Essential Reef
Reef hobby community + market
About
Connect with fellow reef aquarium enthusiasts, track your tank's parameters and livestock, and buy or sell corals, fish, and dry goods in a dedicated marketplace. Features include community forums, direct messaging, and detailed tank logging tools.
What's New in Essential Reef
1.0.34
July 21, 2026
Our biggest update ever. Photo albums: send up to 30 photos in one message. They display as a clean album grid, tap any photo to view full screen and swipe through. Live streaming leveled up: full screen video with chat overlaid on top, see how many people are watching, and admins can see who is in the stream. Streams are protected against screen recording with watermarks throughout. Reef Cam: a built in camera filter for blue reef lighting. Shoot your corals through an orange or yellow filter with adjustable intensity, no more holding a physical filter over your phone. Members can save filtered photos to their camera roll. My Tank 2.0: log your entire test session in one screen, see trend charts with your ideal ranges, set test reminders, and see mini trend lines right on your tank page. Plus smoother navigation, admin improvements, and reliability fixes throughout.
MoreFAQ
What is Essential Reef?
Essential Reef is a community and marketplace designed for reef aquarium hobbyists. It offers tools to track your tank's health, connect with other enthusiasts, and buy or sell marine life and equipment.
How does the Essential Reef community work?
The community features public and private channels for discussions, direct messaging, and rich photo posts. It is actively moderated by experienced reefers to maintain a high-quality environment.
Can I buy and sell items on Essential Reef?
Yes, Essential Reef includes a marketplace where you can browse and list corals, fish, invertebrates, and dry goods. Buyers and sellers coordinate payment directly.
What kind of data can I track with Essential Reef's Tank Tracker?
You can log and view charts for water parameters like alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, phosphate, nitrate, salinity, and temperature. You can also track livestock, growth, health events, and schedule dosing.
Is Essential Reef free to use?
Yes, Essential Reef is completely free to use. There are no in-app purchases or subscription fees required to access its features.
Does Essential Reef have ads?
No, Essential Reef is ad-free. The app is built by reefers for the community and does not contain advertisements.
What devices is Essential Reef available on?
Essential Reef is currently available for iPhone and iPod devices. It is designed for iOS users interested in the reef aquarium hobby.
How often is Essential Reef updated?
The latest version of Essential Reef is 1.0.22, which was last updated on June 16, 2026. Updates typically include new features and improvements based on user feedback.