Comparison

Fish Tank Tracker vs ReefDrift

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

Head to head
About

Fish Tank Tracker

Features
Read full description

Fish Tank Tracker is the lab notebook your aquarium deserves: log a full water test in seconds, watch the trends, and never miss another water change. Built for reef, FOWLR, saltwater, freshwater and brackish tanks — and built to work entirely offline, with no account and no subscription. TEN PARAMETERS, LOGGED IN SECONDS - Temperature, salinity (ppt or specific gravity), pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, alkalinity, calcium, magnesium and phosphate - Quick mode for the everyday basics, Full Test for lab day - Optimal ranges and your last reading shown while you type, notes on every test - A reading that looks like a typo (42 for 420) is questioned before it's saved - Type phosphorus in ppb straight from a Hanna ULR checker - Type alkalinity in dKH, meq/L or ppm, as your test kit reads it - Set your own target range for any parameter, tank by tank - Log a test you took yesterday, or fix one you mistyped - Share any test as text, for a second opinion on the forums CHARTS THAT TELL THE STORY - Every parameter charted against its optimal band, over 30 days, 90 days, a year or all time - Tap a chart for any reading, with your water changes marked on it - Color-coded status on the dashboard: optimal, acceptable or critical at a glance - Every reading shows how it moved since your last test - Spot a slow drift weeks before it becomes a problem LIVESTOCK JOURNAL - Fish, corals and invertebrates with species names and photos - Purchase dates, quantity, cost and health status EQUIPMENT & MAINTENANCE - An inventory of lights, pumps, heaters, skimmers and more - Recurring tasks per piece of equipment: clean the skimmer cup, swap filter floss, wipe the lens - A reminder notification when a task comes due, plus a weekly test-day reminder on the day and time you choose WATER CHANGES & DOSING - Log water changes by percent or volume, even from earlier days, and fix them later - Dosing calculator for alkalinity, calcium and magnesium — pick your product, get millilitres for your exact water volume - Big corrections are split into daily doses, never faster than the product's label allows - Dose straight from a test: the calculator starts from your latest reading and your own target - Water change calculator: how much salt to mix, and how far nitrate and phosphate will drop YOURS, OFFLINE - Everything is stored in a local database on your device - Free backup and restore: save everything to Files or Drive, and move it to a new phone - No account, no login, no cloud, no tracking — and no ads - Gallons or liters for each tank, °F or °C FREE AND PRO The free version is a complete toolkit for one tank: all ten parameters with charts, a month of history, five livestock entries, and every equipment, maintenance and dosing tool. Pro is a single one-time purchase — never a subscription — and unlocks unlimited tanks, unlimited history, unlimited livestock, trend analysis with stability scores, and CSV export. Whether you are cycling your first ten-gallon or dialing in a mature reef, Fish Tank Tracker keeps the numbers so you can enjoy the fish. Privacy policy: https://fish.chinesepowered.com/privacy.html

About

ReefDrift

Features
Read full description

Log every reef parameter in seconds. ReefDrift calculates a Tank Stability Score — Stable, Watch, or Danger — the instant you save a reading. Catch a 0.3 dKH swing before it costs $500 in coral. No account. No cloud. Just your tank data, on your device. LOG THE BIG THREE AND EVERYTHING ELSE Alkalinity (dKH), Calcium, Magnesium — the parameters reef keepers obsess over. Plus Nitrate, Phosphate, pH, Salinity, Temperature, Ammonia, and Nitrite. Last values pre-fill automatically so a full test set takes under ten seconds, not one screen per parameter. TANK STABILITY SCORE ReefDrift calculates a Stable, Watch, or Danger score the instant you save a reading. The score weights every parameter against your target band and flags drift between sessions. A single alk swing from 8.4 to 7.1 dKH registers as Danger before you wonder why a frag is pale. Out-of-range chips light up on the dashboard immediately — no digging, no scrolling. DOSING CALCULATOR — WIRED TO YOUR TANK BRS 2-part, ESV B-Ionic, Red Sea Foundation, Aquaforest KH Coralline, and custom products. Enter tank volume and current reading; ReefDrift gives you the exact dose to hit your target. Works for alk, cal, mag, NO3, and PO4. The math uses your real tank volume, not a generic estimate. TREND CHARTS WITH TARGET-RANGE BANDS Every reading plotted on a line chart with your target band overlaid. See whether alkalinity is riding the top of the band, drifting toward the floor, or cycling after a large dose. Adjust the time window from 7 days to 12 months. MAINTENANCE LOG Record water changes, GFO swaps, ATO top-offs, carbon additions, and frag-tank moves. Cross-reference maintenance events against parameter charts to see what actually moved the needle. TEST REMINDERS Set a reminder per parameter or per task. ReefDrift sends a local notification on schedule — no server required. Never miss a Friday alk test again. HOME SCREEN WIDGET Your last three parameters and next task on your iPhone home screen or lock screen. See your tank status without opening the app. BUILT BY REEF HOBBYISTS We run SPS-dominant systems. We have watched a two-week alk drift destroy a $2,000 Acropora collection. We built ReefDrift because every existing option was either abandoned, clunky, cloud-first, or a bloated social network with a parameter logger bolted on. ReefDrift is ruthlessly focused: fast log, honest score, useful calculator. Nothing else. PRIVACY — YOUR DATA STAYS ON YOUR DEVICE No account. No cloud. No login. All readings are stored locally on your iPhone and never leave your device unless you export them as CSV. Nothing to hack, nothing to lose in a server outage. ReefDrift Pro: Monthly $3.99 · Yearly $19.99 (save 58%) · Lifetime $59.99 — unlimited tanks, no ads, home screen widget, advanced charts, dosing correlation, and PDF reports. Supports: dKH, meq/L, ppm · SG, ppt · °C, °F Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://lid-web-privacy.web.app/reefdrift-privacy-policy-ios.html

Screenshots

Fish Tank Tracker4 screens
ReefDrift4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Fish Tank Tracker at none against ReefDrift's shown. Fish Tank Tracker also leads on iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.2). ReefDrift's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 weeks). On price, in-app purchases 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. Fish Tank Tracker sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and ReefDrift sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Fish Tank Tracker ships an update every 6 weeks, ReefDrift every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 10, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 3 level
Fish Tank Tracker versus ReefDrift: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFish Tank TrackerReefDrift
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.4 — better18.2
Further details — not scored
Size54 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNelson LaiMuge Akalin

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Fish Tank Tracker

One-time1
  • Lifetime Pro Pack$9.99
3 purchases

ReefDrift

Subscriptions2
  • ReefDrift Pro Monthly$3.991 Month
  • ReefDrift Pro Yearly$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • ReefDrift Pro Lifetime$59.99

Questions

Is Fish Tank Tracker free?
Fish Tank Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ReefDrift free?
ReefDrift is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Fish Tank Tracker or ReefDrift have ads?
ReefDrift shows ads; Fish Tank Tracker does not.
Which is updated more often, Fish Tank Tracker or ReefDrift?
Fish Tank Tracker ships an update every 6 weeks, and ReefDrift every 2 weeks. Most recently, Fish Tank Tracker was updated on October 10, 2026 and ReefDrift on October 10, 2026.

Other comparisons