What purchases do you regret making or not making?

ReefBeta

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Regret not buying the versa 4 packs when I just started my build. At that time it was still available. I have been waiting for one for months now to implement the auto water change.
 

Reefvision

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I regret purchasing ceramic media. They have all broken down and polluted my tanks. I also regret purchasing unnecessary equipment, having the sump area look like the control room at nasa made it difficult to do maintenance. Finally, I will never purchase a square sump again, having the pump in a back chamber that is impossible to access is a nightmare.

my top must haves would be:
1. Rodi unit and FLOAT VALVES!!!!
2. Ato
3. A good skimmer
4. Saltwater mixing station

I can not stress the importance of float valves with the rodi unit. I don’t know how many hours I have spent cleaning up rodi water because I forgot it was running. I would set timers, have others remind me, etc but in the end it would never fail to overflow.

I list an ato second because, in my opinion, the rest of the equipment is luxury. Do you need a $300 light or will the $50 t5 grow just as well? Do you need a skimmer or any other filter action if you keep up with water changes? The water chemistry here is the bloodline of the tank, everyone will tell you to keep an eye on the alkalinity or the nutrients but if you let the water volume fall, all of this becomes compounded and can swing just as bad as dosing too much of an additive.
Totally agree about float valves on RO containers- cheap insurance lol!!
 

Reefvision

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I regret purchasing eshopps adv300 sump for my reef as its return pump space is too small for a proper pump on 220 gal tank and salt creep is bad too. LFS talked me onto it- should have stuck with Trigger system like I have on my 55g
 

Mikeht11

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Most regret... @cadlights aquarium 100g tank. The whole front panel glass etched after a year. Bad glass. Sides look perfect. Water level is less than half inch from top. Saw the price and jumped on it. Should have known better due to lack of cadlight tanks on forum.
 

Fishyfish22

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I wish I'd added a check valve for my ATO sooner.


Another big one too was I wish I had used true union valves on my old build instead of the white pvc ball valve.

The the classic "I wish I had waited longer before I added ____ to the tank"
 

reefaroo

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I tend to bite off more than I can chew so I'm trying to reign myself in. Especially seeing some tanks here it's hard. I have limited free time and budget so I'm trying to be as big as possible but still conservative.
Me too. LOL. I know exactly what you mean. Plus for me I live in a mobile home so the weight problem is an issue.
 

reefaroo

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I can tell you that I have wasted more money on buying cheaper items that either has not met my expectations or just broke. When I did my tank upgrade in May I saved to where I could afford what was best.

Biggest loss I’ve taken is lighting-

5 G4 XR15’s
4 G5 XR15’s
5 ReeFi’s duo extremes
5 G5 XR30 blues
2 Orphek bars
2 Reefbrite bars
AI primes
48” T5

and now I’ve settled on 4 different lights than all of those and couldn’t be happier. I took a hit on selling them just to finally find the lights I always wanted and met my expectations
Interesting. What was your issue with the AI Primes?
 

JW56029

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I'm starting up a list of necessary items. I plan to purchase things that are only necessary for where I am in the process. For example I don't need a lid until I have fish or an expensive power head until I have corals.

I'm curious if you ever bought anything you thought you would need and ended up not using or it ended up not being worth the money? Or is there something you didn't buy and wished you had?

Any experience and advice is welcome and appreciated!
For reef it was the purchase of a anemone, that thing was always going to the power heads.
 

headdr

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2016 Apex... I have heard the classics were pretty rugged but so far on the 2016 I have had the head unit quit twice while under warranty and x2 WAV powerheads quit just out of warranty. Amazing how that happens. EB832 died at 3 years. Problem is none of this stuff is repairable. Once it stops it can't be fixed, or they'll fix it for about the price of a new unit. Can't forget the salinity probe, only good for a year or two. The real cost is your wasted time trying to get in contact with their support. I have put everything back on manual timers and I think when this head unit dies I'm going back to old school keep it simple set up.
 

Woodchip

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I’m first and current is a 55 gallon display. I am looking at between 150-200 for the next. For fish selection reasons. I want a blue tang so looking like a 200 gallon.
I would love a track that big. Getting into fish keeping my first tank was a 15 gallon “ freshwater “ then I got a 40 gallon and thought that was a huge tank. Now I realize that tank is relatively small I want a tank the size you are looking at but it most likely won’t happen until I get through college in 8 years so I will have to stick with my 3 small tanks for now. Something I regret buying are my two freshwater tanks I am hair with them but really wish I had done more research and gotten saltwater or different fish
 

Farnkums

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Not buying a reef aquarium. I bought an aqueon aquarium on sale with stand at petsmart. Never thought that black rim on the top would pose so many troubles. My red reef lights lean because of them. It holds water, but adding the essentials is terrible, not to mention the hang on overflow for my sump. Wish I would have bought a reef ready aquarium
 

2Wheelsonly

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Radion G4/G5 pro lights when I could have bought reef breeders and saved $5,000 for a better (in my opinion) look. This one will sting for a long long time.
 
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A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 64 36.8%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 59 33.9%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 14.4%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 26 14.9%
  • Other.

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