Equipment Needed as a Tank Progresses

[lterna]

Hello all,

With the holidays coming up and some crazy black friday deals, I was wondering what equipment I should consider adding to the tank as it continues to mature. I have a Red Sea Reefer 350 and am currently running pretty basic equipment- skimmer, 2 gyres, etc. I also have an RODI unit. The tank is relatively new, 4-5 months old, with two clowns, a clean up crew, and a few frags (zoas and lps at the moment). The ultimate goal is mixed reef tank but that is a far way off.

I was wondering if some of you who have been in the hobby for awhile could list some of the other equipment that you have added to your tank and how beneficial it has been. I have been considering dropping the pretty penny for an apex controller. I just wanted to hear some opinions on owning a media reactor, dosing equipment, calcium reactors, any other equipment that isn't quite necessary when starting a new tank but will come into play later on.

I know that my tank is newer and I may not need the equipment for awhile, but hey, it's nice to plan ahead and have a general direction for the tank. Could you maybe list the equipment in order of importance?

 

[Qasimja]

a reactor to run carbon/gfo and a heater controller like an ink bird i dunno if these items are really 'needed' but they make life easier also if your not running one an ato thats all i can really think of at the moment

 

[lterna]

a reactor to run carbon/gfo and a heater controller like an ink bird i dunno if these items are really 'needed' but they make life easier also if your not running one an ato thats all i can really think of at the moment

Currently using the stock ATO that came with the tank. I guess I shouldn't have said "necessary equipment." I was looking for more along the lines of "makes your life easier," so thank you for the help.

 

[Qasimja]

Currently using the stock ATO that came with the tank. I guess I shouldn't have said "necessary equipment." I was looking for more along the lines of "makes your life easier," so thank you for the help.

np i want an apex too but i cant really afford it at the moment maybe next year that would make life so much easier lol

 

[Gareth elliott]

Hi,
welcome to reef2reef since i missed your other threads.
Your current equipment seems to be a great start!
I am a big proponent of the berlin method for filtration. Sometimes the simple is the easiest to manage.

For a reef tank required equipment i would state only need:
Lights
Water movement
Rock
Heater or chiller depending on the environment your tank is in.
Ro/di
Easy way to maintain parameters Salinity, Alkalinity, calcium and magnesium.
Easy way to maintain nitrate and phosphate.
A way to keep your reef stuff organized and away from your spouses view.
second tier items.
ATO

Third tier items
Doser, aws, calcium reactor etc
Carbon reactor
Controller for piece of mind while on vacation

 

[Bpb]

I feel like an apex controller is less and less necessary at this point. Yes it can consolidate a lot of control points to a single interface, but it can also massively complicate things if you’re not ready for that. Just about every light and pump will have some form of perfectly usable native controller that will do anything you NEED it to. Beyond that, a reliable temperature controller like and Inkbird or maybe a new BRS temp controller (probably the same thing) would be a good idea.

When you get the itch to add more stuff to the equation that is your tank, start thinking about problems you have FIRST. What SPECIFICALLY are you needing improvement or? If you can’t come up with anything, there’s no reason to just dump money into gadgets. When Black Friday rolls around, If nothing in my system needs an upgrade or a replacement, I simply just buy back stock or refillable goods like salt and bulbs.