Articles in Guides
- Guides The Triton Method: Refugium, Sump, and Dosing for a Water-Change-Free Reef The Triton Method runs a reef without routine water changes by leaning on a large, living refugium and precise dosing instead. Here is what it actually requires, from refugium size to why you deliberately skip the filter socks.
- Guides Reef Tank Water Changes: How Much, How Often, and When You Can Do Less Water changes are the default reef maintenance task, but how much and how often actually matter, and some setups can do far fewer. Here is a practical guide to doing them well, and doing fewer safely.
- Guides One Aquarium Tracking App for Reef, Freshwater, Planted, and Custom Tanks Most hobbyists keep more than one kind of tank. Reef Trak now supports reef, freshwater community, planted, and custom setups, so the same app holds the history for every tank you run while keeping its serious reef tools intact.
- Guides The Reef Tank Maintenance Schedule: Daily, Weekly, and Monthly A healthy reef is built on a routine, not heroics. Here is a clear reef tank maintenance schedule split into daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly tasks, so nothing important slips through the cracks.
- Guides 10 Habits of Successful Reef Keepers The reefers with the best tanks are rarely the ones with the most expensive gear. They are the ones with good habits. Here are ten that keep a reef stable, and the routines worth building early.
- Guides Best Reef Tank Management App in 2026: Tracking, Dosing, ICP, Livestock, and ReefDock A modern reef tank app should do more than store a few test results. Here is what a complete reef tank management app actually looks like in 2026, and why Reef Trak is built around the whole system instead of a single number.
- Guides ReefDock: Search Reef Supplies Across BRS, Amazon, Saltwaterfish, and Petco in One Place Need a 200-watt return pump or Hanna alkalinity reagent? ReefDock searches BRS, Amazon, Saltwaterfish, Petco, and direct-from-hobbyist listings all at once. Launched May 2026, built into Reef Trak, also at reefdock.com.
- Guides Best Reef Tank Apps in 2026: Reef Trak vs AquaticLog, ReefBay, Aquarimate, and Reefability Anyone with an AI subscription can ship a reef tank app this weekend. The harder question is which reef app will still be supported, still innovating, and still here when your tank turns five. Five real apps, compared honestly.
- Guides Reef Trak vs Reefability: Reef Tank App Comparison (2026) Reefability is the AI-first reef app, with a chatbot inside and a $5.99 per month subscription wrapped around it. Reef Trak lets you export your whole tank and paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, or whatever AI you trust, and it unlocks once for $9.99. Here is how they stack up.
- Guides Reef Trak vs AquaticLog: Reef Tank App Comparison (2026) AquaticLog has been logging reef tanks for 13 years. Deep parameters, solid ICP integrations, real history. Reef Trak shows up with a wider toolbox (PAR Map, ReefDock, TrakAI, controller imports) and a single $9.99 payment instead of a subscription that keeps billing for as long as you keep reefing. Here is how they actually stack up.
- Guides Reef Trak vs ReefBay: Reef Tank App Comparison (2026) You are picking between two reef apps that solve different problems. ReefBay is built around a peer-to-peer marketplace and active forums. Reef Trak is built around the whole tank. PAR Map, ReefDock retail-aggregator marketplace, TrakAI bring-your-own-AI exports, controller imports from five vendors. Here is the head-to-head.
- Guides Reef Trak vs Aquarimate: Reef Tank App Comparison (2026) Aquarimate is the only reef app on this list with real Mac and Windows desktop apps. Reef Trak ships everything else. TrakAI exports, controller imports, ICP from 7 labs, PAR Map, ReefDock, and a one-time $9.99 lifetime. Here is how they stack up.
- Guides HYDROS Alternative: How Reef Trak Pairs With Coralvue HYDROS for Reef Tracking HYDROS is a reef-tank control system. Reef Trak is a record system. They pair. Reef Trak imports HYDROS probe data and combines it with everything else you log.
- Guides Apex Fusion Alternative: Why Reef Trak Pairs With Apex Instead of Replacing It Apex Fusion is a control system. Reef Trak is a record system. They pair instead of competing. Reef Trak reads Apex data and combines it with everything else you log for one connected reef history.
- Guides First Reef Tank Livestock: What to Add First and Why After the cycle, what goes in first? A single snail to test the bioload, then a hardy fish, then a beginner coral. Here is the order and the waiting time between each.
- Guides The Reef Tank Ugly Phase: Why Your New Tank Looks Awful at Weeks 4–10 Every new reef tank goes through an ugly phase between weeks 4 and 10. Diatoms, cyano, dinos, hair algae. Beginner reefers panic and crash their tanks trying to fight it. Here is how to wait it out.
- Guides How to Cycle a Reef Tank: Complete Cycling Guide (Dry Rock, Live Rock, Bottled Bacteria) Cycling a reef tank means growing the bacteria that convert ammonia to nitrite to nitrate. It takes 2 to 6 weeks and cannot be rushed. Here is exactly how to do it.
- Guides How to Set Up a Reef Tank: Complete Beginner Setup Guide (2026) Setting up a reef tank takes more decisions in the first week than most hobbies take in a year. Here is the full beginner-friendly walkthrough from buying the tank to the first coral.