About ReefCrafter

Reef tank planning is a mess. The expertise lives in 10-year-old forum threads, scattered calculators, vendor configurators that only know their own gear, and YouTube videos you have to scrub through. New reefers (and a lot of veterans) end up with seven browser tabs open and a spreadsheet they made themselves.

ReefCrafter exists to fix that. We built a planner that knows the rules of reef-keeping — skimmer rating vs. bioload, light coverage vs. tank footprint, heater wattage vs. system volume — and applies them live to your build. When you change the tank, every downstream rule re-checks. When you swap a light, we tell you if it still covers the footprint. No tab-switching, no second-guessing.

What makes us different

• ·We don't sell anything. We're vendor-agnostic by design. When you click out, you go to BRS, Saltwater Aquarium, or wherever — whoever has the best price or the fastest shipping. We earn an affiliate commission either way.
• ·The rules are the product. Forum charts tell you which fish coexist. Stocking calculators count inches per gallon. Vendor configurators show you what they sell. Nobody ties it all together. We do.
• ·Free forever. No paywall, no premium tier, no upsells. The tool stays free because affiliate commissions cover the bills.
• ·Documented, not magical. The full ruleset, severity model, and limits live on the methodology page. Spot a rule that should change? Email rules@reefcrafter.com.

Who's behind this

Built by Max Rodes — a hobbyist who got tired of explaining to friends why their first reef build didn't need a $400 skimmer for a 20-gallon tank.

Get in touch

Product feedback, partnership inquiries, found a bug, want to share your build: hello@reefcrafter.com.