Reef Kinetics, ReefBot a Review...

[djray77]

I had so many different issues with the reefbot for the 2 months that I fought it that i cant even begin to understand the positive reviews I see. unless you enjoy troubleshooting a device with their team and spending more time doing so than manually testing itself I wouldnt bother.......only good thing I have to say about reefbot is they did refund my $. I bought a trident with my refund around Thanksgiving and I have no complaints. it works as advertised and that's what I expect from something I pay money for.

Glad they were able to refund you, I wish they would for me. I don't want to trouble shoot this thing and figure out why its giving me crazy results. This is still beta testing stage in my opinion, For the price I want to set it and forget it. Glad you like the trident this is probably what I'll end up with also.

 

[djray77]

So after they recalibrated my machine remotely, I ran nitrates and Mag test as they ask me too.
Nitrates came back as 10ppm and Mag at 1200ppm. which is so wrong it's not funny. My nitrates are always super low I've been having trouble raising them. Same with my Phosphates. So I test manually and I get 0.3 Nitrates and 1470 Mag. Which is where I'm usually at. My mag doesn't seem to change its always mid 1400's. Im just not happy with this and this is too expensive to be this far off, on top of having to mess with it like this. I just want to send it back for a refund (Without getting charged 15% as I feel this is not working as intended) and move on.

 

[PigFarmer]

So after they recalibrated my machine remotely, I ran nitrates and Mag test as they ask me too.
Nitrates came back as 10ppm and Mag at 1200ppm. which is so wrong it's not funny. My nitrates are always super low I've been having trouble raising them. Same with my Phosphates. So I test manually and I get 0.3 Nitrates and 1470 Mag. Which is where I'm usually at. My mag doesn't seem to change its always mid 1400's. Im just not happy with this and this is too expensive to be this far off, on top of having to mess with it like this. I just want to send it back for a refund (Without getting charged 15% as I feel this is not working as intended) and move on.

what worked for me was gettin on their facebook user group and putting the heat on them daily. it took me about 4 posts and a few direct messages before they offered a refund. It does make a person angry when you spend the money and have expectations of a product of this cost and it's a brick. I reached the point I was either gonna get a refund or release a viral video of the reefbot being blown to smitherrines. twist their arm, it isnt your fault it doesnt work as advertised. if you paid via CC you also might have a charge back window if you havent had it for too long.

 

[djray77]

Exactly!! $900 bucks may not be a lot to some but it is to me, I shouldn't have to go through troubleshooting BS, and even when we do the results get worse! I cant trust this device anymore. I would be doing manual test anyway to have peace of mind. Its a paper weight to me at this point.

I will be doing a build thread soon on my Waterbox 7226, so if this doesn't get sorted out I will be giving my thoughts on this everywhere I can.

 

[SPSReeferMI]

Hello,

I’ve got a Reefbot and it’s working well for Red Sea alkalinity and Tropic Marin Nitrate.

For phosphate however, my Red Sea test kit continually reads zero. I believe my phosphate are between .04 and .08 based on Hanna. This is a Red Sea test kit issue, not due to Reefbot.

I’m posting here to find out who is using a good phosphate test kit with the ReefBot that can detect between .03 and .10 phosphate?

 

[mfollen]

I will say this.

I have yet to have my reefbot functioning consistently for a half a year or so now. I have an outstanding ticket that has been going on for months! I’ve probably debugged 20 different things and am still debugging.

I have had nothing but awful experiences and the reefbot has yet to function properly for any consistent time.

 

[Reef Kinetics Verified Sponsor]

Hello,

I’ve got a Reefbot and it’s working well for Red Sea alkalinity and Tropic Marin Nitrate.

For phosphate however, my Red Sea test kit continually reads zero. I believe my phosphate are between .04 and .08 based on Hanna. This is a Red Sea test kit issue, not due to Reefbot.

I’m posting here to find out who is using a good phosphate test kit with the ReefBot that can detect between .03 and .10 phosphate?

Scott please email [email protected] and our chemist will take a look

 

[Reef Kinetics Verified Sponsor]

I will say this.

