Bluefish subscription changes incoming...

[SpencerShepard]

Hi guys, I wanted to provide some clarification on what's going on with Bluefish.  
 

In a nutshell, my costs to run Bluefish have gone up, and sales have gone down.  This is the reality of a product approaching 10 years old in a market that is vastly different than it was at that time.  My partners like Nano Box are out of business or have moved focus to other markets.

 

There are significant costs to keep this thing running.  I haven't paid myself or made a profit in years.  Additionally a  couple years back a wholesale partner left me holding a significant loss for product delivered and not paid for.  Most recently a service provider renewed our service at a 400% increase.  So I am at the point where I had to decide between:

 

1) shut down the servers, app, and Bluefish as a company, or
2) charge a fee for Bluefish service

 

Obviously the first option is not good.  It would force people to buy another product and/or put their tank investments at risk, in a time when many people are feeling economic uncertaintly.

 

In an attempt to be as fair and respectful to our customers as possible, I'm taking the following approach with the second option:

 

-The hardware will continue to work, but app access and weather simulation will require subscription service.
-Customers who have recently purchased hardware will be given free service for a total of two years from purchase date
-15 weeks notice for the change

 

Additionally I am going to try to add some new features to help ease this transition.  
 

I hope you guys understand that this is not a cash grab, or malicious or underhanded...it is what I have to do to keep things running.  I know it's not going to work for everyone, and I promise this is not something I wanted to do. 

 

Feel free to comment here or send me an email at support@aquarium-led-controller.com

 

Spencer

[FISHnChix]

40 minutes ago, SpencerShepard said:

The hardware will continue to work...

Could you expand on this?

 

And yea I totally get where you are coming from . Sucks prices have gone up so high. 😥 and for what's worth I don't think this is a money grab for ya, I've seen you be super kind and a legit help to a lot of folks on here for years . Cheers! 

[SpencerShepard]

Just now, FISHnChix said:

Could you expand on this?

 

And yea I totally get where you are coming from . Sucks prices have gone up so high. 😥 and for what's worth I don't think this is a money grab for ya, I've seen you be super kind and a legit help to a lot of folks on here for years . Cheers! 

Thank you... I really appreciate that.

For clarification, your schedule will continue to work, and you will be able to change wifi settings to keep your lights on.  I hope this allows people some additional time to find another option if the subscription doesn't work for them.

[markalot]

Hi Spencer,

 

as a long time user I don't feel like this is a cash grab at all.  I always wondered how the system could pay for itself when using cloud resources.  I've never been a big fan of the internet of things concept, but it worked perfectly for years.  I'm at a point where I'm close to retiring all my tanks but not due to a small monthly fee.  I was sad to see Nanobox go out of business, great lights.  

[mitten_reef]

7 hours ago, markalot said:

Hi Spencer,

 

as a long time user I don't feel like this is a cash grab at all.  I always wondered how the system could pay for itself when using cloud resources.  I've never been a big fan of the internet of things concept, but it worked perfectly for years.  I'm at a point where I'm close to retiring all my tanks but not due to a small monthly fee.  I was sad to see Nanobox go out of business, great lights.  

👋@markalot

[schgr.cube]

Always loved BlueFish when I had my NanoBox hybrid, sorry to hear that you are in this predicament. Even though I don't currently use your product, I appreciate you being open with the community about where you are and why you are doing what you are doing. I wish you luck with things, and I am hoping to see the hobby where it was a few years ago as well!

[risk1994]

I purchased your controller way back when it first came out and has worked great for years!  My current set up doesn't even have weather matching.  No hard feelings at all, events out of your control have led to this.

 

Will the controller still work without the subscription?  Can I manually set timing for lights with the app?   Or is it effectively bricked without it?  I totally understand if this is the case.

 

Thanks again for the great product.

[mdannyg]

On 11/27/2022 at 4:00 PM, SpencerShepard said:

For clarification, your schedule will continue to work, and you will be able to change wifi settings to keep your lights on.  I hope this allows people some additional time to find another option if the subscription doesn't work for them.

The way I'm understanding is we would no longer be able to make any changes to the light settings, schedule, or set time during daylight saving time changes?  Not a big deal to me since I really only log in to the app these days during the DST changes, and could live with it just being an hour off for half the year. 

[SpencerShepard]

On 12/2/2022 at 6:59 PM, risk1994 said:

I purchased your controller way back when it first came out and has worked great for years!  My current set up doesn't even have weather matching.  No hard feelings at all, events out of your control have led to this.

 

Will the controller still work without the subscription?  Can I manually set timing for lights with the app?   Or is it effectively bricked without it?  I totally understand if this is the case.

 

Thanks again for the great product.

Thank you for your understanding and the kind words.  Yes, the controller will continue to work without a subscription, but the only settings you will be able to change is the wifi network.  I need subscriptions to keep the infrastructure up, but it wouldn't be right to brick anything, especially when people may be experiencing financial hardship.

