Hands down this is the best thing you have ever done for your aquarium! AH HA!!!

[muzikalmatt]

For me it was probably adding the Inkbird temperature controller with a small clip on fan for cooling purposes. I was struggling with temperature fluctuations this summer going from 77 to upwards of 82 at times. Once I added the Inkbird and the fan, it has kept my tank between 76.5 and 77.5 at all times. It's also nice knowing that I have a backup shutoff for my heater in case it gets stuck in the on position. The temperature stability made a world of difference for the corals.

A close second would probably be the small refugium I added in the second chamber with the inTank fuge basket and IM Chaetomax fuge light. I was struggling with high nitrates (30ppm+) and the fuge has brought them down and kept them stable at around 5ppm.

 

[coralcruze]

stopped listening to sellers that give advice on you tube about equipment that they are trying to sell. My reef has run better and my pocket book thanks me.

 

[Justin Cook]

The biggest thing that changed reefing for me was buying one of those 'really expensive' magnetic scrapers (Magfloat, Flipper) I spent years and years refusing to pay what I thought was a ridiculous amount of $$$ for one until I got a gift certificate. As soon and I purchased one, I bought another for my other tank. This single purchase changed the look of my tanks more than anything else. Lights, automated dosing, and upgraded pumps have all been wonderful items but a magnetic scraper is the one thing I tell all new folks to get even though it seems really expensive.

 

[sromero287]

TRIDENT 1000%

 

[Hawkfish3]

ATO and a diy algae scrubber. Also consistency. Feed the same amount, same light schedule, cleaning schedule,-- etc.

 

[Icylder]

Tropic Marin's All-for-reef. Pricy in the long term for large tanks, but cheaper for a 20 gallon than setting up a series of 3 part dosers for me. If you want the easiest way to manage a nano mixed reef this is it. Especially if it will have a lot of stony coral.

 

[Ann Enomy]

Rollermat! No more socks!!!!

 

[Droberts0724]

At times in reefing you learn something, buy something or implement something that is a legit "AH HA" moment that really turns the tide of your reefing journey! Today I would like to hear about some of those moments in your life. Some of these are the BEST THINGS you have ever done for your reef tank and others could learn from it!

What is something you learned, purchased, or implemented that really turned out to be one of the BEST THINGS you have done for your aquarium?

Fish image via @ChristopherKriens

By far it's weekly water changes. I have a 32 gallon nano tank and every week I change 5 gallons of water and my numbers never change!

 

[Brian Saxby]

Apex and ATO

 

[ReefHomieJon]

ATO for sure AND having a 100 sump for a 125 display. Having that much water volume makes it so that my parameters never spike crazy. As long as I test periodically I can notice trends and make adjustments before anything gets outta wack. And since parameter changes happen slowly my corals aren’t ever really stressed

 

[WDLV]

Leave it the hell alone:
- Keep my hands out of the tank
- Stop chasing numbers
- Allow neusance algae to pass (we now know this as the new tank uglies.)
- let things grow in and sometimes fight and out grow and compete (depending on the species) it can actually accelerate growth.

 

[Earl Karl]

Giant refugium with very strong grow lights. Sucks all the nutrients so I can abuse feeding. Keeps my Moorish Idol happy as I feed him 10 times a day with nori. NO3 under 1 ppm and PO4 at 0.01

 

[actik]

I learned that simply leaving the system alone worked better than just about anything. Get it stable, then just don't touch it except for regular cleanings. Amazing how well it works... and it's easy. :0)

I have the same issue, I touch everything haha

 

[Jeff Jarry reef]

Trident--ATO--- Apex

 

[Gobi-Wan]

I was fighting hair algae and couldn't get chaeto to grow for like a year. Finally stopped fighting it and switched to an Algae Turf Scrubber. Instantly the tank was clean, nutrients went way way way down and i can grow SPS now. Let the algae that wants to eat my nutrients eat them.

 

[Huff747]

Renting a PAR meeting and seeing how low my PAR actually was. Growth seems really improved after I got the PAR up.

 

[Ken logan]

Apex by far

 

[ReefGoddesss]

Dosing! I have a small aquarium (20gal) and thought I could get by with manual dosing and ended up losing some higher end acros when I progressed to SPS. I proceeded to getting a "cheap" Jeabo DP-4 and it changed everything for me. Holding parameters stable is so important and can be achieved easily without needing super expensive equipment.

‘Hey Zach, my LFS uses the same Jebao dosing brand on their entire large systems. How long have you had yours and has it given you any issues?

 

[jeffchapok]

Added a sump. I started off with just a HOB on my 60 gal, but was constantly fighting GHA and corals weren't growing well. I added a small homemade sump in the form of a 6 gal acrylic fish tank (the largest my very narrow stand would allow) to which I've added a a skimmer, ATO, and UV sterilizer. My water is so much clearer now and most corals are actually thriving.

BTW, I kept the HOB (Fluval C4) and plumbed the return from the sump back into it.

 

[Neoalchemist]

Going back to good old kalkwasser. In my most recent tank I had planned to dose two part but some invaders and an average ph of 7.7 pushed me back to kalkwasser. Now I wonder why I would ever change what has worked so good for me in the past. The change to kalk was like flipping a switch in regards to coral growth and color. Also the overall look of the tank is about three times cleaner thanks to kalk. Sooo much cheaper also.