Comparison

AquaticLog vs ReefCtrl

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

Head to head
About

AquaticLog

Manage your aquarium with this comprehensive platform. Track water parameters, schedule maintenance, log livestock, and document your tank's progress with photos and videos. Connect controllers for automatic data import and sync across devices.

Highlights
  • Water parameter tracking
  • Smart reminders for maintenance
  • Livestock management
  • Equipment and dosing logs
  • Controller integration
  • Photo and video diary
  • Community features
Features
Read full description

AquaticLog keeps water parameters, livestock, equipment and care routines together for every freshwater tank and reef. ONE ACCOUNT, EVERY DEVICE Your log lives in your AquaticLog account, not on your phone. Sign in on a new iPhone, an iPad or the web at aquaticlog.com and everything is already there. Aquarists have trusted AquaticLog with their records for over 13 years. Keep your tanks on the iPhone Home Screen with widgets. WATER PARAMETERS Log pH, temperature, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, salinity, alkalinity, calcium, magnesium and more. Clear trend charts let you catch a swing before it reaches your fish or corals. Connect a Neptune Apex, Hydros, AquaWiz or Seneye for hourly readings, including Seneye NH3 and NH4. Delete bad readings in batches and schedule retests for out-of-range results. LIVESTOCK AND PLANTS Build a detailed record of every fish, coral, invertebrate, plant and amphibian you own. Add a photo as you add a new fish or coral. Track sex, temperament, diet, difficulty and reef-safety, and move inhabitants between tanks as your collection grows. Tank birthdays and gotcha days share a card you can dismiss. MAINTENANCE MADE SIMPLE Schedule water changes, dosing, feeding, testing and equipment cleaning. Smart reminders make sure nothing slips. Check off a task and it lands with a haptic; once nothing is due, your tank shows what's next. A daily streak beside Reminders rewards showing up. End a repeating schedule on a date or after a set count, and see your maintenance time per week. Service accounts can start client visits and finish them with notes and next-visit plans. DOSING AND FEEDING Track dosing and feeding with a precise history. Log feeding every 48 hours or at another fixed interval. Re-dose additives, repeat feedings and repeat water changes in one tap, prefilled with your last amounts. Repeated doses and feedings fold into one row per day. FISH ROOM AND WATER CHANGES Set up RO/DI with SpectraPure, BRS and Waterbox presets. Track filter changes and TDS for each membrane and DI stage. Manage supplies and spending in Fish Room, with INR support. PHOTO TIMELINE Track growth and coloration. Then vs Now slides between your first photo and your latest, with dates and tank age. Pinch to zoom. Start a build thread for your tank on the community forum and post what changed as it grows. ADVANCED TESTING Log ICP analyses and PAR readings. ICP warnings stay grouped; dismiss individual results and restore them anytime. Share test-kit reagents across tanks in Fish Room: logged tests count supplies down, with fill levels and days left. EQUIPMENT Track pumps, lights and filters, with ratings and reviews. Browse products by category or brand, see which tanks use them, and add them to your tank or shopping list. A spending report totals what you've paid per store, filterable by tank and date range (Pro). EXPLORE AND CONNECT Search public tanks by what lives in them — look for a torch coral in the 15-30 gallon range and see how other nano reefs are scaped. Filter by style (mixed reef, SPS, LPS, soft coral, planted, macro algae, fish only), size, water type and activity, then open any tank to see its photos, parameters, gear and livestock. Find Today, Aquariums, Species, Products and News together in Explore. Read reviews, like photos and earn achievements. Make your tank public to share its link, or copy a snapshot of its parameters, livestock and gear to ask for advice. Available in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian and Brazilian Portuguese. Start for free — new accounts log water parameters without limits for 30 days — then upgrade to Pro for advanced tracking and tools. The yearly plan starts with a 7-day free trial. Get daily AI suggestions based on tank data and see when each was generated. Privacy Policy: https://www.aquaticlog.com/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

ReefCtrl

Manage your reef aquarium with this intelligent platform. Monitor equipment, track water chemistry, and receive smart alerts. It integrates with Neptune Apex controllers and offers AI-powered assistance for hobbyists.

Highlights
  • Neptune Apex integration
  • Smart alerts and notifications
  • Water chemistry tracking
  • Dosing management
  • AI reef assistant
  • Equipment and livestock management
Features
Read full description

Take full control of your reef aquarium with ReefCtrl — the intelligent reef management platform built for serious hobbyists. NEPTUNE APEX INTEGRATION Sync your Apex controller automatically via apex fusion — no port forwarding or tunnels needed. Monitor all outlets live, toggle equipment with safety confirmations, and track power consumption in real time. SMART ALERTS Get push notifications the moment something needs attention — parameter spikes, Apex offline, maintenance due, or dosing containers running low. Dismiss with intelligent cooldowns so you only hear what matters. WATER CHEMISTRY TRACKING Log and chart Alkalinity, Calcium, Magnesium, pH, Salinity, Nitrate, Phosphate and more. Visualise 30-day trends. Import ICP lab results from Triton, ATI, or Fauna Marin with AI-powered analysis. DOSING MANAGEMENT Track Fauna Marin Balling, ESV B-Ionic, Red Sea Reef Foundation, Kalkwasser and more. Monitor Neptune DDR container levels live. Log doses with one tap — no typing required. AI REEF ASSISTANT Chat with AI about your tank. Generate Neptune Apex programming code in plain English. Get personalised recommendations based on your actual parameters. EQUIPMENT & LIVESTOCK Manage your full equipment list with maintenance schedules and reminders. Track your fish and coral with species-specific care notes. ReefCtrl works with or without a Neptune Apex. Start with manual parameter logging and add automation as you grow.

Screenshots

AquaticLog4 screens
ReefCtrl4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: AquaticLog at 4.2 against ReefCtrl's 1.5. AquaticLog also leads on ratings volume (407 vs 2). ReefCtrl's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and review sentiment (100% vs 70%). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. AquaticLog sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. ReefCtrl asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

AquaticLog holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 1.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: AquaticLog has 407 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 70% of AquaticLog's written reviews are positive against 100% of ReefCtrl's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AquaticLog ships an update every 10 days, ReefCtrl every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
AquaticLog versus ReefCtrl: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAquaticLogReefCtrl
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (407 ratings) — better1.5 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews69.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings407 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.113.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLonnex IncJayanth Vignesh Ramachandran

Customer experience

AquaticLog

All ratings406 ratings
Positive80.8%
Neutral3.2%
Negative16.0%
Written reviews221 reviews
Positive69.7%
Neutral5.4%
Negative24.9%

ReefCtrl

Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

AquaticLog

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly Subscription$4.991 Month
  • Pro Yearly Membership7 Days trial$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pro Lifetime Membership$149.99
None

ReefCtrl

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is AquaticLog free?
AquaticLog is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ReefCtrl free?
ReefCtrl is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, AquaticLog or ReefCtrl?
AquaticLog is rated higher. AquaticLog averages 4.2 out of 5 from 407 ratings, while ReefCtrl averages 1.5 from 2 ratings.
Do AquaticLog or ReefCtrl have ads?
Neither AquaticLog nor ReefCtrl shows ads.
Which is updated more often, AquaticLog or ReefCtrl?
AquaticLog ships an update every 10 days, and ReefCtrl every 9 days. Most recently, AquaticLog was updated on November 1, 2026 and ReefCtrl on October 31, 2026.

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