One Piece of Fishroom equipment a reefer shouldn't be without?

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Sean Landholt

Sean Landholt

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Buckets

You can use them as a trash can. You can use them to dump water. You can use them for storage. But most helpful if you are short like me, you can use them as a stool.
My collecting of buckets is stong! I have around 15 and 4 brutes trash cans with wheels on them right now.
 
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Sean Landholt

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Yes! Never have enough.

buckets.jpg
Bucket tree nice! If i have room I would like to hang the buckets to get them up and out of the way but also keep them from getting dirty on the insides.
 
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Sean Landholt

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Back up power supply, Back up Return Pump, Back up Heater, Back up Probes... Basically a back up plan
Right now I have the Ecotech back up battery but was looking into a larger battery. I have seen a bunch of ones for computer systems. Do you have any suggestions on which one to get?
 

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Bucket tree nice! If i have room I would like to hang the buckets to get them up and out of the way but also keep them from getting dirty on the insides.
1/2" pvc in holes drilled on a 30 degree angle. Worked like a charm and cost nothing because it was scraps.
 
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Sean Landholt

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MUST MUST MUST! A few hours with no power could cost thousands in dead animals. I have a battery backup good for 5 hours and a battery powered airstone to run after that. And enough extension cords to reach my neighbor's house with its natural gas generator after that, lol.
You are very perpared! I really like my battery-powered airstones. like 10 years ago I used a battery power air mattress blower to add oxygen to my system, it worked pretty well.
 
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I also totally love Hanna checkers. Idk how I managed to make it this long without them. I discovered them earlier this year and man, they make what was a chore an absolute pleasure. No more ambiguous color charts for this guy.
Oh yeah! life changer. The next stop is the trident. I have loved mine but I have had to RMAs that Neptune covered. They were super quick about it as well.
 
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Sean Landholt

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i dont think there are truly any must haves, it's mostly wanthaves... Mixing stations are certainly nice for bigger systems, really just depends on the type of system and your lifestyle and personality.
I am building out that mixing station right now and looking to help out my local fellow reefer that don't want to drive extra far to the LFS.
 
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I’m in the process of building a fish room and in wall 150g. No mixing station for me, I almost never change water. For me, climate control, sink, storage are all key.

when I think of fish room I think of the things you don’t automatically need/want, like an apex or buckets. I have those with my other tanks and no fish room.
a sink in the room is a must. It is a time and cost saver for sure.
 
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Sean Landholt

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Depending on what your budget is, I’d look into an Inverter miniSplit Heat Pump, instead of a Dehumidifier. It will remove moisture, in its dehumidifying mode. It can handle dehumidifying in the Winter, also. If you decide on a dehumidifier, I’d go with an April Aire, rather than one from a big box store.
I will have to check that out. I am currently in San Diego so heating isn't that big of a problem. I will for sure research these.
 
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Assuming you'd be getting most of the stuff already mentioned, a backup generator makes a lot of sense, especially if you can swing a natural gas powered auto startup and switchover model (assuming you have natural gas or propane). Set a separate panel for all the aquarium gear and have the generator power that panel if the power goes out. All the other gear in the world is not much use if you have no power.
I hear you on that.
 
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Sean Landholt

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One problem is that there isn't 'one thing'. And everyone's one thing means you're going to be buying 'everything'. SO my real answer is access to a mentor - who can help you who will be consistent with their advice, know your system, your plans, your goals, etc. If you can't find a 'live' mentor like at a local reef club - or a trusted LFS, try someone here. One problem with R2R (No offense) - is that especially for new people - asking a question gets 1000 answers - which can make it difficult
I agree. I have been in the hobby for over 10 years now and I don't think I would have been in it for so long if it wasn't for the people. I open this thread to hear from 1000 people and then choosing what I think are good ideas and then experiment.
 

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If you live in a dry climate (Colorado) you'd be wasting money on a dehumidifier.

My number one equipment recommendation is buy your own RODI unit.

Number 2 is get a quarantine tank and set it up. I read thousands of posts about people struggling with parasites and disease and probably 0.01 percent of them have a QT tank. Makes me so angry that people will spend money on a live animal and take responsibility for its life... then won't take it to the urgent care when it gets sick. Would you let your new puppy suffer and die a slow death from parvo?
 

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