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No insturctional maual By Reef Paradise on 5/16/13
Reef Paradise wouldn't recommend this product to a friend
If you want hi-tech, yes this is for you. But you are on your own. There is no instructional manual. Guesses and go, tried and errors is the main theme for this DA, unless you are NASA engineer. Yes indeed there is a thread for how to run this properly on line, but if you don't know where you are, a map won't help. Right? I bought mine in Black Friday on Thanksgiving and until now still now completely figure it out. By the way not to mention customer services are extremely short of staffs. You are really lucky in there is a human answer the phone.
Good luck
Dan Trinh
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Awesome! By Wendiesel on 4/9/13
Wendiesel would recommend this product to a friend
I too had a broken system hours after setup. It was the RKL Plus that died on me. But the short time I had with it was awesome! BRS was by my side and worked things out with me. The replacement RKL worked and is still working with no problems. About a month later I ordered a RKE Net and absolutely love this system. I think the folks that put these things together just don't give a crap along with the folks from quality control, because this system is great. If you can navigate a smartphone without the instructions for the most part, then you should not have a problem getting to know the system. If you panic at the thought of upgrading your phone to the latest and greatest phone available the you might find it hard to work with. As far as the instructions go, whats wrong with saving trees? I feel like DA has done a wonderful thing by posting the instructions instead of putting 1 in each box!
I give BRS 5 stars for awesome service
I give DA 4 stars.. 5 for an awesome product -1 star for poor quality control
All in all the Reefkeeper line is just awesome. This is what I own
1 RKE
4 PC4
2 SL1
1 SW5
1 MLC
1 NET
1 RD1? (RKL Control)
And I would buy it all again!
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this thing sucks By gus on 3/10/13
gus wouldn't recommend this product to a friend
I just opened the box today and its already broken, I have to hold the bus cable in the back of the display unit to keep the display on. Beyond that, the online manual does NOT match any of the options on the display. I figured the problem is firmware related so I tried to download the version referenced in the manual (v1.07), but I am on v2.06 already. It wouldnt have mattered because the link on their website for the upgrade goes to a dead web page.
I give up.
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Great Controller By Troy on 3/2/13
Troy would recommend this product to a friend
Easy to install and the software is easy to follow to assign and setup your components.
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Little Disappointed By Steven on 1/31/13
Steven wouldn't recommend this product to a friend
I am noot sure where to begin on this. It is not "Super simple" unless you use the ReefKeeper software to setup. Without the ReefKeeper software this is beyond the most painful device i have ever tried to use as the actual head unit is NOT user friendly. It does do what it says though and will respond accordingly,
I have tried to calibrate the pH probe but think i would have done better to throw it out of the window. It is ALWAYS 0.1 off from actual. As a result i just had to readjust my alarms for the RKE "standard".
Overall it does give me some piece of mind knowing that it can email me when there is a problem. However, I think spending the few extra dollars to get the Neptune device may be worth it....
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DA should be ashamed By Ryan on 1/26/13
Ryan wouldn't recommend this product to a friend
This product SUCKS! Well, let me restate that....this product SUCKS MY #$&! Nothing is easy....everything is a hassle. If you wanted to make and sell a product to super computer nerds....then just advertise it that way. This hobby is suppose to be relaxing. If I was a wealthy person, I'd smash up the whole thing, put it in a box, and ship it back to DA.
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Do your research By Tom on 1/23/13
Tom wouldn't recommend this product to a friend
I honestly don't know why this product still has a 4 star rating. Before reading my review note that I have a technical background and perform regular maintenance/calibration on all of my tank equipment. I'm giving this product a 1 star review because of a lack of confidence in the Digital Aquatics. In my opinion DA has not been able to successfully produce a product that works as advertised.
Here is my story. I purchased my RKE w/Net back in April 2011. I was new to the hobby and had lots to learn. The RKE seemed like a good choice at the time and I believed that it would help me automate and accurately monitor my tank. Setup was pretty easy for me and all seemed well.
That is until I brought a water sample to my LFS for testing. Salinity and pH were way off from what the RKE was reporting. Even after firmware updates and re-calibration. Note that DA has not put out firmware updates since 9/2011. I have reported a few repeatable software bugs (Like Timer Issues) on DA's forums and directly to support. None have been addressed.
Its been almost a year since they had a press release and admitted that the SL2 and Salinity probe were defective. BTW you can find the press release on DA's website. You will see that DA has agreed to replace both the module and probe, This sounded great and made me very happy. But here we are a year later (close to 2 years after my initial purchase) and still no replacement or even a firmware update.
If you don't believe me, check there website, forums, and Facebook page. You can see for yourself just how many upset customers they have.
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Great Setup By Jman on 12/26/12
Jman would recommend this product to a friend
You have to get familiar with it.. BRS has done a great job putting up instructional videos..
Very Upset Customer from the post before.. why don't you grow a tupee with brains in it! You posted negative review on the wrong product retard!
