Design your aquarium and calculate dimensions, layout, light, CO₂, fertiliser and nitrogen cycling in one deterministic scenario.

Build Your Own Aquarium

Set the dimensions. Add life. Explore how it all comes together.

1. Choose your starting layout

Choose a style to arrange your tank automatically. Then edit every object.

What changes when I choose a style?

Sets the substrate layout, rocks, plants, planned fish count and starting equipment together; replaces the previous layout and equipment. Dimensions stay. Add fish gradually only after filter maturation and suitable measured water conditions.

Project archive photos provide inspiration; they are not exact images of the generated 3D layout.

Basic layout examples, not care or stocking recommendations. Nature and Diorama are simplified using the available rock and plant models.

Plan name

Plans in my account

Aquarium

Dimensions & water

Water type

Dimension basis

Length120 cmWidth60 cmHeight55 cmGlass thickness12 mm

Substrate depth6 cmFreeboard2 cm

Substrate material

Substrate bulk density0.85 kg/LSubstrate volume40.6 LSubstrate weight34.5 kg

Volume = internal base area × mean depth. Weight = volume × bulk density. Changing one updates the other; shape and direction preserve total volume.

Sand and substrate design

Substrate shapeSubstrate directionRelief height0 cm

Average depth and substrate quantity stay constant. Relief is limited to keep the substrate above zero and below the water surface.

Living aquarium

Build → equip → start time. Every model step is 1 hour; speed only changes playback.

Simulation speed

Day 00 weeks · 0 months (30 days)

To-scale layout120 × 60 × 55 cm

To-scale layout · 117.6 × 57.6 cm

A static layout is shown on this device. Dimensions, livestock and calculations stay interactive.

Scene hour 12:00Light onDrag to orbit · Scroll to zoom · Click a plant to select

Dimensions and counts match your plan. Fish, plants and rocks are representative 3D models, not photographs or a growth simulation.

310.2 L

The scene shows the selected hour; readings show the end of the day.

Equipment effects in the simulation

Switches control all installed devices of that kind. Lighting and CO₂ follow the light schedule. The hour slider over the scene shows lighting at the selected time; readings show the end of the selected day. Setting changes recompute the entire scenario.

Edit installed device capacities in Equipment.

Enabled fixture luminous flux4,500 lm

Light schedule9:00 · 8 h

Nominal filter flow0 L/h

Dissolved CO₂ capacity0 mg/h

Oxygen / daily minimum7 / 7 mg/L

CO₂ / daily maximum2 / 2 mg/L

TAN / NO₂-N0 / 0 mg N/L

NO₃ / PO₄0 / 0 mg/L

pH / KH— / 4 dKH

T25 °C

Dry plant mass0 g

Filter maturity10 %

Effective filter flow0 L/h

Water replaced0 L

Total CO₂ used0 g

Total energy0 kWh

TAN-N processed by filter today0 mg N

Lighting hours today0 h

CO₂ delivered today0 g

Energy used today0 kWh

Water over time

NO₃ (mg/L) · TAN (mg N/L) · O₂ (mg/L)

Day	NO₃ mg/L	TAN mg N/L	O₂ min mg/L	Water replaced L
0	0	0	7	0
7	0	0	8.6	0
14	0	0	8.66	0
21	0	0	8.67	0
28	0	0	8.67	0
35	0	0	8.67	0
42	0	0	8.67	0
49	0	0	8.67	0
56	0	0	8.67	0
63	0	0	8.67	0
70	0	0	8.67	0
77	0	0	8.67	0
84	0	0	8.67	0
91	0	0	8.67	0
98	0	0	8.67	0
105	0	0	8.67	0
112	0	0	8.67	0
119	0	0	8.67	0
126	0	0	8.67	0
133	0	0	8.67	0
140	0	0	8.67	0
147	0	0	8.67	0
154	0	0	8.67	0
161	0	0	8.67	0
168	0	0	8.67	0
175	0	0	8.67	0
182	0	0	8.67	0
189	0	0	8.67	0
196	0	0	8.67	0
203	0	0	8.67	0
210	0	0	8.67	0
217	0	0	8.67	0
224	0	0	8.67	0
231	0	0	8.67	0
238	0	0	8.67	0
245	0	0	8.67	0
252	0	0	8.67	0
259	0	0	8.67	0
266	0	0	8.67	0
273	0	0	8.67	0
280	0	0	8.67	0
287	0	0	8.67	0
294	0	0	8.67	0
301	0	0	8.67	0
308	0	0	8.67	0
315	0	0	8.67	0
322	0	0	8.67	0
329	0	0	8.67	0
336	0	0	8.67	0
343	0	0	8.67	0
350	0	0	8.67	0
357	0	0	8.67	0
364	0	0	8.67	0

