Warning: Use Vibrant at your own risk

N.Sreefer · Feb 26, 2022

DopamineKata said:
Hating on BRS is the hipster thing to do these days.

I thought the BRS guys were the hipster kings. Wouldn't a hipster be excommunicated for speaking bad of the hipster emperors?

DopamineKata · Feb 26, 2022

N.Sreefer said:
I thought the BRS guys were the hipster kings. Wouldn't a hipster be excommunicated for speaking bad of the hipster emperors?

Nah man. They're the Amazon of the reefing community now and everything they do has some sort of sinister purpose.

blaxsun · Feb 26, 2022

N.Sreefer said:
I thought the BRS guys were the hipster kings. Wouldn't a hipster be excommunicated for speaking bad of the hipster emperors?

I think dumping on BRS at this point is counter-productive. As it now stands, they're the only retailer that's suspended Vibrant sales and commented publicly (albeit this appears to be no longer available for viewing).

BanjoBandito · Feb 26, 2022

I feel like "light teasing" of BRS is acceptable, but there's definitely a lot of people on here that aren't fans these days and it borders on nasty. Not sure why. My guess is people hate success, and the recent corporate moves take away the "regular dudes" feel. Between them and Mr. Saltwater they've done a ton for this hobby as "regular dudes".

UWC and BRS are pretty much right next door though. At least in MN terms, don't cha know?

Bato367 · Feb 26, 2022

blaxsun said:
I think they were trying to be proactive (for a variety of reasons), although I understand the video they initially posted has been taken down.

I was going to watch this this morning. What did Ryan have to say? Why did he take it down?

Fernthereefer · Feb 26, 2022

Very important information! Thank you to both the original poster and Randy for providing the link.

My experience with Vibrant has not been entirely negative however. That is, the tank was young, used it as recommended for a maximum of 6 weeks. Never used it after. While it is unacceptable to hide components and falsely label their product, there are positive uses.

I will not use it again though, in light of this being an outright algaecide, whose concentration is unknown (thus cannot make an informed decision anymore). It is sad that we lose a tool in our arsenal, but it may be better this way. Again, this reminds us to be careful of the hype around a new product!

N.Sreefer · Feb 26, 2022

blaxsun said:
I think dumping on BRS at this point is counter-productive. As it now stands, they're the only retailer that's suspended Vibrant sales and commented publicly (albeit this appears to be no longer available for viewing).

I have no qualms with BRS just kidding, ya cant say that Ryan guy doesn't look like a hippy. I have a sneaking suspicion that set may smell a little herbal before shooting ;P.

blaxsun · Feb 26, 2022

Bato367 said:
I was going to watch this this morning. What did Ryan have to say? Why did he take it down?

I can't confirm it was taken down - just what others have indicated. But to summarize, they're suspending Vibrant sales to give UWC "breathing room" to run whatever tests, quality control (etc.), that he (Ryan) had a conversation with UWC that seemed to be a lot of conjecture, that he'd (Ryan) looked at the independent testing results and found them credible and that they (BRS) hoped UWC would make a full statement to address this sooner as opposed to later.

Bato367 · Feb 26, 2022

blaxsun said:
I can't confirm it was taken down - just what others have indicated. But to summarize, they're suspending Vibrant sales to give UWC "breathing room" to run whatever tests, quality control (etc.), that he (Ryan) had a conversation with UWC that seemed to be a lot of conjecture, that he'd looked at the independent testing results and thought they were credible and that they hoped UWC would make a full statement to address this sooner as opposed to later.

Gotcha, thank you. I tried to look for it on FB this morning after seeing it was posted yesterday, and I could not locate it.

BanjoBandito · Feb 26, 2022

N.Sreefer said:
I have no qualms with BRS just kidding, ya cant say that Ryan guy doesn't look like a hippy. I have a sneaking suspicion that set may smell a little herbal before shooting ;P.

ya gotta burn some sage to keep the dinos away

blaxsun · Feb 26, 2022

N.Sreefer said:
I have no qualms with BRS just kidding, ya cant say that Ryan guy doesn't look like a hippy. I have a sneaking suspicion that set may smell a little herbal before shooting ;P.

With that mullet I'm not sure "hippy" is the term I'd use, but sure.

BanjoBandito · Feb 26, 2022

blaxsun said:
With that mullet I'm not sure "hippy" is the term I'd use, but sure.

it's MN, flannel is like the tie dye of choice up there.

