Get the water right.
The fish follow.
Free aquarium calculators and field-tested freshwater guides — written from a working South African fishroom, not scraped from somewhere else.
Calculators built from real tanks.
Tank Size Calculator
Exact water volume for rectangular, bow-front and hex tanks — in both litres and gallons, with the glass-thickness deduction most calculators skip.
Open calculator → EssentialbioloadFish Stocking Calculator
How many fish your tank can actually hold — surface-area and volume methods with a live confidence meter.
Open → Plantedsoil · capWalstad Soil Calculator
Organic soil and sand-cap volumes for a low-tech natural setup.
Open → BreederspunnettBNS Genetics Calculator
Predict bristlenose fry morphs — albino, longfin and het carriers — from any pairing.
Open → Nano< 60 LNano Stocking Wizard
Three complete, compatible plans for tanks under 60 litres (16 US gal).
Open → No filterbowlWalstad Bowl Planner
Design a self-sustaining planted bowl — substrate, plants and safe livestock.
Open →
Most new fish die in week two. This is why.
It is almost never bad luck. It is ammonia. Cycling a tank before you add fish is the single highest-leverage thing a beginner can do — and it is genuinely simple once someone explains it without the jargon.
Everything to get started right.
Aquarium Water Parameters Explained
pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, GH, KH — what each number means and what to do when it's off.
02Choosing the Right Tank Size
Every size from 5 to 125 gallons (19–470 L) — what each suits and what fish work.
03Best Fish for a 10-Gallon Tank
Nano fish, bettas, shrimp and four complete stocking combinations that actually work.
0410 Beginner Mistakes to Avoid
The predictable, avoidable errors — and how to sidestep every one of them.
05Low-Tech Planted Tank Setup
A thriving planted aquarium with no CO₂ and no expensive kit — the Walstad method, simplified.
06Aquarium Filter Types Compared
Sponge, HOB, canister and undergravel — which filter fits your setup and budget.
Written from real experience — and real mistakes.
Six-plus years of South African freshwater keeping: an active bristlenose breeding project, low-tech planted tanks, and unheated setups that hold through load-shedding. The photos here are all from our own tanks.
Bristlenose Pleco Breeding for Beginners
Caves, conditioning and raising fry — from a working BN project, including the albino-longfin line.
Read the guide →
The Walstad Method, Done Properly
No CO₂, no dosing — just soil, plants and a self-sustaining ecosystem that genuinely works.
Read the guide →
No-Heater Tanks: Cold-Water Species That Thrive
The freshwater fish that do well unheated — built for South African conditions, year-round.
Read the guide →Build your tank the right way.
Start with the tank size calculator — 30 seconds, and you'll know exactly what you're working with before you buy a single fish.