Scenario alerts

No monitored threshold exceeded on this day. This is not an animal health guarantee.

Equipment and automation

Equipment or initial layout changes replay the scenario from day 0. Maintenance acts at the end of the selected day. One month = 30 days.

Nominal filter flow0 L/hMature filter capacity0 g N/dayInitial filter maturity10 %Maturation time constant30 DayAutomatic filter cleaning (0: off)30 Day

Dissolved CO₂ capacity0 mg/hCO₂ control target20 mg/LBase gas exchange coefficient0.08 1/h

Heater power0 WRoom / replacement water temperature22 °CThermostat target25 °C

Automatic feeding (09:00)Fertiliser dosing pumpAutomatic water changesWater change interval7 DayNO₃ early-change threshold30 mg/L

Model coefficients

Initial dry plant mass per clump1 gPotential daily growth4 %/dayAssumed fish oxygen demand200 mg O₂/kg/hRock buffering contribution0 dKH/L rock/dayInitial substrate TAN-N release0 mg N/L substrate/day

Maintenance log

No maintenance interventions yet.

This is an uncalibrated educational scenario. Growth, respiration, filtration and gas exchange rates are assumptions; survival/disease percentages are not calculated. Fish counts remain fixed. Displacement assumes a fixed waterline and fish density of 1 g/mL; water consumption and evaporation are not modelled. Twenty percent of assumed TAN load persists without automatic feeding. Substrate and rocks affect volume/flow; plant positions affect illustrative shading. pH requires the carbonate assumption. No real device is controlled.

Net water310.2 L

Filled weight423.7 kg

Planned livestock0 fish · 0 plant groups

Substrate: 40.6 LSubstrate PAR: 31–57 µmol/m²/sWater to replace: 93.1 L (30%)

The tables below analyse fixed assumptions in the initial plan; they are separate from the time simulation above.

SCENARIO · NOT A MEASUREMENT

The same plan produces the same result. This does not mean every natural variable is known. Placement does not automatically determine uptake, survival rates or disease probabilities.

Water chemistry—pH for target CO₂: —

Daily light integral1.267 mol/m²/dayPAR 44 µmol/m²/s

Theoretical filter limitCannot determineTotal biomass: 0 g

Daily TAN-N load0 g N/dayDaily feed: 0 g/day

Nutrient timeline

Before water change · ┄ / After water change · ━

Week	Before water change mg/L	After water change mg/L
1	0	0
2	0	0
3	0	0
4	0	0
5	0	0
6	0	0
7	0	0
8	0	0
9	0	0
10	0	0
11	0	0
12	0	0

NO₃ includes feed → TAN → nitrite → nitrate and fertiliser. Other nutrients use weekly dosing/uptake/water changes. Uptake is your constant assumption, not inferred from plant count.

Fertiliser

No target selected; fertiliser addition is 0.

Targets are weekly additions in mg/L, not top-ups from measured levels. Potassium supplied by KNO₃ and KH₂PO₄ is included. Choosing a scheme does not change your water-change percentage.

