Tanks with the filter built into a rear chamber, sometimes sold with the light and pump.
Gear
Reef gear keepers commonly use, and where to view it
40 pieces of kit that turn up again and again in home reef tanks, in 17 categories from budget to premium. Each has our honest note, including the drawback, its key specs, and where to view it in the UK and the US.
How this page works
- We sell nothing. Seafan has no shop and no stock.
- We earn nothing from these links. They are plain links to the retailer's page, with no affiliate or tracking codes, and no brand or retailer has paid to appear.
- Prices change. Each price is as the retailer's page showed it on the date we checked. Check the page itself before you buy.
- Not affiliated. Seafan is independent of every brand and retailer named here. Brand names are used only to say what a product is.
Being listed here is not a recommendation over kit we have not listed. We chose items that are widely used and sold, across beginner to advanced and budget to premium. Some pages, including every Amazon page we checked, did not show a price, so we say so rather than guess.
Listings checked . How we check
What should you look for before buying any reef kit?
- Plan the whole system first: the tank volume, the space in the cabinet and sump, and how many power points you have. Most expensive mistakes are kit that does not fit.
- Compare real-world figures, not box figures: flow at your head height, light at your coral depth, and skimmer ratings for a tank with fish in it.
- Buy the safety kit early. A heater controller, a top-off with a failsafe and a basic set of tests protect everything else you buy.
- Check that spares, consumables and support are sold in your country, and that mains kit has the right plug. Some UK listings note a European plug.
- Count the running costs: electricity, salt, filter cartridges, test reagents and filter rolls often cost more over a year than the device.
- Second-hand kit is common and often fine, but replace old heaters, and check seals, magnets and controllers before you rely on them.
Not sure what a tank of your size needs? Start with the equipment list by tank size, or the setup path from the beginning.
Gear by category
Showing 40 of 40 items in 17 categories
Small desktop marine kits, cheap to start and quick to go wrong.
Larger displays with a sump below, sold as a system or built up piece by piece.
LED fixtures, from one small pendant over a nano to app-controlled panels.
The pump that sends water from the sump back up to the display.
Powerheads that move water around the display.
In-sump skimmers that strip dissolved waste before it breaks down.
Heaters, and the controllers that cut their power if they stick on.
Units that replace evaporated water with fresh water to keep salinity steady.
Filters that turn tap water into pure water for top-off and salt mixing.
Reef salts, which differ most in alkalinity, calcium and magnesium.
Titration kits and pocket photometers for the numbers that matter.
Refractometers and conductivity pens for checking salinity.
Systems that watch the tank, switch outlets and send alerts.
Pumps that add small, scheduled doses of supplements.
Fleece rollers that replace filter socks, and media such as resins and phosphate removers.
The basics for a quarantine or hospital tank.