Reefstead
Expert reviews, honest comparisons, and the best deals on Reef Aquariums — helping you make smarter buying decisions.
Latest Reviews
Montipora Care: Your Gateway SPS
Montipora is the perfect first SPS: real light and dosing lessons with forgiving margins. PAR targets, flow, color troubleshooting, pests, and fragging.
Live Rock vs. Dry Rock: Which Should You Start With?
Live rock vs. dry rock, settled: cost, pests, cycle speed, biodiversity, and scaping freedom — plus the seeded hybrid most experienced reefkeepers use.
LED vs. T5 for Reef Tanks: The Honest 2026 Verdict
LED vs. T5 for reef tanks in 2026: growth, coverage, features, cost, and heat compared head to head — plus the hybrid answer and which fits your tank.
Kalkwasser 101: The Old-School Doser That Still Wins
Kalkwasser delivers balanced alkalinity and calcium while raising pH, for pennies. Learn the right mix ratio, drip-dosing safety, and its real limits.
Is ICP Testing Worth It? What a Lab Panel Really Tells You
Is ICP testing worth it for a reef tank? What mail-in lab panels really measure, what they miss, and the testing frequency that makes the cost pay off.
How to Raise Alkalinity in a Reef Tank (Safely)
Raise reef tank alkalinity safely: the 7-11 dKH target range, baking soda and soda ash dosing math, and the 1 dKH per day rule that protects your corals.
How to Lower Phosphates Without Starving Your Corals
Lower phosphate in a reef tank the safe way: targets of 0.02-0.1 ppm, GFO and lanthanum used correctly, and how to stop before you starve your corals.
How to Lower Nitrates in a Reef Tank (Ranked by Effort)
Every proven way to lower nitrates in a reef tank, ranked by effort: feeding fixes, water changes, skimming, refugiums, and carbon dosing done safely.
How to Frag Zoanthids Safely (Gloves On. Seriously.)
Step-by-step zoanthid fragging with the palytoxin safety protocol: gloves, goggles, underwater cuts, mat peeling, gluing, dipping, and grow-out timelines.
How to Dip New Corals: A Ruthless Pre-Entry Protocol
The full coral dipping protocol: inspection, dip and double rinse, plug removal, quarantine, and reading the fallout — because every pest walked in on a frag.
How to Aquascape Reef Rock (Structures That Don't Collapse)
Aquascape reef rock like it matters: negative space, proven layouts, and the glue, pins, and push-tests that keep structures standing for years to come.
How Often Should You Do Water Changes in a Reef Tank?
The 10% weekly default, when to flex it, and the math of what water changes can and cannot fix — plus the 15-minute routine that does the job properly.
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