Budget reef equipment

[me & my baby]

Pumps Hygger or Jebao . Lights Nicrew ATO cheap float switch hook up to apex break out box

 

[dedragon]

Pumps Hygger or Jebao . Lights Nicrew ATO cheap float switch hook up to apex break out box

budget, budget, budget, hugely expensive system lol. i agree up to that point

 

[Ryan15236]

Ive been running this $40 ATO in a 40g breeder for a year and it's been great. No overfill protection but I've never felt a need for that feature and mount the sensor high and out of the way on units that do have it. I also have tunze, kamoer and the old tried and tried JBJ no longer made.

I’ve been using this one as well for 6 months give or take

 

[DEE’S reef]

So I like the hygger power head had it for a couple days has a lot of nice features

 

[curt]

I’ve been using an autotopoff.com double float switch for years.About 50 bucks or so. Never needed the upper float.

 

[Grog]

Also what are some good containers for holding rodi buckets there not enough room for a 5 gallon bucket

If you want budget containers for ATO, ask a friend who has cats for their old cat litter buckets, they are smaller than 5g and rectangular. Or ask a friend who deep-fries if they can save you a used lard bucket if you need and even smaller container.

I had a bunch of similar containers that I had left over from a hydroponic experiment, and they fit really well under my tank. 4G I think, from Uline.

 

[DEE’S reef]

Do you need a heater controller for your tank and is ink bird fine for one

 

[9Trees29gal]

I have had to go budget too, and have great luck with hygger as well. Nicrew for lights. I got the Mag Tool ATO pump and sensor and it's working perfectly, even through power outages. I just size my ATO reservoir so that even if it runs dry it won't swing my tank params too much, or overflow my sump, but haven't had any issues yet. I am just using a gallon glass jar for my reservoir, but you can also buy food storage containers at Walmart in almost any footprint depending on the volume you need! I needed to automate some dosing because my work schedule is inconsistent, and the kamoer F1 was the only stand-alone budget doser that had the features I need (most importantly, battery backup to maintain settings if the power goes out). My budget skimmer is the Aquaready bullet 2 HOB, and it's working very well.

 

[X-37B]

Basic gravity flow ato. No power needed on my 13. 1 liter lasts 2 days.