Nitrogen cycle scenario

Daily model: feed × protein × 0.16 × excretion; capacity-limited oxidation, fertiliser doses distributed through the week and daily nitrate uptake; water change on day 7. Source-water TAN/nitrite assumed 0. Capacities assumed independent of pH, temperature and oxygen, so this is an estimate. NO₃ is mg/L; TAN and nitrite are mg N/L.

Day	TAN mg N/L	NH₃-N mg N/L	NO₂-N mg N/L	NO₃ mg/L
1	0	0	0	0
2	0	0	0	0
3	0	0	0	0
4	0	0	0	0
5	0	0	0	0
6	0	0	0	0
7 ↻	0	0	0	0
8	0	0	0	0
9	0	0	0	0
10	0	0	0	0
11	0	0	0	0
12	0	0	0	0
13	0	0	0	0
14 ↻	0	0	0	0
15	0	0	0	0
16	0	0	0	0
17	0	0	0	0
18	0	0	0	0
19	0	0	0	0
20	0	0	0	0
21 ↻	0	0	0	0
22	0	0	0	0
23	0	0	0	0
24	0	0	0	0
25	0	0	0	0
26	0	0	0	0
27	0	0	0	0
28 ↻	0	0	0	0
29	0	0	0	0
30	0	0	0	0
31	0	0	0	0
32	0	0	0	0
33	0	0	0	0
34	0	0	0	0
35 ↻	0	0	0	0
36	0	0	0	0
37	0	0	0	0
38	0	0	0	0
39	0	0	0	0
40	0	0	0	0
41	0	0	0	0
42 ↻	0	0	0	0
43	0	0	0	0
44	0	0	0	0
45	0	0	0	0
46	0	0	0	0
47	0	0	0	0
48	0	0	0	0
49 ↻	0	0	0	0
50	0	0	0	0
51	0	0	0	0
52	0	0	0	0
53	0	0	0	0
54	0	0	0	0
55	0	0	0	0
56 ↻	0	0	0	0
57	0	0	0	0
58	0	0	0	0
59	0	0	0	0
60	0	0	0	0
61	0	0	0	0
62	0	0	0	0
63 ↻	0	0	0	0
64	0	0	0	0
65	0	0	0	0
66	0	0	0	0
67	0	0	0	0
68	0	0	0	0
69	0	0	0	0
70 ↻	0	0	0	0
71	0	0	0	0
72	0	0	0	0
73	0	0	0	0
74	0	0	0	0
75	0	0	0	0
76	0	0	0	0
77 ↻	0	0	0	0
78	0	0	0	0
79	0	0	0	0
80	0	0	0	0
81	0	0	0	0
82	0	0	0	0
83	0	0	0	0
84 ↻	0	0	0	0

Checks to address

Water values have not been marked as measured; these are example scenario values.

Biofilter capacity has not been verified; no fish limit is given.

Non-carbonate buffering invalidates the pH/KH CO₂ result.

Survival and disease percentages cannot be determined from these inputs. If breathing, appetite, skin or behaviour changes, test the water and consult a veterinarian experienced with aquatic animals for diagnosis and treatment.

Based only on the current species mix, average mass, feeding rate and entered biofilter capacity. This is not a safe stocking limit accounting for swimming space, adult size, compatibility, oxygen or welfare. Initial masses of 1 g/neon and 100 g/discus are example assumptions; adjust them.

Model and assumptions

CO₂ = 3 × KH × 10^(7−pH). Disable carbonate buffering if tannins, active substrate or other buffers are present; no CO₂ result will be shown. Target pH is not a chemical treatment instruction.

Existing Lambert/attenuation model; lumen conversion and PAR are estimates with ±30% uncertainty. Shadowing, growth and spectral distribution are not solved. Known PPF overrides lumens.

NH₃ / TAN = 1 / (1 + 10^(0.09018 + 2729.92 / (273.2 + T) − pH))

Sources: EPA · ammonia · Merck Veterinary Manual · water quality

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