Freshwater aquarium equipment planner

Plan the tank around your space and the upkeep you can manage, from equipment to filled weight and costs. Starting from an empty shopping list? Read the equipment checklist first.

Your tank and its water

Tank format

30¼ in long12½ in deep12¾ in high

Aqueon Standard 20 gallon long: 30¼ × 12½ × 12¾ in outside. Empty tank: 25 lb. These dimensions are for the footprint, not the water.

Check this tank's lid and stand

How do you know the water volume?

Water in the tank, US galWater in the tank plus any sump or canister, counted once.

Add how much water your tank holds, or measure inside the glass.

For a curved tank or a measured fill, use the water volume calculator.

Room to fit and clean the equipment

Where would you rather reach the filter media?

This is your access preference, not a ranking of filter types. Compare the cleaning jobs before choosing.

Rim and wall measurements

Space behind tank, inTrim thickness, inClear space inside rear rim, in

Cabinet measurements

Usable cabinet length, inUsable cabinet depth, inUsable cabinet height, in

Closed-body dimensions leave hose routing and media-removal space to check.

Coolest room temperature, °FIntended water temperature, °FLight mounting span, inLight controls

Use the temperature your care plan calls for. This planner does not choose a temperature or infer heater performance.

Choose exact equipment to check

Models are alphabetical. The labels show which published limits your measurements meet and which questions remain open. A passed size check is only one part of choosing equipment.

Filter

Heater

Light

Filled weight, including the stand

Add dry weights once. The tank field starts with the selected tank's empty weight, as its maker publishes it. Blank means unknown; enter zero only for something absent or deliberately excluded.

Empty aquarium, lbDry substrate, lbDry rocks and wood, lbDry equipment, lid and light, lbStand and stored supplies, lb

This load estimate cannot approve a stand or floor. Use the support and fit checks before filling.

Purchases and running costs

Use your own amounts, including tax and delivery. Prices are not filled in for you. For a shopping list broken into groups, use the first-year cost calculator.

Initial purchases, $Recurring supplies per year, $Electricity rate, $/kWhDays to cost

Electricity for the equipment you will run

A chosen model fills in its listed watts when we have them; a number you type replaces it. Enter 0 W for anything you won’t run. Hours and heater on-time are for the cost only, not care advice.

Filter

Filter watts, if different from the model’sNo model chosen yet.Filter hours per day

Light

Light watts, if different from the model’sNo model chosen yet.Light hours per day

Air pump

Air pump wattsNo model chosen yet.Air pump hours per day

Heater

Heater watts, if different from the model’sNo model chosen yet.Heater on, least (% of the day)Heater on, most (% of the day)

Before you buy or fill the tank

Keep the missing jobs beside your equipment choices. The pre-purchase checklist separates needed-now decisions from conditional items and extras that can wait.

Have the water tests ready. Needed now.
Reach the water you need to change. Needed now.
Keep plugs dry and reachable. Needed now.
Finish an air-driven setup. Conditional on the plan.

When the parts fit and the supplies are ready, follow the equipment setup sequence. Equipment that runs doesn’t mean the tank is cycled or ready for fish.

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