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Hobbyist Reference

Aquarium Setup Guides

Complete guides to every major tank system - planted, reef, cichlid, biotope, nano, brackish, coldwater. Difficulty, size, budget, essential equipment, stocking ideas, cycling process and maintenance schedules.

🪟 39 setup guides 💧 4 water types 📊 4 difficulty levels

Freshwater Tanks 27 guides

🌿
Amano Nature Aquarium
The Nature Aquarium style pioneered by Takashi Amano - naturalistic planted layouts emphasising asym...
Expert From 20g
🌳
Amazonian Blackwater Biotope
A tank replicating Amazon blackwater tributaries - low pH, tannin-stained water, and the fish commun...
Intermediate From 30g
🐉
Arowana Show Tank
A large heavy-duty tank for keeping arowanas - the mythologically-revered dragon fish of Asian aquar...
Expert From 250g $3,000+
🎏
Backyard Koi Pond
Outdoor pond dedicated to koi (Cyprinus carpio) - large ornamental carp bred for centuries in Japan.
Intermediate From 500g $2,000+
🐟
Betta Species Tank
A dedicated species tank for the Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens) - one of the most popular f...
Beginner From 5g $50+
🥏
Discus Tank
A dedicated tank for discus (Symphysodon spp.) - the "king of aquarium fish" - demanding warm, soft,...
Advanced From 55g $600+
🐠
Freshwater Community Tank
The classic mixed-species freshwater aquarium - tetras, corys, and gouramis living together in a pea...
Beginner From 20g $200+
🌿
Planted Aquarium
An underwater garden of live aquatic plants - one of the most beautiful and rewarding aquarium disci...
Intermediate From 20g $400+
🐡
African Cichlid Tank
A hard-water, high-pH freshwater tank featuring the colorful, aggressive cichlids of African Rift la...
Intermediate From 55g $400+
👼
Angelfish Tank
A tall tank designed for the majestic freshwater angelfish (Pterophyllum spp.) - Amazon cichlids req...
Intermediate From 40g $250+
🌏
Biotope Aquarium
An aquarium replicating a specific geographic habitat - a section of the Amazon Rio Negro, a Lake Ta...
Advanced From 20g
🍂
Blackwater Biotope
A tank replicating tea-colored, tannin-rich waters of the Amazon Rio Negro or Southeast Asian peat s...
Intermediate From 20g $200+
🌵
Central American Cichlid Biotope
A tank for the large, robust cichlids of Central American rivers - Convict, Jack Dempsey, Firemouth,...
Advanced From 75g
🐡
Coldwater Aquarium
An unheated freshwater aquarium for cold-tolerant species - goldfish, white cloud minnows, hillstrea...
Beginner From 20g
🌷
Dutch Aquarium
The classical Dutch style of planted aquarium - dense, arranged plant groups in strict compositional...
Advanced From 30g $800+
🐡
Freshwater Puffer Community
A small planted tank dedicated to keeping dwarf pea puffers - a rare true freshwater puffer requirin...
Intermediate From 10g
🪨
Iwagumi Aquascape
A minimalist Japanese aquascape featuring stones as focal point, sparse plant carpeting, and asymmet...
Advanced From 10g $600+
🌴
Jungle Style Aquarium
A dense, wild-looking planted tank with layered vegetation and minimal open space - the antithesis o...
Intermediate From 30g
💎
Lake Tanganyika Biotope
A high-pH rocky-shore replica of Lake Tanganyika - hosting the specialised cichlids of Earth's secon...
Advanced From 55g
🪴
Outdoor Container Pond
A patio-scale outdoor pond in a stock tank, half-barrel, or purpose-built container - ideal for gold...
Beginner From 30g
🐸
Paludarium
A half-aquatic, half-terrestrial habitat - water on one side, land plants and often frogs, salamande...
Advanced From 20g
🐊
Predator Tank
A large aquarium for keeping big predatory fish - arowanas, oscars, arapaima, freshwater stingrays,...
Advanced From 75g $800+
🐠
Ranchu Goldfish Tank
A dedicated tank for the "king of goldfish" - the Ranchu, the deeply-bred Japanese fancy variety.
Intermediate From 40g
🌾
Ricefish / Medaka Tank
A tank for Japanese ricefish (medaka) - a peaceful, colourful, low-tech species newly popular in Wes...
Beginner From 10g
🦐
Shrimp-Only Tank
A dedicated freshwater tank for keeping and breeding dwarf shrimp - Neocaridina, Caridina, and rarer...
Intermediate From 5g
🍃
Southeast Asian Blackwater
A tank replicating Southeast Asian peat swamp forests - the black tannin-rich water of Malaysia, Sum...
Advanced From 20g
🌿
Wabi-kusa Aquarium
A partially-submerged planted aquarium featuring an aquatic soil ball emergent above the water line...
Intermediate From 5g $100+