wow do i have a question and a store for you all

[saltyboy84]

well first off this hobby is crazy, i mean im not new but im 20 years old and i think i can figure anything out then i take a look at a marinedepot catalog and i had no idea what to think there where so many things that i want but have no idea how to set them up, for example those controllers that can handel the biggest of aquariums and these meters for reading all params and some of the ATO ( which i want so bad plz get one for me, lol) but what im trying to say is im lost and if i was to get a controller or some kind of meter or dosing system i would have no idea how to set it up let alone know how to work it, today i feal very slow so im going to stop by my LFS and have a very long talk with mike and see if he can educate me in the ways of reef keeping, lol. sry no question hahahaha

[Bri Guy]

All the answers are right here buddy, just keep reading and asking Q's. We were all newbies at one time, and we all had to figure something out to get where we are today.

Good Luck!

[EnFuego]

By no means do you need a controller or automatic dosing pumps. They will make certain parts of your tank maintenance easier, such as maintaining calcium, alk, etc, or measuring pH, temp, and such. But you can do all of that without paying hundreds on a controller and dosing pumps, they just make it more convenient for you.

Don't get me wrong there are a lot of great features on controllers and dosing pump units. For example, I have the profilux controller and can program it to do automatic water changes on my tank. Plus you can program your lights and other equipment to turn on and off at certain times, or turn off if your tank gets too hot. So they have a lot of advantages.

You can top your water off automatically as well, but for stability sake, I suggest getting an ATO unit so your salinity remains relatively constant.