Digital Aquatics....Reef Keeper 2 advice needed

[TonyHNY]

I dont know if I should be happy or upset....But my RK2 finally failed with the display and buttons not working. Amazingly, the program still seems to work (lights/powerhead on/off). I contacted Digital Aquatics to see if I can purchase the digital head alone and they stopped producing this unit almost 4 years ago. The sad part was, I think I purchased this almost 6 ago paying a hefty price of around $300. Then they stopped producing it 2 years after I bought it....

This is the part that I don't know if I should be excited or more upset..
Now they are offering me a 20% off on a new unit. So basically, if I go with this plan, I would have spent over $600 within a 6 year time frame on a fancy outlet...:argue:

I wasn't expecting anything for free since I thought it would have cost me maybe around 80 bucks to replace that piece....But man...300 bucks with a 20% off... sigh.... would you buy a new unit?

 

[fifty50]

I'm not too familiar with controllers, but I'm researching to pull the trigger on one. Is it possible to just purchase their remote display module? Would it display what the original unit would display? If it works, I assume the remote display module is quite a bit cheaper than a new system altogether!

 

[TonyHNY]

I can tell you it is worth having one if you have the money for it. They are just so expensive. With the newer models, you can purchase the head alone. But mine is a last generation and they stopped carrying parts like 4 years ago. basically, the head is worth like 70 bucks ...so I am basically throwing a good chuck of the outlets away. The new heads wont work with the outlets I have.

Luckily, I do have a Reef keep lite so I am running my simplier tank on Timer and the more complicated one on the RKL..

 

[Turbovr3six]

FWIW, I had a RK2 that did the same thing about a year ago and DA said they could repair it as it was a "common problem on them".

 

[TonyHNY]

I really wish they could and I am willing to pay for it...but...

"Unfortunately, due to the age of the ReefKeeper 2 (we have not produced the in over 4 years) we no longer have any spare parts or repair services available for the unit. We are happy to offer a 20% discount on any ReefKeeper Lite or Elite Plus System and above. If you are interested, let us know and we'll go from there.

Thank you,
--
Digital Aquatics Support Team
[email protected]"

 

[prattreef]

I don't own one, so my comment is second hand ( but repeated to me by MANY people) DA customer service is horrible. So horrible they would never buy one again.

 

[TonyHNY]

yikes! I have three units from DA and now I am really worried. I had no idea it was that bad! To be honest, I haven't had any problems with them until now. The other 2 units are the newer ones....I asked them for 40% off instead (they'll probablly laugh at my request...) and even that's still giving me some heartache. The last thing I expect in this hobby is to replace are my $300 outlets

 

[vder]

I also had that very same thing happen to me with the Reef Keeper 2. In the end I purchased the Reef Keeper Elite head unit. Both of theses units did a great job at controlling various parts of the tank. So to me it was worth the expense.