Foreground Plants
Foreground aquarium plants: easy options, carpeting plants and their needs, planting, light and nutrient balance, trimming, and use in design.
Guides & advice
Aquarium Guides
Midground Plants
Midground plants for aquascapes: easy choices including crypts, anubias and java fern, compact stem plants, placement and spacing, and care.
Background Plants
Background plants are the tall or visually substantial aquarium plants placed toward the rear of an aquascape. Their job is not merely to hide equipment.
Best Aquarium Kits
An aquarium kit can simplify a first setup by packaging the tank with several pieces of equipment, but the word kit does not mean everything required for healthy fish is included.
Best Nano Aquariums
Choosing a nano aquarium: size and shape, livestock fit, filtration, heating, lighting and lids, maintaining small volumes, and kits versus parts.
Best Beginner Aquariums
What makes an aquarium beginner-friendly: size, shape and swimming space, glass or acrylic, rimmed or rimless, livestock fit and maintenance access.
Best CO2 Systems
Choosing a CO2 system for planted tanks: pressurized, DIY and disposable options, regulators and solenoids, diffusers, and using CO2 safely.
Best Aquarium Filters
The best aquarium filter is the one that can process waste reliably, move enough water for the livestock, and remain simple enough that you will maintain it correctly.
Best Shrimp Substrates
Choosing shrimp substrate: inert options for Neocaridina, active buffering soils for Caridina, grain size, planted tanks, and cycling new soil.
Best Aquarium Soil
Aquarium soil, often called aquasoil or active substrate, is manufactured substrate designed primarily for planted freshwater aquariums.
Best Aquascaping Tools
Aquascaping tools explained: tweezers, scissors, spatulas and substrate tools, hardscape tools, how to judge quality, and a starter kit.
Sponge Filter vs HOB Filter
Sponge filters and hang-on-back (HOB) filters can both maintain healthy freshwater aquariums, but they move water and capture waste differently.