Reef Kinetics, ReefBot a Review...

[Elder1945]

I just finished ordering my ReefBot from Reef Kinetics.

As of now I know a hand full of people that own them and are only praising them so I took the plunge.

Overall I payed $874.00 USD that includes the $25.00 flat shipping that is actually quite quick as I am going to have it in my hands this thursday. This also includes a $50.00 discount they are running now.

Overall in my monopoly aka Canadian funds it was 1,200.99.

It is differently not "cheap" but its not out of the realm of what is eventually going to be released to the market.

This product has something over all of them in my mind though.
1. They keep adding off the shelf tests with no end in sight.
2. You can test once a month.
3. Its actually for sale with reviews that all seem positive.
4. It can test multiple tanks.. I.E. I can test my frag tank and QT tank without buying a new unit.

So I will do my best to share everything possible with this.

This was not and is not sponsored.. I payed full price like everyone else .

 

[Elder1945]

My first comment is on ordering and shipping:

Overall it was easy, They were on point in answering any questions over Face Book chat (this was my choice of contact not the only). It was all service I would expect from any large online retailer.

Shipping was cheap and what DHL tells me quick. We will see how well it gets here.

 

[dantimdad]

I just finished ordering my ReefBot from Reef Kinetics.

As of now I know a hand full of people that own them and are only praising them so I took the plunge.

Overall I payed $874.00 USD that includes the $25.00 flat shipping that is actually quite quick as I am going to have it in my hands this thursday. This also includes a $50.00 discount they are running now.

Overall in my monopoly aka Canadian funds it was 1,200.99.

It is differently not "cheap" but its not out of the realm of what is eventually going to be released to the market.

This product has something over all of them in my mind though.
1. They keep adding off the shelf tests with no end in sight.
2. You can test once a month.
3. Its actually for sale with reviews that all seem positive.
4. It can test multiple tanks.. I.E. I can test my frag tank and QT tank without buying a new unit.

So I will do my best to share everything possible with this.

This was not and is not sponsored.. I payed full price like everyone else .

No you didn't pay full price, you said it was $50 off. LOL!

Just kiddin' can't wait to see how this does over time.

 

[Elder1945]

No you didn't pay full price, you said it was $50 off. LOL!

Just kiddin' can't wait to see how this does over time.

I am still upset I missed the boat on the $100.00 off

 

[dantimdad]

I am still upset I missed the boat on the $100.00 off

I'm still upset you took a saw to the 16 foot tank. So we are even.

HAHAHAHA!

 

[Elder1945]

Update!

So my Reef Bot just cleared Canadian customs.....

One issue though I will have to pay $197.77 cnd or 145.00 usd to release it.

This pushes the overall cost to me $1019.00 usd or $1398.76 cnd This is a little annoying BUT in Ontario Canada we have 13% sales tax so with that in consideration it is in the end me just paying the tax.

Still though boooo.

 

[Elder1945]

Today is the day .

 

[peopleschoice]

Today is the day .

Looking forward to your review! when I finally decided to pull the trigger they were sold out! I’m on the waiting list I suppose

 

[JoshH]

I'm still upset you took a saw to the 16 foot tank. So we are even.

HAHAHAHA!

;Hilarious;Hilarious;Hilarious;Hilarious;Hilarious;Hilarious

Update!

So my Reef Bot just cleared Canadian customs.....

One issue though I will have to pay $197.77 cnd or 145.00 usd to release it.

This pushes the overall cost to me $1019.00 usd or $1398.76 cnd This is a little annoying BUT in Ontario Canada we have 13% sales tax so with that in consideration it is in the end me just paying the tax.

Still though boooo.

It really is a HUGE kick in the pants so to speak especially here in AB where everything is only charged 5% EXCEPT things that cross the border. I ended up paying through the nose for all my previous plumbing and my sump for my last tank and about half of the total cost was taxes and shipping. Can't wait to see your review of it and good to know the cost going in before buying here in canada

 

[Elder1945]

;Hilarious;Hilarious;Hilarious;Hilarious;Hilarious;Hilarious



It really is a HUGE kick in the pants so to speak especially here in AB where everything is only charged 5% EXCEPT things that cross the border. I ended up paying through the nose for all my previous plumbing and my sump for my last tank and about half of the total cost was taxes and shipping

Yea it can be a pain to get anything across any boarder without paying something. A US distributor would be handy.....

