What is not needed for a reef tank, but you absolutely have to have in your's.

[Cichlid Dad]

So , it can be equipment, animals, really anything. What is your have to have, but is not needed. For me it's a big refugium for my tank size. Give us your must have

 

[officialreefbros]

Clownfish

 

[Cichlid Dad]

Clownfish

Me too, love those guys

 

[Miami Reef]

Carbon dosing. If not, my nitrates will get too high.

 

[penguinexdeus]

controller... 100% a controller of some kind for monitoring and autotesting... i'm lazy

 

[KrisReef]

Not by choice, but always some kinda "pest(s)."
AEFW
Leopard polyclad flatworms
Aiptasia

and that dirty salt creep.

Otherwise, just some fish and corals.

 

[_cpate3_]

Something that’s not talked about enough is RFAs. Super hardy, readily avaliable, no need for kalk, easy to feed (and over feed), and some absolutely stunning colors and variations. I have 2 in my 13 galling and I don’t see a future tank where I don’t have one of these!

 

[LPS Bum]

A ReefMat and an ATO. Never going back to filter socks and daily manual top offs again.

 

[Cichlid Dad]

A ReefMat and an ATO. Never going back to filter socks and daily manual top offs again.

Still saving for mine! Reef mat I mean

 

[DIYreefer]

Seachem bio matrix. I'm sure there's better options these days but I've always had great luck with bio matrix to help increase biofiltration.

 

[yanni]

Something that’s not talked about enough is RFAs. Super hardy, readily avaliable, no need for kalk, easy to feed (and over feed), and some absolutely stunning colors and variations. I have 2 in my 13 galling and I don’t see a future tank where I don’t have one of these!

Living my dream. Impossible to find in Australia, only one store just got them, and is selling babies at $550 AUD, so $350 USD, and the babies are tiny, fingernail sized. I want them so badly, but man that cost is ridiculous.

 

[Skay]

Living my dream. Impossible to find in Australia, only one store just got them, and is selling babies at $550 AUD, so $350 USD, and the babies are tiny, fingernail sized. I want them so badly, but man that cost is ridiculous.

why do they cost so much there? i just bought one for $21 usd in the states yesterday

 

[Gtinnel]

Definitely an ATO for me. It’s as close as you can get to a necessary piece of equipment without actually being necessary.

 

[Cichlid Dad]

Definitely an ATO for me. It’s as close as you can get to a necessary piece of equipment without actually being necessary.

I never thought of it that way but you are absolutely correct! Would never go back to manual

 

[TacticalDumb***]

Definitely an ATO for me. It’s as close as you can get to a necessary piece of equipment without actually being necessary.

I second this.

 

[yanni]

why do they cost so much there? i just bought one for $21 usd in the states yesterday

They aren't located here, since they're USA, we can't import anything into Aus besides fish. We get these pacific RFAs, but nowhere near the colour of the US ones. Someone a store got em in, so they have a monoply on the market

 

[_cpate3_]

Living my dream. Impossible to find in Australia, only one store just got them, and is selling babies at $550 AUD, so $350 USD, and the babies are tiny, fingernail sized. I want them so badly, but man that cost is ridiculous.

Living my dream. Impossible to find in Australia, only one store just got them, and is selling babies at $550 AUD, so $350 USD, and the babies are tiny, fingernail sized. I want them so badly, but man that cost is ridiculous.

Can you buy online from a US store?

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Definitely an ATO for me. It’s as close as you can get to a necessary piece of equipment without actually being necessary.

Agreeing with the ATO as well, makes keeping up with water so much easier for me and gives me a little peace of mind when I am out of town for a couple of days.

 

[Subsea]

Flame scallops & Sea Apples with ornamental macros.

 

[7of9]

A nice, digital salinity meter. After constantly second guessing my hydrometer or struggling to read a refractometer, it's nice to just calibrate, put it in the water, and go with no squinting or ambiguity.