Backup Equipment Every Reefer Should Have
When we set out to start up a saltwater aquarium, the first thought is usually something about the fish and coral we want to keep in our home: a little slice of the ocean to admire every day.
Next, we learn about system design, what size tank we need, what equipment to buy, and even dive deep into a reef water chemistry rabbit hole.
Then, a couple years later, you've built an impressive display and come home to silence. Not the kind of silence you crave after spending all day in meetings or making small talk at that family event you didn't want to go to...but the kind of silence when you don't hear that subtle water sound from your reef tank. You rush over to investigate and see that the return pump isn't working.
Which sounds better to you?
Option 1: That's a bummer, but I've got a plan
Let's clean the return pump and see if I can get it working. If not, I'll just get out the backup return pump.
Option 2: Unprepared Panic
I cleaned the return pump, but it's still not working. Is the local fish store still open? Can I get a pump overnighted? What do I do next?
If you have just a few pieces of backup equipment on the shelf, you can have your tank back up and running in no time at all with a lot less stress.
Here are our four most recommended pieces of backup equipment to have waiting and ready to go:
1. Backup Heater
A failed heater may not turn into an immediate emergency, especially if the room around the aquarium is warm, but your tank temperature will eventually start moving toward the surrounding air temperature. During colder weather, that can become a problem surprisingly quickly.
You don't necessarily need to keep an identical copy of your primary heater on the shelf. You just need a backup that's properly sized to maintain the temperature of your aquarium. An undersized heater might slow down a temperature drop and buy you some time, but it won't be a true replacement if your main heater fails.
Keep the backup somewhere accessible and test it every once in a while so you know it's ready to go. It's also worth thinking about how you'll control the heater if your normal temperature controller happens to be part of the equipment failure.
What to Do Now
- Confirm what heater wattage is appropriate for your aquarium's total water volume.
- Make sure your backup heater is large enough to maintain your display tank's temperature.
- Consider using a preset heater as a backup in case your normal temperature controller is part of the problem.
- Test the heater periodically to make sure it still heats and operates correctly.
- Store it somewhere that's easy to access when you need it.
2. Backup Return Pump
A return pump failure can shut down a lot more than just the flow coming back into your display tank. Depending on how your aquarium is set up, it may also stop water from reaching your heater, protein skimmer, filtration, refugium, and any other equipment located in the sump or AIO filtration chamber.
Just like the backup heater, you don't necessarily need to keep an exact duplicate of your main return pump. The Sicce Syncra Silent pumps are one of our go-to options for this because they're ultra reliable and come with barb fittings for easy installation. They can also be used as a utility pump for doing water changes or mixing up a batch of new saltwater when they're not actively being used as a backup pump. They're available in several models from less than 100 GPH to more than 4,000 GPH.
What to Do Now
- Check the flow rate and head pressure requirements of your current return setup.
- Confirm that your backup pump is capable of moving enough water at that head pressure.
- Figure out exactly how you'll connect the backup pump to your existing plumbing.
- Keep the necessary hose barbs, adapters, reducers, tubing, and clamps in a bag with the pump.
- Test-fit the backup pump before you actually need it.
Tip: Depending on your system size and setup, consider using a pump capable of acting as a backup return pump as your mixing station pump. This way, it's something that won't just collect dust on a shelf, but will still be there when you need it.
3. Power Outage Aeration
A backup return pump is great when the pump itself fails, but it won't do much good if the entire house loses power. During a power outage, one of your biggest priorities is maintaining gas exchange and keeping enough oxygen in the water for your fish and other livestock.
An Affordable Basic Backup Option
A battery-powered air pump is one of the simplest and most affordable pieces of emergency equipment you can keep around. Pair it with some airline tubing, an air stone, a check valve, and a fresh set of batteries and you have a basic aeration system that can keep running when everything plugged into the wall goes dark.
Larger aquariums may need multiple air pumps or air stones to provide enough gas exchange. There are also more capable backup power options like portable gas generators, larger battery banks, or even whole-home backup systems that are better for longer outages or if you want to also run a heater. But with that comes an increased cost, so you'll have to weigh the pros and cons of each option against your personal budget.
Most importantly, be sure to periodically test your backup plan to make sure everything is working as expected. If it doesn't work when you need it, it's like not having it at all!
What to Do Now
- Assemble your air pump, airline tubing, air stones, check valves, and batteries into one complete kit.
- Always keep a couple sets of fresh batteries with the kit.
- Decide where you'll place the air stone(s) in the aquarium during an outage.
- Periodically test battery backups and portable power stations so you know they'll work when needed.
- If you rely on a generator, make sure you also have the extension cords, fuel, and other supplies needed to actually use it.
4. Keep Spare Parts for Critical Equipment
Sometimes the equipment itself is perfectly fine and one small component is all that's keeping it from working. A return pump might just need a new impeller. A powerhead might have a failed power supply or driver. Your auto top off system might be completely functional aside from a dead pump.
Keeping a few carefully chosen spare parts around can turn what looks like a major equipment failure into a quick repair. You don't need to buy every replacement component available for every piece of gear you own. Focus on the equipment your aquarium depends on most and the parts that are most likely to wear out or fail.
Model-specific components are especially worth considering. A generic O-ring or length of tubing might be easy to find locally, but a particular pump driver, impeller, cable, or connector could take days to replace if you don't already have one.
Useful Parts to Keep on Hand
- Spare auto top off (ATO) pump
- Spare return pump impeller
- Pump/powerhead power supply & driver
- O-rings & gaskets (especially if you're running an external return pump)
It's also a good idea to keep a simple equipment list on your phone. Include model numbers for things like your return pump, powerheads, heater, ATO, and other critical equipment. Even if you don't have the replacement part you need, you'll be able to quickly find and order the right one without crawling behind the aquarium looking for a model number.
Be Ready Before Something Fails
Aquarium equipment is going to fail eventually. That's just part of relying on pumps, heaters, controllers, and other equipment to keep a tiny piece of the ocean running inside your home.
Build a Reef Tank Emergency Kit
One of the easiest things you can do is keep your most important backup equipment together in a dedicated reef tank emergency kit. I like using a small toolbox to neatly store everything I need so I don't have to go hunting for it when I need it most.
A backup heater in one closet, an air pump in the basement, and the return pump adapter buried somewhere in a box of plumbing parts in the garage technically means you own all the right stuff, but that's not much of an emergency plan.
- Backup heater
- Battery-powered air pump and accessories
- Fresh batteries
- Backup auto top off pump
- Backup return pump
- Pump adapters, tubing, and clamps
- Critical spare parts
- A list of important equipment model numbers
Adam has been keeping reef aquariums since 2010 and has worked in the aquarium industry for much of his career. He began at Bulk Reef Supply in Customer Service, helping hobbyists troubleshoot problems and build more successful tanks. Today, he writes educational content and product descriptions that help reef keepers better understand saltwater aquariums and make confident decisions. He believes the best tanks are built around what you enjoy, not what’s trending.
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