What equipment has PLEASANTLY surprised you: glad you got it items

[hkgar]

400 watt radium!!!!

Corey

What did you have before and what size tank.

I have 3 250 W radiums and from time to time think of 400.

 

[hkgar]

3. Gyre: mounted transversely an inch from the surface.

One inch from surface? I have two 250 in my 180 and 7" below water 70% OGC. I can't imagine the surface turbulence at 1 inch?

 

[juanmanuelsanch]

I would say the doser and if I could afford one I would probably go for an apex

 

[Sk8r]

hkgar---it does create a minivortex that reaches the surface. Turbulence is considerable, but not so the fish can't use the surface. And the roll goes completely under the rockwork.

 

[Clowning_Around]

Having been out of the hobby for some time and not having all the gizmos prior, a simple cheap ebay refractometer has surprised me!

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

 

[kmbyrnes]

ATO is the best money I've spent, hands down.
But I love my Magnavore too. It is powerful enough to keep my tank clean even through 3/4" Acrylic.

 

[Vbwjjeep]

Mars Aqua LED. $90, they've been going strong for about 3 years and growing corals and my gigantea and Magnifica anemones better than I could have imagined.

I'd have to say the same. I'm pleasantly surprised with these lights. I was skeptical when I ordered them but I think hey look very nice and put of good color. I have yet to see over time how they do but this is good to know that they don't just look good. Can you post a pic of the intensity you have your knobs at. The only down side is there aren't any markers to see what level you actually have. No halfway marker or such.

 

[strikeratt]

Tunze ATO has been my best purchase thus far.

 

[Jon0807]

My RO/DI unit. Makes things so much more convenient than having to run to the LFS or grocery store for RO water

 

[Scrimpie]

Apex. It can automate everything! Just make sure it's apex compatible. Sure it's a bit expensive but I would shell out for the larger unit in case you want to expand modules in the distant future.

 

[dublo8]

the best?
1. ATO (have both tunze and ATK) both are great. Saves tons of footwork.
2. RO booster pump. I can make a 5 gallon jug before I can finish a beer.
3. Apex. gives me a piece of mind and replaces timers and monitors.

 

[jlmawp]

I love my little RO/DI unit, but the thing I have been most consistently happy with using is this tiny, but strong, cleaning magnet:

http://imgur.com/a/YuH51

I use the small circular one. Works great on my 9-gal nano cube since there are a lot of tight spots around the glass and rock. The surface of the scraper is basically a stronger version of the hard half of velcro, and real scrapes everything away (except coralline, of course).

I tried other magnets and scrapers, but for my smaller situation, this has been a big big timesaver.

 

[chitown tom]

Apex and ATO! I would not be able to live without either...