I have yet to have my reefbot functioning consistently for a half a year or so now. I have an outstanding ticket that has been going on for months! I’ve probably debugged 20 different things and am still debugging.

I have had nothing but awful experiences and the reefbot has yet to function properly for any consistent time.

Hello,
Sorry to hear that. Can you please private message me your device serial and your email address.
Thanks

 

[cardiffgiant]

Just wanted to update the thread with my experience. I've gone from "ready to throw in the towel" to "can't live without it"

I had what appeared to be a bad SD card. I got a new one and flashed it, and my reefbot has been stable ever since. It took some back and forth with support and some recalibrating, but I've got it to a point where it is less work to have it perform my and my test results are reliable and consistent.

A few things that improved my experience: recalibrate once every few weeks, put two stirrer beans in the test chamber, replaced the OEM SD card with a SanDisk SD card, and work with support on any results that are not consistent. I also have found API Ca, RedSea Kh, RedSea PO4, and Tropic Marin NO3 to be most consistent and the best use of space.

 

[SPSReeferMI]

Just wanted to update the thread with my experience. I've gone from "ready to throw in the towel" to "can't live without it"

I had what appeared to be a bad SD card. I got a new one and flashed it, and my reefbot has been stable ever since. It took some back and forth with support and some recalibrating, but I've got it to a point where it is less work to have it perform my and my test results are reliable and consistent.

A few things that improved my experience: recalibrate once every few weeks, put two stirrer beans in the test chamber, replaced the OEM SD card with a SanDisk SD card, and work with support on any results that are not consistent. I also have found API Ca, RedSea Kh, RedSea PO4, and Tropic Marin NO3 to be most consistent and the best use of space.

Good to hear it - I'm using mine for Red Sea Phosphate and TM NO3.

Curious - why the two stirrer "beans"? And what impact did you observe?

 

[cardiffgiant]

Good to hear it - I'm using mine for Red Sea Phosphate and TM NO3.

Curious - why the two stirrer "beans"? And what impact did you observe?

Occasionally the bean would fly out and my teat results would be null. There is supposed to be an update to correct it, but it would still occasionally fly put after the update. Using two in at once, they stick together and are too heavy to fly out.

 

[RoyinSpain]

I will say this.

I have yet to have my reefbot functioning consistently for a half a year or so now. I have an outstanding ticket that has been going on for months! I’ve probably debugged 20 different things and am still debugging.

I have had nothing but awful experiences and the reefbot has yet to function properly for any consistent time.

Me too. 9 month of problems, mechanical, chemical and software. Bloody disaster. Wasted hundereds on replacement chemicals as well as initial cost. Was even sent a replacement after 4 months but the problems contiunue. Service backup is generally quick and sometimes works, the problem is the machine... Just not developed enough for public sale...

 

[mfollen]

Reefbot has since worked with me to resolve the issue. I have been getting steady results for the last two weeks. Looks like the bot is now working properly. Took long enough to figure it out though.

 

[chaostactics]

@mfollen any further updates?

 

[mfollen]

The reefbot has been a long drawn experience of resolving one problem after another. Not recommended.

 

[chaostactics]

The reefbot has been a long drawn experience of resolving one problem after another. Not recommended.

Goodness, for the price that sucks to hear. I have enough issues with my Apex base unit I don't need another piece to jerk around with . Thank you for the input.

 

[mfollen]

Yes I recommend to avoid the reefbot.

it’s one problem after another.Very dissatisfied.

 

[DangerDave]

Same. I spent too much time fixing it. It’s still sitting on my shelf flashing it’s blue leds. I leave it there to remind myself how much time I would’ve saved doing my phosphate and nitrate testing manually instead of constantly fixing that thing.

 

[mfollen]

100% +1

 

[Dilan Patel]

WHile I agree that it has have problems( had it for 2+ years). all of mine have been fixed relatively quickly. Just had to flash the sd card but since then its been working flawlessly like it did when I first got it. I heavily rely on this as I am away from my tank months at a time. I also like tinkering with the device lol.