My name is Nathan and first I'd like to say thank you for taking the time to read this (it gets relevant, I swear). I'm 33 years old and in 2004 I was in a car accident that left me paralyzed from the chest down. For the last 5 years I have been part of a research study through the University of Pittsburgh. I had surgery to implant 4 micro electrode arrays on my brain that I use to control a robotic arm, and receive sensation back from it through micro stimulation. I am the first human to have electrodes implanted in the sensory cortex. Here is a playlist of a few videos about this, including from when I met president Obama a few years ago. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-UehttXKgFOyFysBj6yMtmz8X0mwgLhR
For a few years now I have had a 120 gallon African cichlid tank and just recently started a Biocube 16 nano reef. I came across your website yesterday while reading a forum about someone else's nano reef and their Icecap Gyre. Ever since I added a few corals to my tank the other week I have been kind of obsessed with thinking about where my setup could be down the road, and looking at all the things that could be possible. Your website seems to have everything that could really help me out with maintaining my tanks. I've become really interested in your HYDROS control products. Since I'm in a wheelchair I'm completely reliant on other people to help take care of my fish. Simple things like probes for temperature/pH/salinity or ways to make water testing faster/simpler/more reliable could help give me assurance that those parameters are being presented to me accurately. Outlets that can tell me when equipment has stopped functioning (I've had a heater fail that went unnoticed until a caregiver just happened to put their hand in the water and noticed it was cold) or sensors that are able to shut my pumps off if a leak is detected could be a huge lifesaver. Then the possibility of things like auto dosers, ATO, feeders, etc. being able to be controlled by myself with my tablet sounds like it would be great. No more waiting for a caregiver that is able to lift a bucket of water into my tank and things like that. It would also be great to one day get a RODI system and be able to have my own saltwater mixed. Up until now I havw been buying jugs of Nature's Ocean Nutri-SeaWater for $3.40/gallon at a LFS, then found out you can fill your own jugs there for $1.40/gallon. The whole situation is kind of suspect though because the last two Nature's Ocean jugs I bought had their seals broken and I know they were refilled (all had a specific gravity of 1.030) so getting away from that situation and having more control over the water I use would be great.
Unfortunately doing all those things would be insanely expensive for me. Does your company ever consider donations or discounts? I know this is a long shot, but I thought it really wouldn't hurt to ask. It's completely understandable and beyond reasonable if your answer is a hard nope. I'm sure eventually I'll still end up buying something from your website, that WiFi IceCap 2K Gyre (and maybe even a 4K for my 120g) might be something I'm able to splurge on one day.
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1 Answer
Nov 26, 2019
Nathan Copelandwrote
I just saw the video on Xepta, that would be amazing!