What are Some Essential Items in your Reefkeeper's Toolkit?

[nautical_nathaniel]

I think we all have a few items that are always around our tank. They may be used for maintenance and feeding or they may serve multiple purposes, either way they are essential items in our Reefkeeper's Toolkit.

For me, it has to be my poking stick (I wrote an article on them back in the day, it's a fun read that involves Steve Irwin ). The poking stick is the ultimate tool for messing around with stuff inside my tank without getting my hands, and anything nasty on them (lotion, antiperspirant, my wife's smelly hand soaps), in the water.

So what are some essential items in your Reefer's Toolkit? Help some of our newer members out by letting us all know how and why you use them in your day-to-day reefkeeping activities

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Turkey baster! So many things you can do with it, and they are cheap

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

Turkey baster! So many things you can do with it, and they are cheap

Can't go wrong with a turkey baster or a bulk bag of plastic pipettes!

 

[Euphylliaphyle]

My poking stick is a 1/8" diameter by 24" long oak dowel. I can insert this through my feeding port and reach nearly all of the front of my tank without even lifting the lid. I use it almost daily, mostly for turning over snails, but I always find it useful for so many things. I fastened a couple of wire management clips to my stand to hold the stick, right inside the door for fast access.

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

My poking stick is a 1/8" diameter by 24" long oak dowel. I can insert this through my feeding port and reach nearly all of the front of my tank without even lifting the lid. I use it almost daily, mostly for turning over snails, but I always find it useful for so many things. I fastened a couple of wire management clips to my stand to hold the stick, right inside the door for fast access.

I've got one of the fancy fluorescent acrylic rods and it hangs out in one of the rear chamber baffles on my Waterbox AIO 20, but I like the idea of using the wire clips to build a dedicated holder/mount!

 

[BeanAnimal]

- bandaids
- towels
- The Force: "you are seeing a lower electric bill, not higher"
- towels
- bandaids
- towels
- The Force: "that is not water you are seeing, it is dry floor"

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

- bandaids
- towels
- The Force: "you are seeing a lower electric bill, not higher"
- towels
- bandaids
- towels
- The Force: "that is not water you are seeing, it is dry floor"

We could call everything about your tank "Jedi Mind Tricks" if you also have the corals

 

[BeanAnimal]

I have no idea what that coral is. I can name two trade names.

Home wrecker -- because there is one somewhere in my tank and the only reason that I remember is because the LFS groupies wouldn't stop drooling over it when the LFS tossed it in a bag of stuff I bought. Somewhat incensed that I didn't know what it was or care. I couldn't identify one if asked.

Strawberry Shortcake -- from way back in the day. Don't even know what it looks like, but it was one of the names of a bunch of frags that I purchased from Jason Fox decades ago. I only remembered the name because I really don't like strawberries or shortcake and thought "what a dumb name, why are people naming corals, so silly..."

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

Jedi Mind Trick Monti:

There are a few other "Jedi Mind Trick" corals out there, but the monti is the OG.