ITC’s Reef Delete pest zapping flashlight is to receive an upgrade. Launched in October 2021 this truly unique reef tank pest control device promised great things but in practice, many users have so far struggled to permanently eradicate Aiptasia, Xenia, and other undesirables from their tanks. We used ours in a number of real-world situations but had issues with getting it into the tight spaces Aiptasia hides out in, and even holding down the button for the length of time specified by the manufacturer. We weren’t alone in our findings and just seven months after its launch, Reef Delete is to receive an overhaul.
“Since we started on Reef Delete the UVC technology has moved on – we launched it in October 2021, but by that point, the UVC Led we were using was 3 years old in design, and as with all things they improve!” Said Craig Timms from distributor Aquatic Now and Seneye.
“On our next production run, we’ve been able to take advantage of this which is giving it a 1.7x power increase meaning much more UVC. This will in turn see more results a little quicker for users. We’re not changing the directions of how to use it, as more UVC the better.”
Free upgrade path
Although news of a more powerful Reef Delete v1.02 will be of value to new, potential purchasers we can feel the justifiable annoyance of those who have already paid out on what is by no means a cheap device. This will just serve to reinforce the “never buy first-generation,” saying and will leave the super skeptics wondering at what point to buy into this piece of reefing technology. EcoTech Radion has just launched its Gen 6 lighting fixture for example, but ITC is doing the right thing by its early adopters and will offer a free upgrade path.
“We also announced that we’re going to be offering users who bought them the first time around the option for a free upgrade, provided they pay the return shipping to do – labor and parts will be free – we didn’t want to leave them behind and were grateful for early adopter support.”
“Finally – we’re designing a holder/grabber which will make it easier to activate and use in awkward spaces. We’ll sell them – but we’re going to issue the STL files and parts list so consumers can build their own if they wanted to!”
ITC told us they have not opened up the free upgrade route just yet, so watch this space for updates.