 

[revhtree]

Looking forward to your review and I'm sure you'll build something really cool in accordance with it! LOL!

 

[Elder1945]

Looking forward to your review and I'm sure you'll build something really cool in accordance with it! LOL!

Yes this has a tendency of happening...

 

[Elder1945]

Its here .

 

[JoshH]

Its here .

;Drool;Drool;Drool;Drool;Drool;Drool;Drool;Drool;Drool

 

[drernesto]

Looks like a pretty promising thread!
Let me know if you need any help

 

[Elder1945]

The unboxing..

Custom foam made to fit... Not bad..

Ooo fancy clear bag to cover it...

Instructions nice and clear and easy to follow.. We will know more when I set it all up...

Meh.. Smoke 1/8" acrylic with mirror vinyl logo.... Also kinda sharp Not bad but I work with acrylic so not amazing.

Well packed..

The hatch or fish thing to hold in the face panel is also meh.... A latch or magnetic face plate would be cool. I will be re doing the smoke acrylic is clear with magnets to hold it on. Also will need to spice up the logo and put some LEDs in it for sure.

Nice driver or ballast that can be sourced from the internet. Also Meanwell is not a bad brand at all.

The needles and syringe are also off the shelf but nice branding . Amazon will have these so also handy.

Wow comes with a bunch of extra stuff not bad at all. This was unexpected.

Here is the size of the unit. It is painted thin steel and feels just like a decent 3d printer.. Not a makerbot but still ok..

Also here is what runs it all.

I see a raspberry pi and some Kamoer doser heads.

Overall A good unboxing and I am not disappointed. Nothing feels cheap at all... There are 3d printed parts but its understandable for a product like this.

 

[JoshH]

The unboxing..

Custom foam made to fit... Not bad..

Ooo fancy clear bag to cover it...

Instructions nice and clear and easy to follow.. We will know more when I set it all up...

Meh.. Smoke 1/8" acrylic with mirror vinyl logo.... Also kinda sharp Not bad but I work with acrylic so not amazing.

Well packed..

The hatch or fish thing to hold in the face panel is also meh.... A latch or magnetic face plate would be cool. I will be re doing the smoke acrylic is clear with magnets to hold it on. Also will need to spice up the logo and put some LEDs in it for sure.

Nice driver or ballast that can be sourced from the internet. Also Meanwell is not a bad brand at all.

The needles and syringe are also off the shelf but nice branding . Amazon will have these so also handy.

Wow comes with a bunch of extra stuff not bad at all. This was unexpected.

Here is the size of the unit. It is painted thin steel and feels just like a decent 3d printer.. Not a makerbot but still ok..

Also here is what runs it all.

I see a raspberry pi and some Kamoer doser heads.

Overall A good unboxing and I am not disappointed. Nothing feels cheap at all... There are 3d printed parts but its understandable for a product like this.

Loving the visual review, I really don't understand the smoked acrylic. I think it should be clear and lit up to watch the magic happen! Although I don't know if that would effect the testing going on or not.

 

[drernesto]

Wile doing the test every should be dark around the reaction chamber. This is one of the main reasons it’s dark acrylic

 

[Variant]

makes sense to keep the reaction chamber dark. But something about this machine reminds me of the book Bad Blood... the book is about this medical device startup that promised blood tests from a single drop of blood when in fact it was a mechanical arm doing syringe tests inside a dark metal box that nobody was allowed to open or look inside.

All jokes aside, pics were a great touch. Hope they spend some money on a good product designer to make it look as good as the price point suggests.

 

[Elder1945]

Wile doing the test every should be dark around the reaction chamber. This is one of the main reasons it’s dark acrylic

Hrmm, I see.. Well this is something I will have to work around then.

makes sense to keep the reaction chamber dark. But something about this machine reminds me of the book Bad Blood... the book is about this medical device startup that promised blood tests from a single drop of blood when in fact it was a mechanical arm doing syringe tests inside a dark metal box that nobody was allowed to open or look inside.

All jokes aside, pics were a great touch. Hope they spend some money on a good product designer to make it look as good as the price point suggests.

It a final product and do not see them changing much to be honest. The minor things I do not like are instantly out the window when you know the whole thing is painted metal and not a big chunk of plastic. It is nice to see a almost all metal product.