What equipment for your tank has saved you from a lot of headaches

[Gumbies R Us]

I'm always on the hunt to make my tank easier to manage or a process for my tank easier. One thing I hated was doing water top-offs. I would always forget to do it, and lugging this big bucket of water around became a pain. So I ended up buying an ato from Tunze and it has made my life so much easier regarding water top-offs. So I am wondering, what equipment has saved you from a lot of headaches regarding your tank.

 

[redfishbluefish]

A generator. When we lose power, I go into panic mode. Even owning two generators, it still puts me into a nervous Nelly mode. Fortune for central New Jersey, it happens rather infrequently.

In 2012 Hurricane Sandy hit our town pretty bad....I think somewhere in the area of 250 homes flooded (surrounded on three sides by water), and over seven days without power. I had friends who lost there entire tank. Fortunate for me, I had my little generator. For me, it's a mandatory piece of equipment.

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

ATO, definitely. I have three Prisms, which are the cheapest ones by far. Had the level sensor fail, too detect low water. Was under warranty, Prism overnighted a replacement, can’t beat that.

 

[Js.Aqua.Project]

Saved....and caused....the Apex....has detected bad heaters and other failures and things...but also has its own failures like outlets going bad on the EB832 or errors on the Trident and modules just deciding to renumber themselves and having to be reprogrammed...it probably sits at 70/30 more good than bad but when it does bad - boy is it a headache.

 

[Pvtgloss]

Probably my Apex. I have the thing programed to make every aspect of the tank easier. From water changes and feed modes to dosing and heater redundancy. Checking in the tank where ever I am if huge for me too.
I do think If I ever set up a larger tank I'll probably go with hydros though.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

A generator. When we lose power, I go into panic mode. Even owning two generators, it still puts me into a nervous Nelly mode. Fortune for central New Jersey, it happens rather infrequently.

In 2012 Hurricane Sandy hit our town pretty bad....I think somewhere in the area of 250 homes flooded (surrounded on three sides by water), and over seven days without power. I had friends who lost there entire tank. Fortunate for me, I had my little generator. For me, it's a mandatory piece of equipment.

This is something I need to invest in, since it storms here a lot

 

[Reefer Matt]

Brute trash cans on wheels. No more buckets.

 

[AydenLincoln]

Neptune Apex and an auto shutoff for my RODI. It doesn’t work if someone else flips it upside down!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Neptune Apex and an auto shutoff for my RODI. It doesn’t work if it’s flipped upside down!

I probably should get an auto shutoff for my RODI considering I almost our bathroom by forgetting I had it going haha.

 

[FourPawz]

My Profilux 4 helps me keep an eye on things remotely. Also a second level of safety in case a heater goes bad. Having a generator also gives me piece of mind when hurricanes and tornadoes come around. Lastly would be the Wyze camera on the tank. It lets me watch the fish and the microphone is very good so I can hear the water moving and I find that very relaxing!

 

[Jekyl]

Portable generator big enough for my entire home and a heater controller. Both have saved my tank on multiple occasions.

Don't waste money on battery backups. Spend the money to keep your family safe, not just your pets. On top of that, you don't have to worry about a generator running out of power.

 

[littlefoxx]

I'm always on the hunt to make my tank easier to manage or a process for my tank easier. One thing I hated was doing water top-offs. I would always forget to do it, and lugging this big bucket of water around became a pain. So I ended up buying an ato from Tunze and it has made my life so much easier regarding water top-offs. So I am wondering, what equipment has saved you from a lot of headaches regarding your tank.

Honestly just my heavy glass lids! Keeps my eels where they should be, in the tank

 

[ca1ore]

I would view 'headaches' in two ways. One would be equipment that makes drudgerous tasks easier; the second would be equipment that has prevented some kind of disaster.

In the first case, it is automating things like ATO, water changes and testing. I've been using various incarnations of the Apex since 2013, and while it is important to not rely too much on a controller, it has certainly saved me time and effort.

In the second case it has been having a generator to minimize the effect of power outages. My controller has been helpful here also, by alerting me to leaks, heater failures, run away ATO, pump failures, etc. OK, most of the time Apex alerts are false ..... but sometimes they are not. In the interest of not putting too many eggs in the controller basket, I also have a Ranco as backup for heat should the Apex fail (which it did recently). Redundancy is your best friend.

Folks are fond of saying a controller is unnecessary (usually opined by folks who don't use one LOL); and I would agree that it is a nice-to-have rather than a must-have. But it is a REALLY nice nice-to-have ..... and it will occasionally save your bacon.

 

[jimmers]

I'm always on the hunt to make my tank easier to manage or a process for my tank easier. One thing I hated was doing water top-offs. I would always forget to do it, and lugging this big bucket of water around became a pain. So I ended up buying an ato from Tunze and it has made my life so much easier regarding water top-offs. So I am wondering, what equipment has saved you from a lot of headaches regarding your tank.

Hey Gumbies. After adding an ATO I hated then filling up my ATO res (its was real small). So I added an auto fill line from my RO/DO that would fill it up to the top sensor when it hit the bottom sensor. Loved that.

Edit: RO/DI

 

[Jekyl]

Hey Gumbies. After adding an ATO I hated then filling up my ATO res (its was real small). So I added an auto fill line from my RO/DO that would fill it up to the top sensor when it hit the bottom sensor. Loved that.

Doesn't this blow through media though? I've always heard it's not good to start and stop. With mine, I flush the system 5 minutes before every use.

 

[jimmers]

Doesn't this blow through media though? I've always heard it's not good to start and stop. With mine, I flush the system 5 minutes before every use.

I never had a problem. My DI has to deal with only 1ppm water as I have a great RO prior. And always a great prefiltering system I used for whole house prior to RO. I used a 4.5"x20" DI filter and it took a long time before allowing any ppm thru. (used to sell water filters for a living so went a little overboard)

 

[Jekyl]

I never had a problem. My DI has to deal with only 1ppm water as I have a great RO prior. And always a great prefiltering system I used for whole house prior to RO. I used a 4.5"x20" DI filter and it took a long time before allowing any ppm thru. (used to sell water filters for a living so went a little overboard)

Got ya. Mine is just the brs 5 stage. Even after flushing my pre DI TDS is usually 7. During the flush I've seen as high as 250 on the built in meter.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Honestly just my heavy glass lids! Keeps my eels where they should be, in the tank

Don't have a glass one but a DIY mesh and it has done wonders for my tank!

 

[X-37B]

Generator- must have.

Ato- must have

Frag system- must have

Tunze 9430dc skimmer- as set and forget as they come.

Calcium reactor- simple easy to run and gives constant stability.

Sea sweeps- only 2 powerheads for flow. No more positioning multiple ones throughout the tank with cords everywhere.

Aqualogic temperature controller-
would not run a system without one.

Tape on temperature strip, lol-
they are pretty accurate and are a good cross reference at a glance.

 

[PharmrJohn]

A generator. When we lose power, I go into panic mode. Even owning two generators, it still puts me into a nervous Nelly mode. Fortune for central New Jersey, it happens rather infrequently.

In 2012 Hurricane Sandy hit our town pretty bad....I think somewhere in the area of 250 homes flooded (surrounded on three sides by water), and over seven days without power. I had friends who lost there entire tank. Fortunate for me, I had my little generator. For me, it's a mandatory piece of equipment.

+1 big-time. I have a monster generator. I have it set up to handle some lights, two refrigerators, one freezer, my tank and, most importantly, my XBox! Can't live without video games, right? Work with me here! I've never have had to use it tho. The PUD in this town is exceptional. AND we're on the hospital grid. Bonus. It offers great piece of mind.