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Gear fit guides · 14 lanes
Reef gear, picked by fit, not hype.
Compatibility-first buying guides built around gallons, reef goal, sizing rules, and safety margin. These are fit lanes — not hands-on product rankings.
Lighting
Reef lights by tank size
2 guides
20 gal · budget
Best reef lights for a 20 gallon tank
Lighting a 20 gallon soft coral tank is a coverage-and-PAR problem: hit the 50-150 PAR window and light the whole footprint, not just the center. Compact nano LED, AI Prime class light, and Kessil A360X class light are fit lanes — choose by spread and PAR headroom, not brand shimmer.
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40 gal · balanced
Best reef lights for a 40 gallon breeder
Lighting a 40 gallon mixed reef tank is a coverage-and-PAR problem: hit the 150-250 PAR window and light the whole footprint, not just the center. Pair of nano LEDs, Mid-size panel LED, and Premium dual-fixture setup are fit lanes — choose by spread and PAR headroom, not brand shimmer.
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Protein skimmers
Skimmers sized to bioload
1 guide
Flow pumps
Flow tuned to reef goal
1 guide
Return pumps
Return pumps by system volume
1 guide
Heaters
Heater wattage, kept in band
2 guides
40 gal · balanced
Best heater for a 40 gallon reef
Heating a 40 gallon mixed reef tank means staying inside the 100-200 watt band (2.5-5 W/gal). 100W glass heater, Two smaller heaters, and Controller-backed titanium system are fit lanes by wattage, redundancy, and control.
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120 gal · premium
Best heater for a 120 gallon reef
Heating a 120 gallon SPS tank means staying inside the 300-600 watt band (2.5-5 W/gal) and splitting heat across two heaters near 150 W each. Split glass heaters, Titanium heater pair, and Controller-backed redundant heater system are fit lanes by wattage, redundancy, and control.
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Auto top-off
ATO for salinity safety
1 guide
Controllers
Controllers by failure mode
1 guide
RO/DI
RO/DI by source water
1 guide
Complete builds
Whole-build gear by goal
4 guides
32 gal · balanced
Best equipment for a beginner reef tank
A balanced 32 gallon soft coral build runs roughly $1,500-$2,375 to start. The gear that carries it: a skimmer near 64 gallons of rating, about 640 GPH of flow, and lighting in the 50-150 PAR band. Disciplined budget setup, Balanced beginner setup, and Premium stability setup are spend lanes.
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32 gal · budget
Best budget reef tank equipment
A budget 32 gallon soft coral build runs roughly $750-$1,200 to start. The gear that carries it: a skimmer near 64 gallons of rating, about 640 GPH of flow, and lighting in the 50-150 PAR band. Budget soft-coral plan, Used non-critical gear plan, and Upgrade-ready budget plan are spend lanes.
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75 gal · balanced
Best mixed reef equipment
A balanced 75 gallon mixed reef build runs roughly $3,500-$5,575 to start. The gear that carries it: a skimmer near 150 gallons of rating, about 2,250 GPH of flow, and lighting in the 150-250 PAR band. Balanced mixed reef stack, LPS-friendly mixed stack, and Upgrade-ready mixed stack are spend lanes.
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120 gal · premium
Best SPS reef equipment
A premium 120 gallon SPS build runs roughly $9,700-$15,400 to start. The gear that carries it: a skimmer near 240 gallons of rating, about 6,000 GPH of flow, and lighting in the 250-350 PAR band. Entry SPS-ready stack, Balanced SPS stability stack, and Premium SPS redundancy stack are spend lanes.
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Stop guessing at gear fit
A fit guide narrows one decision. The planner checks every pick against your gallons, reef goal, and budget together — so one good choice doesn't hide another weak spot.
Plan my reef tank — free →