I was going to do this in my build thread but decided to separate it as to not clog up the build thread.
A good skill to learn is do you need something or do you want something. In this hobby things have gotten a little confused between the two and the lines have blurred a little over the last few years with the explosion of new technology and products out there. I am going to attempt to give some clarity from my experience that I have learned through trial and error about what you really need and what you want.
That sweet controller, doser, Calcium reactors or (insert technology here) that you see someone have and absolutely need.... Sorry not a need in most cases but a want. Don't get me wrong it is nice to have stuff to automate things but in most cases it is a want not a need. I have grown corals with nothing more than a heater, air stone and a security light I got at home depot so trust me you don't need that Apex or doser to maintain your tank in most cases you want it. A poor mechanic blame's his tools as the saying goes. Calcium reactors were designed for when the standard means of supplementation (Kalk or other calcium product) no longer are able to meet your calcium needs because you have large fast growing hard corals. Not small frags and you are lazy to manually do it. You will cause more issues using something like this improperly then you would without it.
Some situations do warrant automation to make things less time consuming or if you are gone a lot and need some automation to keep things moving along. For instance my tank evaporates 5 gallons or more a day so it is very time consuming for me to manually top up. So I got an ATO. This piece of hardware had a huge impact on stability of my salinity and stopped me from manually adding water 6 times a day. I even was able to add my Kalk into my top up water so I stopped having to add Kalk manually as well. So I killed two birds with one stone so to speak. Even in this case it was not a need for me but I wanted it to cut down on my work.
If you take your time and do things manually for the first years you will be a better reefer for it. So many people nowadays jump into the high tech game right away because they were under the impression they needed it to be successful. When that controller dies or other fancy hardware they have been relying on they have would have no idea how to do something manually as they never did it. You will be a better reefer if you stick to manual and simple setup if you lean the difference between need vs want. It will help cut your costs down from not buying unnecessary hardware. As a bonus that makes the spouse happy. I myself didn't go high tech till after 25 years and did everything manually. The less stuff you use on your tank the less that goes wrong and the simpler troubleshooting is.
Products also fall under need vs want. Yes they have all these cool color enhancing, instant cycle products that claim to stop the need for waiting for the cycle to compete, growth enhancers, iodine, super concentrated iodine, coral foods or alleged reef safe treatments the list goes on and on. But do you really need all these? Nope once again you don't. Keep in mind the manufactures invent these products and hype them up so you spend your money. Not saying the before mentioned products don't work just saying most are not needed regularly if at all.
I keep my supplements simple and basic. I use Kalk for my balanced calcium\alk solution. I have a buffer from Brightwell Alkalin 8.3-P if I need to adjust my ALK but not my calcium. I have a calcium supplement (Calcion from Brightwells) that doesn't have a buffer so I can adjust just the calcium and I use a magnesium supplement when I remember to use it. Prime for treatment of my water and occupationally use Reef roids as a treat. I also obviously have the standard test kits but I don't test very often. (I do not recommend not testing unless you have a lot of experience) I test my Mag, Alk and Calcium once a month and almost never for phosphates or nitrates. Instead I use a good quality salt and do regular weekly water changes to replace my trace elements that are not rapidly completed like Calcium, ALK or MAG. To also keep my nutrients in check.
If you keep your tank simple with basic hardware and products you will save a tone of money and simplify the troubleshooting process. Learn what your system really needs. I myself don't like spending my hard earned money on stuff I don't need. You want proof of my words and the results? Just look at my build thread pictures and you will see the results.
A good skill to learn is do you need something or do you want something. In this hobby things have gotten a little confused between the two and the lines have blurred a little over the last few years with the explosion of new technology and products out there. I am going to attempt to give some clarity from my experience that I have learned through trial and error about what you really need and what you want.
That sweet controller, doser, Calcium reactors or (insert technology here) that you see someone have and absolutely need.... Sorry not a need in most cases but a want. Don't get me wrong it is nice to have stuff to automate things but in most cases it is a want not a need. I have grown corals with nothing more than a heater, air stone and a security light I got at home depot so trust me you don't need that Apex or doser to maintain your tank in most cases you want it. A poor mechanic blame's his tools as the saying goes. Calcium reactors were designed for when the standard means of supplementation (Kalk or other calcium product) no longer are able to meet your calcium needs because you have large fast growing hard corals. Not small frags and you are lazy to manually do it. You will cause more issues using something like this improperly then you would without it.
Some situations do warrant automation to make things less time consuming or if you are gone a lot and need some automation to keep things moving along. For instance my tank evaporates 5 gallons or more a day so it is very time consuming for me to manually top up. So I got an ATO. This piece of hardware had a huge impact on stability of my salinity and stopped me from manually adding water 6 times a day. I even was able to add my Kalk into my top up water so I stopped having to add Kalk manually as well. So I killed two birds with one stone so to speak. Even in this case it was not a need for me but I wanted it to cut down on my work.
If you take your time and do things manually for the first years you will be a better reefer for it. So many people nowadays jump into the high tech game right away because they were under the impression they needed it to be successful. When that controller dies or other fancy hardware they have been relying on they have would have no idea how to do something manually as they never did it. You will be a better reefer if you stick to manual and simple setup if you lean the difference between need vs want. It will help cut your costs down from not buying unnecessary hardware. As a bonus that makes the spouse happy. I myself didn't go high tech till after 25 years and did everything manually. The less stuff you use on your tank the less that goes wrong and the simpler troubleshooting is.
Products also fall under need vs want. Yes they have all these cool color enhancing, instant cycle products that claim to stop the need for waiting for the cycle to compete, growth enhancers, iodine, super concentrated iodine, coral foods or alleged reef safe treatments the list goes on and on. But do you really need all these? Nope once again you don't. Keep in mind the manufactures invent these products and hype them up so you spend your money. Not saying the before mentioned products don't work just saying most are not needed regularly if at all.
I keep my supplements simple and basic. I use Kalk for my balanced calcium\alk solution. I have a buffer from Brightwell Alkalin 8.3-P if I need to adjust my ALK but not my calcium. I have a calcium supplement (Calcion from Brightwells) that doesn't have a buffer so I can adjust just the calcium and I use a magnesium supplement when I remember to use it. Prime for treatment of my water and occupationally use Reef roids as a treat. I also obviously have the standard test kits but I don't test very often. (I do not recommend not testing unless you have a lot of experience) I test my Mag, Alk and Calcium once a month and almost never for phosphates or nitrates. Instead I use a good quality salt and do regular weekly water changes to replace my trace elements that are not rapidly completed like Calcium, ALK or MAG. To also keep my nutrients in check.
If you keep your tank simple with basic hardware and products you will save a tone of money and simplify the troubleshooting process. Learn what your system really needs. I myself don't like spending my hard earned money on stuff I don't need. You want proof of my words and the results? Just look at my build thread pictures and you will see the results.
