be an easy enough work around, but still a little awkward. You also have to click through the entire scheduling setup process from the beginning if you want to make any changes.

Other things in myAI not in Nexus include, ability to see/set all six channels for a single adjustment point or time at once, ability to scale the entire intensity of the schedule up/or down (two finger drag in myAI), ability to save/switch between different stored presets, ability to test spectrum settings across your scheduled day without doing a separate manual override, ability to see the spectrum chart output for a given setting (to the extent accurate in myAI), no automated acclimation setting, etc.

In short, it's just very basic but serviceable. I don't want this review to come off too negative, as I do very much like the light, particularly at it's price point. But people shouldn't go into this thinking that the app, at least currently, is going to be anywhere near as refined as myAI or Mobius. Again, not surprising given the likely difference in development cost and time. All in all, I'd say this is a survivable initial app, but could greatly benefit from additional upgrades in terms of layout, design, functionality and error handling, which I very much hope are in the works and part of the product's evolution.

@joshbd thanks for an awesome write up!

I come from the AI world as well, and figured that I was a bit spoiled by the quality / ease of their interface. So I really appreciate the comparison. Of course, this is still a brand new release so it will be interesting to see if Reefbreeders makes any updates to the interface etc. To your point, I have the Photon 48 V2+ which I picked up on sale so it was a great value.

 

[Reef Breeders]

So, just installed the WiFi module two days ago, and the short answer is "not really." I have an AI Prime on my QT tank, so very familiar with myAI (and Mobius at least for MP10s).

The physical install of the WiFi module on my Photon 24 v2 was straight forward and took about twenty minutes. You do need to melt some red wax holding the cables with a hair dryers, and be careful to realign the optics if they get gently knocked out of place, but really pretty easy and painless. When it came to connecting it to the app, the process unfortunately was a bit more frustrating. I'd say it took roughly 15-20 tries, including resetting the wifi board, uninstalling/reinstalling the app when it kept crashing and wouldn't open again, adding/removing the light in the app, etc. Maybe I just got unlucky and YMMV, but definitely sub-optimal. That said, I was able to finally get it connected, which is obviously a huge plus.

Having now spent some time with Nexus app, I can safely say it's a step up from the remote, but still a very fair cry from myAI. Basically, you go in and set a "Sunrise" and Sunset" time and then for each of the six channels separately add/remove individual adjustment points based on desire ramp up, max intensity, and ramp down, with the only default option for moonlight being cool blue. I actually prefer the violet for a moonlight, and since you can't add adjustment points outside of the sunrise/sunset times which I found a little annoying as I played with settings, I set both to 12pm effectively eliminating it and then adjusted everything else I wanted from there. This seems to be an easy enough work around, but still a little awkward. You also have to click through the entire scheduling setup process from the beginning if you want to make any changes.

Other things in myAI not in Nexus include, ability to see/set all six channels for a single adjustment point or time at once, ability to scale the entire intensity of the schedule up/or down (two finger drag in myAI), ability to save/switch between different stored presets, ability to test spectrum settings across your scheduled day without doing a separate manual override, ability to see the spectrum chart output for a given setting (to the extent accurate in myAI), no automated acclimation setting, etc.

In short, it's just very basic but serviceable. I don't want this review to come off too negative, as I do very much like the light, particularly at it's price point. But people shouldn't go into this thinking that the app, at least currently, is going to be anywhere near as refined as myAI or Mobius. Again, not surprising given the likely difference in development cost and time. All in all, I'd say this is a survivable initial app, but could greatly benefit from additional upgrades in terms of layout, design, functionality and error handling, which I very much hope are in the works and part of the product's evolution.

We are still adding features and things like acclimation as well as sharing programs are in the pipeline along with several other imporvements.

One thing I do want to note- it sounds like you chose the "Daytime" program. That one sets the 1st and last segment as the on/off time with a dial on iPhone or via dropdown on Android. If you chose 24 hour instead, you will have more advanced options and wouldn't be restricted by the initial on/off time.