Features
Everything NextUpReef does,
in one place.
NextUpReef is the complete reef tank app — parameter tracking, built-in AI advisors, livestock and equipment tracking, cost tracking, automation, and 24/7 monitoring. Free to download, with a 30-day Pro trial on every new account.
Free vs Pro
What’s free, what’s Pro.
The core of NextUpReef is free forever. Pro adds the AI features, automation, and power-user tools. It is $4.99/month or $39.99/year, and every new account gets a free 30-day Pro trial with no credit card.
| Feature | Free | Pro |
|---|
| Parameter logging & trend charts | ✓ | ✓ |
| Custom target ranges | ✓ | ✓ |
| My Reef: livestock, equipment, dosing, cost | ✓ | ✓ |
| Reef Score & Stability Score | ✓ | ✓ |
| Community leaderboard | ✓ | ✓ |
| Tank Journey guided setup | ✓ | ✓ |
| Monthly tank photos | ✓ | ✓ |
| Water change & maintenance reminders | Up to 3 | Unlimited |
| Multiple tanks | 1 tank | Unlimited |
| Tank Journal with photos | — | ✓ |
| Water Advisor (AI chemistry analysis) | — | ✓ |
| Reef AI Chat | — | ✓ |
| Stocking Advisor | — | ✓ |
| AI Photo Logging | — | ✓ |
| Shelly automation & device control | — | ✓ |
| Automated dosing & lighting | — | ✓ |
| Neptune Apex sync | — | ✓ |
| Extended history (6 months+) | — | ✓ |
Parameter Tracking
Log every parameter,
see every trend.
NextUpReef is built around fast, accurate logging. Record alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, nitrate, phosphate, salinity, pH, temperature, ORP and more — color-coded against your targets the moment you type, with last values pre-filled so a full test session takes seconds.
Fast parameter logging
Alk, Ca, Mg, NO3, PO4, salinity, pH, temp, ORP and more. Last values pre-fill automatically and each entry is color-coded green / amber / red against your target the instant you type it.
Custom target ranges
Set your own ideal range for every parameter, or use research-backed defaults. The whole app — colors, scores, and AI — grades against your targets, not someone else’s.
Add or remove parameters
Track only what you test. Turn parameters on or off so your log stays clean and relevant to your tank.
Trend charts
A chart for every parameter with your target range banded in and water-change markers overlaid, so you can see exactly when and why something shifted.
Backdate and edit
Forgot to log yesterday? Backdate any entry, or edit and correct past logs so your history stays honest.
Apex auto-import
Running a Neptune Apex? Pull pH, ORP, salinity, temperature and Trident values straight into your log — no manual re-entry.
AI Features
AI that knows
your actual tank.
Most reef apps just store your data, or export it so you can paste it into some other AI. NextUpReef builds the AI in — and it already knows your parameters, equipment, livestock, dosing, and full history. Every AI feature is part of NextUpReef Pro.
Water Advisor
A full AI chemistry analysis of your reef tank, refreshed every 24 hours. What’s dialed in, what needs attention, and the exact next steps — ranked by priority, written for your tank.
Reef AI Chat
AI chat that knows your parameters and your livestock. Ask why your alk is dropping or whether a tang fits, and get a real answer about your tank instead of a generic web search.
Stocking Advisor
AI compatibility, bioload, and aggression checks across your fish, corals, and inverts. It flags real conflicts before they happen and suggests what to add next.
AI Photo Logging
Point your camera at any test kit — Hanna checkers, API, Red Sea, Salifert, Milwaukee — and AI reads the values and fills in your parameter log. You review before saving.
My Reef
Everything in your tank,
in one place.
My Reef is the home base for everything in your tank — every fish, coral, and invert, every piece of gear, your dosing, your lighting, your monthly photos, and what it all cost. It is not a static list: it powers your scores, your reminders, and the AI.
Livestock tracking
Every fish, coral, and invert linked to catalog care data — adult size, temperament, reef-safety, placement, and flow. Track health status, acquisition date, and cost per animal.
Frag and lineage
Split or frag a colony and keep the lineage connected, so a mother colony and its frags stay linked over time.
Equipment tracking
Log skimmer, pumps, reactors, ATO, heater, and controllers with brand, model, and settings like flow rate — your whole hardware setup documented in one place.
Dosing products
Record every dosing product with the parameter it targets, the daily amount, and the method: automated doser, manual, or reactor.
Lighting
Track your fixtures and their schedules so your whole light setup lives alongside the rest of your reef.
Monthly photo timeline
One photo per month builds a growth timeline you can scroll back through to watch your reef mature.
Investment tracking
See what your reef actually costs — livestock, equipment, and lighting totaled up and broken down by category.
Tank Journal
Keep dated, private journal entries with photos to record what you did and what changed. (Pro)
Reef Score & Stability
Two scores that grade
how you keep your reef.
NextUpReef turns your logs into two simple 0—100 scores so you always know where your tank stands — and whether it’s trending the right way.
Reef Score
A 0-100 grade of your overall parameter health, logging consistency, water-change cadence, equipment, and tank maturity. One number for how well the tank is being kept.
Stability Score
A 0-100 grade of how steady you hold the big four — alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, and salinity — over time. In reef keeping, stability beats perfection, and this rewards it.
Score history
Both scores are snapshotted over time so you can see the effect of a new doser, a schedule change, or a rough week at a glance.
Score breakdown
Tap into either score to see exactly what is helping and what is dragging it down, so you know what to fix next.
Maintenance & Reminders
Never miss a water change
or a filter sock again.
Set your routine once and let the app keep you on schedule with push notifications — water changes, dosing, filter socks, carbon, RO/DI, skimmer cleaning, and anything else you run.
Water change schedules
Set frequency, day, and percentage. NextUpReef reminds you when one is due and logs it on your charts when you mark it done.