[EvansReeftank]

How much is the subscription?

[stevethao]

I’d also like to know how much the subscription would cost. Any alternatives if we’ve been using a nanobox?

[Reefkid88]

30 minutes ago, stevethao said:

I’d also like to know how much the subscription would cost. Any alternatives if we’ve been using a nanobox?

 

 I have messaged him with the same question because I have a BF. But there is thr Storm & Storm X from Coralux or the Hurricane controller from StevesLed's that will control your lights as well. Rough $60-$100 depending on which one you go with. 

[SavageAF]

Hey Spencer. Have you posted a page on the store site with all the info? I’m looking and not finding details on the cost per month/year. I’m sure it isn’t free to “keep the lights on” in any case. 😆 I don’t need access to weather or to change my schedule other then adjust time for DST. But I like access to the app just in case and I’d rather you not be in a position to be forced to completely shutdown and brick everything. What is the plan for new controllers? Will there be a built in fee and then a nominal fee monthly or yearly after a year or 2? I will gladly pay the nominal cost as I’m sure probably 80% or more of your customers would probably not be opposed to either, knowing the relative low cost of this solution relative to the alternatives out there.

 

If worse comes to worse, I hope there could be a way to package the backend app stack software to run self-contained as a standalone on a home network. 

[Aka_coldfire]

Hello, the current subscription issue within bluefin has pushed me here. I’m hoping to gather some information on cost of the subscription and how we go about purchasing it. Has anyone heard anything?

[SpencerShepard]

Hi guys, the monthly subscription cost will be $2.99/mo and the annual subscription will be the equivalent of $2 per month or less.

 

@SavageAF New controllers will have a significantly reduced price and there won't be any built-in subscription credit or the like.  Reminder that customers who purchased a controller before this was announced are eligible for free service for a period of 2 years from date of purchase.

 

More info to come, and I really appreciate the understanding.

[Aka_coldfire]

Where do we purchase ?

[Tamberav]

$2 a month is no big deal, I would have paid that to run nanobox any day. 

[Reefkid88]

Yeahhh,thats not bad AT ALL. 

[Biocune]

How do I pay the fee?

[BLUE MOON]

Hi Spencer , will you send us a yearly subscription or monthly . Also if I pay yearly what happen if I take a tank down and no longer need the service . Will we get reimbursed for remainder of the year. My nano-box lights are still having problems from time to time not working,    and my WiFi and all settings are fine it glitches up and no lights for days. Then it starts up again. Hope paying will fix my problems. When it works it’s great.

[adamthefishguy]

I am also looking for info on how to subscribe.  I clicked the in app notification and it takes me here.  I hope there is a yearly option that provides some discount.

 

With a move to a subscription model I hope we will see more active development of the app.  It would be good to have an acclimation mode for new corals.  Integration with Apex controller would also be nice but not sure if that is possible with software.

[braaap]

5 hours ago, adamthefishguy said:

I am also looking for info on how to subscribe.  I clicked the in app notification and it takes me here.  I hope there is a yearly option that provides some discount.

 

With a move to a subscription model I hope we will see more active development of the app.  It would be good to have an acclimation mode for new corals.  Integration with Apex controller would also be nice but not sure if that is possible with software.

 

Depending on the light you are running(I assume a NanoBox?) there is integration with Apex. NanoBox can be controlled via the Apex VDM or variable speed ports. There was an adapter released to allow that. I have one and I'm working on replicating it. I am also working on releasing NEW NanoBox arrays.

[raspitzer]

Any update spencer ? 

[SpencerShepard]

Hi guys, I'm behind on where I wanted to be with the subscription portal.  There's a fair bit of development that has to go into it.  So doubtful that it will be ready to go by March 15th as posted. 

 

Once it is implemented, you will be prompted to activate a subscription after logging in through the app.  

 

There will be some leeway between the availability of the subscription, and it's requirement;  ie a week where you can tap 'skip for now'.  

 

I will post updates here.  Thanks for your patience.

[SpencerShepard]

On 3/11/2023 at 5:41 AM, BLUE MOON said:

Hi Spencer , will you send us a yearly subscription or monthly . Also if I pay yearly what happen if I take a tank down and no longer need the service . Will we get reimbursed for remainder of the year. My nano-box lights are still having problems from time to time not working,    and my WiFi and all settings are fine it glitches up and no lights for days. Then it starts up again. Hope paying will fix my problems. When it works it’s great.

I won't be able to offer refunds for partially used annual subscriptions.  If you're not sure if you will use it for a year, you might be better off with monthly.

 

The problems you describe sound like it could be wifi signal strength and/or power issues.  Please send me an email support@aquarium-led-controller.com and I will get you sorted.