What's the best thing you ever bought for your reef?

artful-dodger

New member
Things have been way to quiet 'round here so I'll throw out an off-the-wall question.

What is the best item you ever found for your tank or your addiction? The constraint is that it can't be something made/marketed specifically for the hobby.

Let's say 4 categories--under $1, under $10, under $100 and the sky's the limit.

I'll kick off.
Under $1, I'd say the small, all plastic clamps from Lowe's.

Right at $10, I'm going with the 9" Honeywell Turbo-Force table fan for cooling the cabinet.

Under $100, I've gotta say the FoodSaver vacuum sealer (like a Seal-a-Meal). (I bought some seriously large packages of frozen Cyclop-eeze and brine a few months ago when Rob did the group buy. I was afraid to open them because I could never use it all before it self-destructed in the freezer. Then I got this great little food storage tool...last week I took all those big blocks of food out of the freezer, broke them into 3 or 4 oz chunks, vacuum sealed them and put them back into the freezer. Now I can take out a two week week supply and keep the rest for months!)

Over $100, I guess I'd say the 110g vertical water storage tank, although that's getting pretty close to the hobby.

What's your best "find"???
 
under $1

toothbrush to clean skimmer

under $10
a grip of radiator clamps for return and feed lines for my ref

under $100
my refugium

over $100
my newly acquired 150w HQI
 
I'll play! :)

Under $1: Paper clips to clean out the Venturi air intake on my protein skimmer (also useful for opening stuck CD/DVD drives!)

Under $10: Plastic screen to keep my Helfrichi from "going over the falls" of the overflow to the sump.

Under $100: A 23" strap wrench in order to change the canisters on my Aquanetics System-Pak, which helps run the big fish tank.

Over $100: Ditto Gary! That wonderful 105 gallon water vat that I use to make salt water. What was I thinking prior to owning this?

Unlimited: Many years ago, while I was first becoming obsessed with... er... I mean, enveloped by this hobby, I moved from a 1 bedroom to a 2 bedroom apartment just so I'd have somewhere to put my my growing aquarium collection. Who would have thought that from that point forward, all my future home purchases would entail a thorough examination of possible tank locations and support gear (like the utility sink on the main floor of my current home).

Hey Gary.... we need to talk... I need to borrow that Seal a Meal! :)

-Rob
 
Under $1
Chopsticks, the ultimate cleaning tool.

Around $10
The home depot workforce 4" scraper and replacement blade pack. (enough for a lifetime of cleaning the glass on my bowfront)

Under $100
The trip to harbor freight for fragging stuff. Tweezers,glue, scalpels,hobby knifes,side cutters, and a cordless dremel with bits.

Over $100
Tile wet saw, I can now make frag plates out of the scrap tile from the bathroom remodel.

Tony
 
Under $10, if this works:

My RO/DI production slowed to a crawl this spring. I changed the filters, nothing. I finally have decided that we just had a really cold spring and the water temp is just too cold. So, I've just spent $8.00 on a 100' roll of RO/DI tubing. I replaced the input line with this tubing and dumped all of the extra coils into my refugium. The refugium water _should_ heat the input water up to ~tank temp and the effort should cool my tank by a very small amount as well. We'll see.
 
Under a buck= Zip Ties.
Under 10 Bucks= Stainless Steel Forceps
Under 100 bucks The Natuaral Reef Aquarium by John Tullock
Over 100 Bucks Quantum PAR meter
 
under $10
squeegy with sponge on other side to clean outside glass
clip on fan from wally world clipped on sump to cool uner cabinet
and a turkey baster for blowing off rocks and feeding fish

where did you get the 100 gallon storage tanks? I am looking for something larger.
 
JStorey--we got them through Murdock's, a farm and ranch supply outlet up here in the Rocky Mountain states. I'm sure there must be one or two others in the Lubbock area. :p

There are online vendors as well...if you can't find a local distributor, though, the shipping charge is overwhelming.
 
Under a dollar
Shower Squeegy to clean salt from the front of the tanks

under $10
acrylic scraps and plastic screen to make a cover to keep fish out of the overflow (it's shaped like those ball return nets so they just bounce back into the tank).

under $100
Mag 9 used, 50' of 3/4" tubing and a true union.
Now I can run the tubing from the tank on the second floor to the shower on the first to drain water, then take the end in the shower and screw it onto the Mag and fill the tank. Needs a bigger pump as its slow but it works.

Unlimited:
Table Saw and router table. Now I can make stands instead buying them.
 
>$1 coat hanger to attach to small net to catch critters in overflow

>$10 turkey baster, 2gallon beverage container from WallyWorld to hold calcium/alkalinity mixes.

>$100 water storage containers!!!!!!

$$$$ All my tools that allow me to DIY everthing
 
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