Automated or Overrated? Is your reef automated?

[LPS Bum]

Some automation, but not a ton.

On my reef I have an ATO, a dosing pump, an Inkbird temp controller, lights and wave makers through an app and a fleece roller. On my old school FOWLR it’s an ATO and lights on a timer.

That’s it. Still do manual water changes and manual testing. Works pretty well for me.

 

[PotatoPig]

I’m going to go with “low”

My lights have internal timers (noops) and I have an Inkbird temperature controller.

My ATO:

My “doser” - the knot slows the siphon through the air tube so it takes about 3-4 hours to drip 500ml into the filter sock as water enters the sump:

 

[PharmrJohn]

As my tank ain't up yet, I can only speak to planning. Prior to retirement (a few short years away), I'll do most things manually. I'll have an ATO, as I can't lift much anymore, but that's about it. Oh!!! Allso, I'll MacGyver something to handle a water change without any lifting. When I retire, it'll be a different story. Then, I'll fully automate, as I want to travel and don't want to worry about the tank. Got places to go, man!!!!

 

[ScottF]

My little tank, just ATO and lights. My 250gal, everything. ATO, auto water changes, trident controlled dosing, Apex controlled everything, ozone, co2 scrubber, complex lighting and powerhead schedules...

 

[ScottF]

While in no way essential, automation has definitely taken some of the guess work out of maintaining my tank. Not the cheapest option, but the Trident has resolved one of my biggest issues... being a colour-blind reefer.

Same. The Hanna checkers help too, but I've probably spent as much on Hanna checkers as I did on my Trident.

 

[trini2debone]

Automation is great I think. The old school way is fun. As we all know, coral growth is very much dependant on stability. I'm sure we can't manually keep things as stable as automation. (our pets deserve the best we can afford)... You know what was also fun? Horse drawn carriage, but it's not how I would want to get around day in and day out... On the side of cost; Jebao is really good, and most importantly cheap. I love their app. the doser is reliable and easy to calibrate.