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

[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!

[Parker]

For me it's been my ATO and my controller!

[Lance]

A fat wallet!

[christyf5]

Originally Posted by Lance

A fat wallet!

oh and that too, even with buying everything used I have spent a ridiculous amount on this hobby

[christyf5]

reverse osmosis unit
skimmer
auto topoff
easyblade (algae scraper attachment for mag float, keeps the glass crystal clear and powers off coralline algae)
good lighting (figure out what corals you're interested in or plan for the future and get the best lighting you can afford ie. halides for sps/clams)

not necessarily "MUST haves" but certainly nice to have:

phosban reactor - one for phosban (phosphate remover) and one for carbon
dosing pump for calcium, alkalinity and magnesium (as your corals get larger there will be a larger demand for these and manual dosing can get tedious and expensive
controller - eventually your $10 canadian tire timer will give out and it may be at the expense of your livestock. I really like my controller, it handles everything and I can check the status of my tank remotely (temperature, pH and status of various equipment)
"fancy/pricey" powerheads - depending on the size of your tank you can get away with maxi-jets in a smaller tank but if you have the cash, spend it on a good tunze or vortech, you can often get away with one or two as they're pretty powerful and don't have to end up stuffing the tank with lots of powerheads to get the job done

[spawn]

Originally Posted by 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!

+1 & ato

[Milad]

1. ATO
2. Controller
3. overized skimmer
4. LEDs
5. ROX carbon

[MarkoD]

Auto top off
Skimmer
Refugium
Lots of water movement
And lights

[ReefOcean]

Kind of subjective...

RODI, ATO and Controller are a must have?

Must have for a reef:

Tank, saltwater, liverock, coral, pump, light, heater. Period.

That is how grandaddy did it, and that is the bare bones ones must have. My first 3 years of reefing was done with just that.

You DO NOT need a skimmer
You DO NOT need a wavemaker
You DO NOT need light timers, calcium reactors, Media reactors, additives, UV sterilizers, probes and sumps and doohickies sticking out all over the place

These are options, like the leather and heated seats in Nissans.

[Myka]

1. Metal halide lighting if keeping SPS (I'm a die-hard MH fan) or T5s for LPS.
2. Over-sized good quality skimmer (really liking the SWC cones right now...have two of them).
3. A sump.
4. At least one controlled powerhead to make changeable flow patterns. I like the Tunzes, who doesn't?
5. A Tunze ATO, no other will do imo.
6. Good fans. I like the fan "banks" with 4 in a row. One set for the sump and one set to blow across the tank's water surface to blow the heat from the lights away. Good fans can remove 4-5 degrees and can usually avoid the need of a chiller if your house has central air conditioning. Chillers suck...they are expensive to buy and run, and they add a lot of heat to the room they are operating in. I'm using el cheapo Jebo fans right now and they are working very well.
7. Dosers or a calcium reactor. I prefer dosers.
8. Good quality test kits for calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium at least. I like Elos, and am interested to try out the Hanna Checkers.
9. Media reactor for GFO.
10. An efficient water change system that makes it easy so you will do it more consistently.