We took an entirely new approach to selecting our Top 10 products of 2023, this time listing each and every product we wrote about and published during the 12 months of last year, but letting our Facebook audience decide on which ones they thought should be awarded.
The Top 10 Products of 2023
Eshopps also generated votes for its recently launched glass aquarium/cabinet/acrylic sump combination called Mariner. We think 2024 will be an exciting year for them.
How we selected products
To create the list of potential products, we went back through the website to January 1st, 2023, and made a list of every new product we wrote about from then until December 31st, of the same year. It totaled exactly 50 products, but you’ll note that of those 50 products, not all are equipment. This time we thought it would be fun to include some of the captive-bred saltwater fish which are now available to hobbyists, as well as one of our own “products,” the Reef Builders All Ladies Reef Therapy Podcast. We know fish aren’t products, but due to votes that captive-bred saltwater fish received, and everything they stand for, we’re glad we included them.
How the products were voted for
To open the product list up to audience voting, we listed those fifty products in reverse date published order, and numbered them 1-50, along with the make and model of the product, if applicable. We then invited our nearly 70,000 people strong Facebook audience to vote for their favorite products, and which they thought were worthy of recognition. Being a Page, not a Group, we couldn’t create a Poll in the normal way and had to encourage votes in the comments section, which were then counted and compiled.
As much as we encourage brands to contribute to our page at all other times, we noticed a few well-known industry names voting for products they are commercially involved with, so removed those votes from the final tally. Votes by Reef Builders Team Members were also removed.
An independent vote
Sometimes you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t, and we have already watched one remark on YouTube about the vote and a product or company listing “probably” being sponsored in that list of 50 products.
Please note the Reef Builders Top 10 Products of 2023 is NOT SPONSORED, we didn’t ask permission or notify any existing Reef Builders advertisers, and none paid to have their product added, promoted, or shortlisted.
It was literally every single product we covered in 2023, many of which we have no commercial ties with, never have, and never will. But Reef Builders is the world’s biggest marine blog, and of course, it attracts sponsors, some of whose products are featured in the 50 product list and the Top 10. But the Reef Builders Facebook audience voted for them. Not the Reef Builders Editorial Team. We didn’t consult any companies before featuring their products. We’re not their private marketing team, or billboard, we’re an Independent News Website. That’s how we roll!
The Top 10
From the fifty products listed, we created a shortlist of the 10 products that received the most votes on our Facebook Page. Those Top 10 products are listed below, along with the original write-up they received. The vote ran from December 27, 2023, until January 8, 2024.
Didn’t see your product listed in the fifty-product round-up?
If you have a saltwater aquarium product you want to get featured on Reef Builders in the future, get in touch!
Upset your product didn’t get into the Top 10?
The vote was accessible to nearly 70,000 saltwater aquarists worldwide, over a 13-day period. It also received numerous shares. While some products didn’t receive any votes at all, others did but didn’t receive as many as the others. We didn’t do the voting, we made it fair by listing every single product, and it’s not fixed, rigged, or altered.
Don’t agree with the Top 10 products of 2023?
It’s a free country, and feel free to have your say in the comments section on our Facebook Page. Every vote came from either one of the 67,000 people who have liked the Reef Builders Facebook Page, or one of the 69,000 followers. That’s a pretty wide and varied (international,) audience. And every vote counts.
Make sure you nominate your favorite product of 2024 next year.
Want us to choose our Top 10 favorite products instead?
The Reef Builders Team has over 100 years of combined saltwater aquarium experience, as hobbyists, retailers, wholesalers, livestock importers, authors, product inventors, and manufacturers. If you want the awards to go back to us highlighting our favorite products then that’s cool too. We love doing it!
Thank you for voting!
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