Hardware
Reef Bridge
A Raspberry Pi, pre-flashed and pre-paired to your ReefCMD account, so you skip the Docker install entirely. Plug in power and ethernet, log into ReefCMD, and your Bridge already shows “Connected.” Add your Apex from there — discovery and probe mapping work exactly like the self-install path.
Why does this need to be hardware?
A read-only cloud link would be easier to set up. Here’s what you’d be giving up.
  • One box, every controller. Reef Bridge isn’t just for Apex — it’s built to talk to more controllers as we add them. One box on your network instead of a separate integration for every brand you run.
  • It reaches devices with no cloud of their own. Leak sensors, flow sensors, DIY probes — most were never built to talk to the internet. The only way to bring them into ReefCMD is something physically on your network.
  • Your data survives a bad internet day. Reef Bridge polls your controller locally and holds onto readings until your connection comes back — a dropped Wi-Fi signal doesn’t cost you your log.
  • It’s fast, because it’s local. Talking to your Apex over your own network is instant. A cloud-to-cloud relay is stuck waiting on someone else’s servers and rate limits.
  • Nobody else can turn it off. Reef Bridge speaks the same local language your Apex already understands — not a side door into someone else’s cloud service that can change the rules or disappear.
  • Built for what’s coming. On-device intelligence — instant species ID, motion-triggered snapshots — needs real compute sitting on your tank. A read-only link never will.
What’s in the box
  • Raspberry Pi 4 Model B (4GB), official case + fan, official USB-C power supply
  • 32GB microSD, pre-flashed with the Bridge image and pre-paired to your account
  • Ethernet cable
Price
$149
Reef Bridge is priced to track our actual landed cost as closely as we can sustain — Pi boards and freight move with the broader market, so this price may shift with them. Where ReefCMD makes its money is your subscription, not your hardware.
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