# Essential Reef — Reef hobby community + market > Social community and marketplace for reef aquarium hobbyists with tank tracking tools. (iPhone/iPad app by Essential Reef.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/essential-reef/id6765518560 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Essential Reef](https://appshunter.io/developer/1895977098) - Category: Social Networking, Lifestyle - Price: Free - Rating: 5.00/5 from 6 App Store ratings - Age rating: 17+ - Requires: iOS 15.1 · 61 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2026-05-28 - Data updated: 2026-09-02 - Monetization: free - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/essential-reef/id6765518560/reviews.md ## What is Essential Reef? Essential Reef is a community built for serious reef aquarium hobbyists. Whether you're keeping your first nano or running a 500-gallon mixed reef, Essential Reef gives you the tools to track your tank, the market to source what you need, and a community of fellow reefers who actually know what they're talking about. — THE COMMUNITY — - Public and private channels for tank chat, build threads, and Q&A - Direct messages with other members - Reactions, replies, and rich photo posts - Active moderation by reefers, not algorithms — THE MARKETPLACE — - Browse coral, fish, invertebrates, and dry goods from vetted sellers - Auctions with flash-close rules - Sale listings with photos, prices, and shipping details - Buyers and sellers coordinate payment directly — TANK TRACKER — - Log water parameters (alk, calcium, magnesium, phosphate, nitrate, salinity, temp, and more) - View charts of how your tank changes over time - Track every coral, fish, and invertebrate in your livestock list - Record growth, spawning, health events, and more - Schedule and log dosing for additives and supplements - Export your data as CSV anytime — ABOUT US — Essential Reef is built by reefers, in Florida, for the global reef-keeping community. New members join with an invite from an existing member, keeping the community focused and high-quality. — PRIVACY & SAFETY — - We don't sell your data - We don't track you across other apps or websites - You can block any user, report any content, and delete your account at any time By using Essential Reef, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy at essentialreef.com. Questions? support@essentialreef.com ## Key features - Community forums and direct messaging - Marketplace for corals, fish, and dry goods - Tank parameter logging and charting - Livestock tracking and growth recording - Dosing schedule and logging - Data export to CSV ## Frequently asked questions about Essential Reef ### 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. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 1.0.35 — 2026-08-27 Raffles can now be closed early instead of waiting for the pool to fill, and everyone entered gets a notification when entries close. Cancelled raffles now show a reason. Also included: stability improvements so a single bad post can no longer take down the app, and fixes for crashes on some raffle cards. ### 1.0.34 — 2026-07-21 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. ### 1.0.32 — 2026-07-04 This is a big one. Live streaming is here: members can watch private live streams right inside their channels, with chat alongside the video. Only channel members can watch. Auctions got a major upgrade: quick bids confirm instantly, and if someone beats you to it, one tap rebids at the new price. Auto Bid lets you set a maximum and the app bids for you. Prices update live the moment anyone bids. Pinch to zoom on any auction, sale, or raffle photo to inspect every detail. @all mentions let admins and sellers notify a whole channel. Also in this release: smoother chat, better reliability when returning to the app, raffle improvements including a 40 second unclaim window, order tracking, payment reminders, and channel mute. ### 1.0.30 — 2026-07-02 This update resolves an issue affecting message channel scrolling and improves overall stability. ### 1.0.26 — 2026-07-01 This update fixes an issue affecting message channel scrolling and improves overall stability. ## Related topics [reef market](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/reef-market) · [reef tank addict](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/reef-tank-addict) · [elbow reef classic](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/elbow-reef-classic) · [reefbay](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/reefbay) · [poseidon reef](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/poseidon-reef) --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-02.*