Maintenance reminders
Recurring reminders for filter socks, carbon swaps, RO/DI filters, skimmer cleaning, probe calibration, and any custom task.
Push notifications
On-time reminders delivered to your phone, with quiet hours so you’re never pinged in the middle of the night.
Mark done, see it logged
Check off a task and it is recorded, so you have a real maintenance history instead of a guess.
Automation & Device Control
Your reef runs itself,
even when you’re away.
Connect Shelly smart outlets and automate dosing, lighting, and equipment — all without leaving the app, and all running on the device itself so schedules continue 24/7 even when your phone is off. Automation features are part of NextUpReef Pro.
Shelly smart outlets
Connect any Shelly Plug US Gen4 in minutes — no Shelly app needed. Tag it as a doser, heater, light, skimmer, or return pump and control it directly from NextUpReef.
Automated dosing
Calibrate your pump once, set a daily mL target, pick a schedule. NextUpReef writes it to the outlet so doses run on time even if your internet drops.
Lighting automation
Set on/off times and ramp schedules per fixture. Link a Shelly outlet and the schedule is pushed to the plug automatically.
Neptune Apex sync
One-tap sync pulls pH, ORP, salinity, temperature, and Trident alk/Ca/Mg straight from your Apex into your parameter logs — no manual entry.
Control Center
A unified dashboard of every outlet: status, live power draw, and quick on/off controls, all in one place.
Runs on the device
No cloud, no server, no phone required. Your reef stays dosed and lit through power outages, router reboots, and travel.
NextUpReef Hub Coming soon
24/7 monitoring,
built for reefers.
The NextUpReef Hub is a dedicated device that bridges your reef hardware to the app and watches your tank around the clock — so you get alerts the moment something drifts, even when your phone is nowhere near the tank. The Hub is launching soon.
Always-on monitoring
The Hub will log temperature, pH, and connected equipment continuously and push it to your account, so your data and alerts keep flowing 24/7.
Built-in probes
The Complete Kit will ship with a calibrated pH probe and temperature probe, plus Shelly smart plugs — everything you need to monitor and control from day one.
Health alerts
If the Hub goes offline or a sensor reads stale, you will get a push notification right away instead of finding out hours later.
Configured from your phone
The Hub is headless and Wi-Fi only. All setup happens in the app — no screen, no keyboard, no command line.
Tank Journey
Built for day one.
Grows with your reef.
New to reefing? The Tank Journey guides you through every phase — from first fill to established reef — with step-by-step checklists, what to do next, and why it matters. Experienced reefers can skip it and go straight to advanced tracking.
6-phase guided setup
Tank setup, cycling, the ugly phase, first fish, first coral, and established reef. Always know where you are and what comes next.
Step-by-step checklists
Required and suggested tasks for each phase, with the reasoning behind them. Check them off as you go.
Scales with experience
Advanced parameter tracking, stability scoring, and AI analysis are there from the start for reefers who want them.
More
The details that
add up.
Smaller features that make day-to-day reefing easier across the whole app.
Multiple tanks
Run more than one system? Track each tank separately with its own livestock, equipment, logs, and scores. (Multiple tanks are a Pro feature.)
Achievement badges
Dozens of badges for milestones, consistency, and growth, so your progress is recognized as your reef matures.
Multiple tank types
Mixed reef, SPS, LPS, softie, nano, ULNS, and fish-only systems are all supported, and the app tailors targets and guidance to your type.
Your data stays yours
Your tank data is never used to train AI models. Private details stay private, and you can delete your account and data whenever you want.
Recently shipped
Always improving.
June 2026
Reef AI Chat
A full chat advisor that knows your parameters and your livestock, now with cleaner, easier-to-read replies.
June 2026
Stocking Advisor
AI compatibility, bioload, and aggression checks across everything in your tank, built into My Reef.
June 2026
My Reef redesign
A cleaner home base for livestock, equipment, dosing, monthly photos, and total tank investment.
May 2026
Catalog expansion
226 species and a full equipment catalog, every entry with complete care data and specs.
May 2026
Control Center & Shelly
Connect Shelly smart outlets and control your dosing, lighting, and equipment from the app.
May 2026
Automated dosing
Calibrate once, set a daily target, and let schedules run on the device even if your internet drops.
May 2026
Neptune Apex auto-sync
Pull pH, salinity, temperature, and Trident values automatically every 15 minutes.
May 2026
Tanks Like Yours
Compare your tank against similar reefs in the community to see how you stack up.
Questions
Common questions.
Is NextUpReef free?
Yes. NextUpReef is free to download and the core of the app — parameter logging, trend charts, My Reef tracking, monthly tank photos, Reef and Stability scores, the community leaderboard, and the Tank Journey — is free to use. AI features and automation are part of NextUpReef Pro, which every new account can try free for 30 days with no credit card.
What do I get with NextUpReef Pro?
Pro unlocks all four AI features (Water Advisor, Reef AI Chat, Stocking Advisor, and AI Photo Logging), Shelly automation and device control, automated dosing and lighting, Neptune Apex sync, unlimited tanks and reminders, the Tank Journal, and extended history. It is $4.99/month or $39.99/year.
Does NextUpReef work on iPhone and Android?
Yes. NextUpReef is a native app for both iOS and Android, and your data syncs to your account so it is available on any device you sign in to.
Do I need any special hardware?
No. NextUpReef works as a tracking and AI app on its own. Hardware is optional: connect Shelly smart outlets for automation, sync a Neptune Apex you already own, or add the NextUpReef Hub for 24/7 monitoring when it launches.
Looking for how-to answers and details on every screen? See the full FAQ.
Start tracking your
whole reef free.
Free to download. 30-day Pro trial on every new account. No credit card required.