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If you are Iron Men with rock nerves, self masochist and want to waste your money try the ReefKeeper. By Oleg on 12/18/12
Oleg wouldn't recommend this product to a friend
I've had extremely bad experience with Digital Aquatics. I've never used my Head unit it was broken on the first day. Without Head unit ReefKeeper Elite w/ Net Digital Aquatics is the first candidate to garbage bin. I asked about replacement Digital Aquatics and waiting one week ... after "We have received it and will get back to you as soon as possible." on the second week I got respond stupid advices as ..." I would recommend inspecting the bus cables, connectors and ports to make sure they are clean and free of debris or damage,"...bla, bla, bla. I am radio engineer and perfectionist, it was difficult to proof that I am not beginner in plug in play. After 3 week communication I got finally 2 suggestions but both were bad for me. If you are Iron Men with rock nerves, self masochist and want to waste your money try the ReefKeeper. I should inform Bulk Reef Supply don't help me and they were uninvolved spectator on my problem.
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They dont stand behind their Warranty By Very Upset Customer on 12/18/12
Very Upset Customer would recommend this product to a friend
Overall the product is SoSo. They are not in the same ball park with companies and products like Vortech and Digital Aquatics. I say this because their salinity meter is poor and their product support is well below par.
I dropped $500 on the Elite module about 6-7 months ago. It stopped working and tried to call in for which their phones were not working and would just hang up when you call or give busy signal. Thankfully their was email. I had to pay $20 to ship the short circut device back to them only to waste a week for them to tell me they were not standing behind their 2 year warranty and would have to pay $215 for a new one. To make matters worse they stated I needed to pay for return shipping for my 6 month old product.
I have never been so disatisfied and upset with a company. I have been in the hobby for 10 years. I had no other choice but to buy another one since I alreayd invested close to $700 after all the modules I have added on. I would never reccommend this company to a family or friend.
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Awesome controller By Alen on 11/27/12
Alen would recommend this product to a friend
The best thing I ever bought for my tank, I look forward to performing maintenance to my tank because this controller make it easy.
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Love it!! By rocko on 11/27/12
rocko would recommend this product to a friend
So much easier to have and aquarium with a controller, when I recived my RKE It was easy to setup, and has so many options on what I can do with the controller, I run my main DT and a QT with my RKE. Must have one of these on your list.
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Awesome! By Jeremy on 11/11/12
Jeremy would recommend this product to a friend
Takes a little while to set up and understand all the options, but once you do it is awesome!
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Garbage By Tesadorn on 11/8/12
Tesadorn wouldn't recommend this product to a friend
I bought this on pre-order before release... (I have been around the block with this train wreck).
DA has constantly lied about deadlines their products bugs and problems and basically craps on their customers. I own just about one of every item they have made for the saltwater side and have been thru living hell with them. keep in mind I run an engineering group (software/hardware) and am a tech geek...this product has been a disappointment from start to finish... from reliability to customer support...they cover up and LIE about technical problems they have over and over. go with ANYONE else~! Just NOT them.
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Good vs Bad By Tom on 9/14/12
Tom wouldn't recommend this product to a friend
I'm going to keep it simple and just say there is good and bad in all products, but with this one the BAD far outweighs the good. Save your money and look for another controller.
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Easy to use By jeff on 6/13/12
jeff would recommend this product to a friend
Setting up this controller is very easy with the software that downloads onto your computer. Made tank life so much easier with being able to set up dosing schedules automatically...recommend
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Support By Milton on 5/2/12
Milton would recommend this product to a friend
I thought if I was going to buy one, get the top of the Digital Aquatics line. I got it, had no idea how to hook it up. Got great support from DA and BRS also many post on youtube to help. You can get it in parts then add on. It is cheaper to go with the elite right off.
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Awesome once programmed, but By Keith on 4/21/12
Keith would recommend this product to a friend
I definitely recommend this product, but with a few caveats.
1. Not all options are available on the Web version of the setup screens
2. Connecting to the unit physically uses a USB connection which is way too short; just a couple feet. I hope and assume that all options will eventually be available on the web configuration screens, but for right now be prepared sit very close to your aquarium while connected to a laptop.
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Great By nigel on 3/30/12
nigel would recommend this product to a friend
Get this item best thing i did for my system and peace of mind. All the negitive talk i think alot of people dont set it up right them blame the rke. Once you set up right its a wrap in have phone labtop wireless all have access no problem. can view my swstem on my phone make changes labtop same thing so dont believe the negitive.
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Must have By Chris on 3/29/12
Chris would recommend this product to a friend
This a must have for any reef keeper. I will not have a tank with out this controller attached to it.
Really easy to set up and program
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great controller By nathan on 2/17/12
nathan would recommend this product to a friend
the price may seem high but with all the stuff that this controller does you will save money in the end,no testing PH, no bulky timers ,fail safes, it is nice knowing my heater will not stick on and over heat my tank or if my tank does get a little warm a fan turns on, the peace of mind is worth every penny.
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Excellent Value By George on 2/4/12
George would recommend this product to a friend
This is a great product to make caring for you tank practically worry free. The flexibility of the timers and alarms allows for just about any custom setup you could want. I highly recommend the BSR TV video. It covers some insightful ways of configuring the system.
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Must Have By Joshua on 1/20/12
Joshua would recommend this product to a friend
I have been using this for a few months and i am always on the app for iphone looking at the status of everything. It takes a little time getting it set-up, but after that it works great and it gives me a piece of mind when i am not home.
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ReefKeeper Elite w/ Net By Blade009 on 1/6/12
Blade009 would recommend this product to a friend
This unit is a very nice Aquarium controller,i had to update all the modules with Digital Aquatics reef keeper software and the supplied USB cable,Nothing worked right out of the box,But after all the updates this bad boy is sweet,Email notification was easy to setup,But the mobile app is a pain to setup with a home server for remote login.