The Forgotten Essentials

[ajhudson15]

Good Morning,
I am back in the hobby after 5 years and feel like I'm stepping into a whole new world haha. I feel like I don't remember a whole lot even though i felt pretty knowledgeable.

What are some thing that are must have's on hand at all times. I'm thinking stuff like ick treatment, coral dips, etc.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Honestly, an ATO was a must-have for me, but that is because I travel a bunch

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

For me its salt and at least 7 gallons of rodi water - its gotta be on hand at all times.

 

[Reeferbadness]

Welcome back! Definitely an ATO ( i like the Red Sea as you can monitor it via the web from anywhere), an auto doser (also like the red sea option as you can make adjustments from anywhere). As for ich treatment - not sure if any of these really work. Have a good quarantine regiment and if possible, add a UV sterilizer as even if you get Ich, it can be managed. Last one is more of an option but having an Apex controller with a Triden to test Alk/Cal/Mag daily really helped me stabilize things (along with the RS auto doser which i can adjust based on those tests).

 

[BryanM]

This is probably a good place to start: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.138750/

Essentials really boil down to keeping parameters consistent. How you do that is a huge part of the journey.

 

[jonsreef2reef]

Welcome back. Honestly the biggest shift since you were out is how people handle ich — the reef-safe "ich treatments" you'd keep on hand mostly don't do much (someone above hinted at this). What's actually worth having ready isn't a cure for the display, it's a quarantine setup: a spare tote, a sponge filter cycling in your sump, and a bottle of copper like Copper Power, so anything new goes through QT before it ever touches the display. That one habit has prevented more disasters for me than anything I could dose reactively.

For coral, a dip is the real consumable must-have — I'd dip everything before it goes in. Bayer (the BioAdvanced Complete Insect Killer concentrate) is the cheap standard, or CoralRx if you want the purpose-made one. And seconding the salt + RODI on hand from up-thread — being able to mix water on short notice bails you out more than any single piece of gear.