Top 5..or 10... MUST haves for a reef tank

[kam]

Hey guys,

Ive had my tank up and running for 3-4 years now but was just running a FOWLR tank. Im getting back into the reef hobby and am finding out that all my old knowledge is starting to get... old!

I thought it would be a good idea to start a thread for people with limited knowledge to let them know what the Top 5 (or 10) key products are to help ensure a healthy Reef tank.

What, so your own words or list, what would be the top 5 (or 10) things you'd recommend for a Reef tank?? (skimmer... lights... etc)

[dsaundry]

Depends on size, but a good skimmer, a good ato system, a good heater, good light system, depends on lights but a chiller?? Do you plan on dosing or are you thinking of doing some sort of reactor system??

[reefwars]

salt....absolute must have hehehe

[Carmen]

Ato, good lighting, and a controller...

[fishytime]

My top purchases..... Tunze ATO..... Controller ..... Bubbleking skimmer......and I havnt purchased this yet, but good quality lighting

[Maverick00]

I wish i would have bought an ATO the day i set up my tank. An absolute must have.

[kam]

For those that don't know the abbreviations... ATO?

This isnt so much for me as for people who are just getting into Reef keeping.
So even if you guys could give some info about why these are important aspects to reef keeping

[RedCoralEdmonton]

ATO..... auto top off

Steve

[ponokareefer]

Lighting depends on what you are thinking of keeping for corals. If you want SPS, you need good lighting. If not, you could get away with a lower quality lighting system. A good skimmer is a must. I was extremely happy with my system after I installed a tunze auto top off system. What are you considering for corals?

[Cal_stir]

RODI, skimmer, controller, doser, lighting.
one thing I have found is that if you skimp out in the beginning, you will end up paying double in the end, so, get what you want, not what you need to get by!