Lyss · Feb 26, 2022

You guys are funny re the brs stuff lol. Anyway, I also went to watch the video again this morning and noticed it was gone. I have neutral feelings about brs and never really viewed them negatively but the video being gone felt (and still feels) odd.

blaxsun · Feb 26, 2022

Lyss said:
You guys are funny re the brs stuff lol. Anyway, I also went to watch the video again this morning and noticed it was gone. I have neutral feelings about brs and never really viewed them negatively but the video being gone felt (and still feels) odd.

They (BRS) were probably contacted by UWC's legal counsel or BRS's legal team reviewed it and found there might have been some statements they needed to walk back from a liability standpoint.

As I indicated after watching the video, I though UWC came off fairly negatively in it - so personally I can't say as though it being pulled is really surprising.

Lyss · Feb 26, 2022

blaxsun said:
They (BRS) were probably contacted by UWC's legal counsel or BRS's legal team reviewed it and found there might have been some statements they needed to walk back from a liability standpoint.

As I indicated after watching the video, I though UWC came off fairly negatively in it - so personally I can't say as though it being pulled is really surprising.

I was thinking BRS’ lawyers hadn’t approved but didn’t want to outright say it

I just thought it odd b/c seems weird to me to go to the trouble of making and then posting it but not run it by the lawyers first, and then have to pull it. Hadn’t thought of UWC layers asking for it to be removed tho.

Chrisv. · Feb 26, 2022

Lyss said:
I was thinking BRS’ lawyers hadn’t approved but didn’t want to outright say it

I just thought it odd b/c seems weird to me to go to the trouble of making and then posting it but not run it by the lawyers first, and then have to pull it. Hadn’t thought of UWC layers asking for it to be removed tho.

The fact that BRS still does things that upset the Bertram lawyers makes me have hope for BRS. It's the most concrete evidence that they have leveled up but not actually sold out.

One must know that R&R knew that they would be made to take the video down by the lawyers. This isn't their first rodeo. I actually think it's quite admirable that they stuck their necks out for a moment to signal something important to their customers, knowing full well that the lawyers would slap them on the wrist for it. I'm quite impressed.

MnFish1 · Feb 26, 2022

Lyss said:
I was thinking BRS’ lawyers hadn’t approved but didn’t want to outright say it

I just thought it odd b/c seems weird to me to go to the trouble of making and then posting it but not run it by the lawyers first, and then have to pull it. Hadn’t thought of UWC layers asking for it to be removed tho.

Just my opinion - I didnt memorize the video - There were a couple errors in the video - 1. They said that Algaefix was for 'freshwater only' - but there is also a marine version (they later posted a correction on Facebook). 2. They basically said that they would like to see the tests replicated by an accredited lab - signed off by an staff member. 3. They mentioned a couple things about bacteria in vibrant that were not complete - and wanted more information about culture experiments also done by a reputable lab. 4. They are hoping for a quick response from UWC - but also seemed to think getting the required experiments could take longer than expected.

I didn't see any obvious reason why they would legally need to take the video down - but I'm not a lawyer. They seemed to straddle the fence - implying they think the product works, and haven't had problems with it - but still not selling the product.

Again - this is my paraphrased summary of the video - its not complete - these were just things that I noticed.

MnFish1 · Feb 26, 2022

Chrisv. said:
The fact that BRS still does things that upset the Bertram lawyers makes me have hope for BRS. It's the most concrete evidence that they have leveled up but not actually sold out.

One must know that R&R knew that they would be made to take the video down by the lawyers. This isn't their first rodeo. I actually think it's quite admirable that they stuck their necks out for a moment to signal something important to their customers, knowing full well that the lawyers would slap them on the wrist for it. I'm quite impressed.

I don't think there is any evidence that Bertram lawyers made BRS do anything - is there? I mean - I suppose anything is possible.

Lyss · Feb 26, 2022

Chrisv. said:
The fact that BRS still does things that upset the Bertram lawyers makes me have hope for BRS. It's the most concrete evidence that they have leveled up but not actually sold out.

One must know that R&R knew that they would be made to take the video down by the lawyers. This isn't their first rodeo. I actually think it's quite admirable that they stuck their necks out for a moment to signal something important to their customers, knowing full well that the lawyers would slap them on the wrist for it. I'm quite impressed.

I couldn’t agree more lol:
“It's the most concrete evidence that they have leveled up but not actually sold out.”

The optics of it being up then gone aren’t great tho. But your take is an interesting one, and noted.