Guides
Concise articles you can finish in one sitting. Pair them with the fish, plant, and equipment databases when you plan a build.
Getting started
10-gallon tank stocking and compatibility guide
What actually fits in a 10-gallon tank — real volume, species that work, betta and shrimp caveats, filtration requirements, and tested community combinations.
Read guide →Getting started with planted tanks
What balance actually means in a closed aquatic system — and the smallest set of decisions (tank size, light, substrate, CO₂) that determines whether your first year is enjoyable or exhausting.
Read guide →AqAdvisor alternative: a practical comparison for stocking and compatibility
How Aquatic-Art's stocking calculator, compatibility matrix, and chemistry tools compare to AqAdvisor: species count, data freshness, and what each platform does best.
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Ecosystem cycles
Ecosystem cycles: how an aquarium actually works
An overview of the five interlocking loops — nitrogen, oxygen, CO₂, water, and the new-tank break-in — with interactive SVGs and links to each in-depth article.
Read guide →The nitrogen cycle
Two-step bacterial oxidation — ammonia → nitrite → nitrate — is the most important biochemical chain in any freshwater tank. This article reviews the actual microbial ecology and how to read test-kit numbers against it.
Read guide →The oxygen cycle
Dissolved oxygen enters the tank through the surface and through photosynthesis; it leaves through fish, bacterial, and plant respiration. Understanding both sides solves more morning-gasping problems than buying an air pump.
Read guide →The CO₂ cycle
In most planted tanks above moderate light, CO₂ is the variable that sets the growth ceiling. This article explains how CO₂ dissolves, how it interacts with KH to shape pH, and how to inject it safely.
Read guide →The water cycle
Tank water is never static. It moves through evaporation, top-off, water changes, and filtration in parallel. The hidden consequences — hardness drift, mineral accumulation, gas exchange — are the most common cause of unexplained long-term failures.
Read guide →New-tank cycling: a 3–5 week protocol
What you wait for is not 'water clearing' but the colonization of your filter by nitrifying bacteria. Microbial growth curves from the literature explain what to test each week and what numbers mean the system is stable.
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Water chemistry
Aquascaping
Equipment reviews
Filter selection for tanks under 60 L
Turnover rate, media surface area, and flow pattern matter more than brand. A practical evaluation framework for hang-on-back, sponge, and small canister filters.
Read guide →Best filters for a 10-gallon tank: what I wish I'd known on day one
A first-tank story from a 27-year-old in a San Francisco apartment — and the practical filter framework I worked out after three noisy mistakes. Turnover math, sponge vs HOB vs nano canister, and the small accessories that saved my shrimp.
Read guide →Best CO₂ regulator in 2026: an engineer's slow upgrade from DIY yeast
Sixty-four, retired engineer, thirty years of DIY soda-bottle CO₂ — and a small explosion in the garage that finally pushed me toward a proper regulator. Dual-stage vs single, solenoid behaviour, and what each tier of regulator actually buys you.
Read guide →Best LED light for a low-tech planted tank: a broke student's PAR education
Twenty-one, college junior, $100 light budget, one tank already lost to black-beard algae. What I finally understood about PAR vs lumens, why 'low-tech' doesn't mean 'dim', and which lights actually grow plants without growing algae.
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