Comparison

AquaCalculator vs Reefmaster Piper

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

AquaCalculator

This app helps dedicated marine aquarists manage and document their aquariums. It tracks water parameters, manages animal stock, and calculates precise salt and nutrient additions. It also offers tools for adjusting calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium levels.

Highlights
  • Manage multiple aquariums
  • Water value documentation with graphs and tables
  • Animal administration with notes and pictures
  • Recurrent memory for care tasks
  • Salt quantity estimation
  • Nutrient and chemical adjustment calculators
  • Extensive setting options
Features
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The reference software for dedicated marine aquarists The AquaCalculator is not free. In order to be able to use the AquaCalculator permanently, you must complete a paid subscription after two weeks. In the first two weeks, the AquaCalculator can be tested for free and the subscription can be stopped at any time before it is chargeable. The app for documentation and management of your aquarium. The main focus is on saltwater aquariums but also their freshwater pools can of course be documented with the AquaCalculator. With the AquaCalculator you have the suitable manager at your fingertips to keep an eye on all important parameters regarding the care of your aquarium. A big request: unfortunately we can not respond to reviews. If you have problems with the app, please contact us via email shortly (Support). So far we could clarify every question :-) The reference software for every dedicated marine aquarist: - Manage several basins in parallel - Documentation of the water values ​​in graph and table form per pool. You can document your water readings, take notes or deposit pictures. The pictures can also be commented on. - Animal Administration. You can also assign notes and pictures to your animals in the basin and thus get a quicker overview of the development of their stock. - Dates: Management of recurrent memories help to keep track of the care of aquariums - Realistic estimation of the required salt quantity of commercially available sea salt mixtures. How much salt is actually needed to "adjust the salt content" or for the next "water change"? AquaCalculator calculates this using self-determined measurements of almost all commercially available sea salt mixtures. - Addition of nutrients (nitrate and phosphate) - Calculator to adjust calcium / alkalinity / magnesium: Expensive special agents are passé. AquaCalculator calculates the exact dosing quantities and stock solutions required for the adjustment of calcium, alkalinity (KH) and Mg concentration of low-cost salts. Supports recipes from Aquafair, Aquaforest, Coral-Care, Fauna Marin, MT Aquaristics, Nyos, H.W. Balling, Price Aquaristics, A.Glaser, Red Sea, Sangokai, Tropic Marin, Fritz ProAquatics, Two Little Fishies, Kent Marine, Seachem, Brightwell, Continuum Aquatics, ESV and Self-Defined. - Extensive setting options for the measuring instruments used, as well as the chem. Recipes. - Mini-FAQ: answers the most important questions about adjusting the water values ​​and thus the successful care of reef aquariums. Including ten thousand times downloaded seawater FAQs by Martin Kuhn (Water Parameter FAQ, Anemone FAQ, Plague Master FAQs 1 and 2) NOTE: We have provided iBooks from Apple for viewing the Seawater FAQs. The ad must have iBooks or another PDF viewing app installed on your device. To use the AquaCalculator you must have a valid subscription. This will enable you to take full advantage of the Aquacalculator, benefit from regular updates and enhancements, secure data storage and synchronization of your data with other devices. Without a valid subscription, you can only read but not modify your data. The term is one year. Payment will be made through your iTunes account. The subscription will automatically renew if it is not canceled 24 hours before the end of the current period. Within 24 hours before the end of the current period, the amount for the renewal will be charged. Termination of automatic renewal is possible at any time. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Terms of Use and Privacy: https://acalc.de/pages/impressum

About

Reefmaster Piper

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The Reefmaster app takes full control of the monitoring and maintenance of your aquarium. Or... how about this: from now on, let our clever AI do the boring work for you! The Reefmaster system ensures optimal water paremeters levels, monitor coral health with artificial intelligence while providing real-time feedback. Now you can go on that vacation while Reefmaster take charge.

Screenshots

AquaCalculator4 screens
Reefmaster Piper4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Reefmaster Piper at none against AquaCalculator's 5. Reefmaster Piper also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.6). AquaCalculator's advantage is device support (4 vs 2). On price, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. AquaCalculator sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Reefmaster Piper asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
AquaCalculator versus Reefmaster Piper: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAquaCalculatorReefmaster Piper
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (12 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings12 — better
Update frequencyMonthlyMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size49 MB115 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThallosReefmaster

In-app purchases

5 purchases

AquaCalculator

Subscriptions2
  • AquaCalculator monthly3 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • AquaCalculator yearly14 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time3
  • A large coffee$3.99
  • Ice Tead and a Sandwich$9.99
  • Something to learn$39.99
None

Reefmaster Piper

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is AquaCalculator free?
AquaCalculator is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Reefmaster Piper free?
Reefmaster Piper is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do AquaCalculator or Reefmaster Piper have ads?
Neither AquaCalculator nor Reefmaster Piper shows ads.
Which is updated more often, AquaCalculator or Reefmaster Piper?
AquaCalculator ships an update monthly, and Reefmaster Piper monthly. Most recently, AquaCalculator was updated on September 21, 2026 and Reefmaster Piper on September 6, 2026.

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