All work and no play makes Jack...

[Enderturtle]

ATO with big reservoir! (Tank inhabitants are cheering about this one, too.)
Also figured out sweet setup like others for moving water and water changes: brute cans on rollers, Mag 5 for dedicated mixing and pumping, long tube, sometimes PVC U to hold hose if working alone with DT. By plugging pump into power strip with switch I can turn it off/on easily when I am working alone.
Great idea to switch to a MaxiJet for accessing smaller areas in sump. My skimmer section is totally cramped and I have to move everything to get a Mag pump in so I tend to skip it.

Totally agree! I have a 12 gallon slim/tall black plastic trash bin under my computer that I use for my ATO reservoir. So nice not having to refill it constantly.

It's black and matches my TV desk so It does a good job blending into my living room. As opposed to something like a white 5 gallon bucket with Instant Ocean on the side.

 

[wpeterson]

I forgot about installing a power strip! This was one of my early huge improvements:

Buy a hard-mounted power strip with individual switches for each plug, like the American DJ series:

You can install it in your cabinet or nearby and allows you to individually turn on/off any part of the tank that isn't on a controller. It's hard to believe I spent 2-3 months plugging and unplugging powerheads and heaters in our nano when I was doing maintenance. Saves a ton of time and also makes it clear at a glance what is turned on vs. turned off - easy to see that you disabled that powerhead and forgot to turn it back on.

This is less useful for me now that I have an Apex, but I would always use these guys in the future.