- Last confirmed
- December 2025
- Aquariums in snapshot
- 25
- Nominal volume
- About 1,914 litres
- Tank sizes
- 20 L to 300 L
Start with an honest snapshot
The AquaNexus project record last confirmed a fish-room inventory of 25 aquariums in December 2025. The list included ten 20-litre tanks, four 50-litre tanks, eight 108-litre tanks, and one each at 150, 200 and 300 litres. Added together, the nominal capacity was about 1,914 litres.
That number is a snapshot, not a permanent claim. Tanks move, breeding groups change and equipment is repurposed. Publishing the confirmation date matters because an old inventory presented as current is worse than no inventory at all.
| Tank size | Count in snapshot | Nominal volume | Likely management role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 L | 10 | 200 L | Quarantine, fry, shrimp or short-term separation |
| 50 L | 4 | 200 L | Breeding groups, juveniles or species projects |
| 108 L | 8 | 864 L | Standardised rack tanks and grow-out |
| 150 L | 1 | 150 L | Larger group or display role |
| 200 L | 1 | 200 L | Community, breeding or grow-out role |
| 300 L | 1 | 300 L | Largest system and highest consequence of failure |
Stop treating every tank as an island
The tanks may be separate, but the workload is shared. One air pump can serve many sponge filters. One food batch can affect every tank fed that day. One contaminated net can move a problem between systems. One power failure can stop heating and aeration across the room.
Managing the room as a system means recording both the individual tank and the shared dependency. A tank record should show its livestock and tests. The room record should show the air pump, power circuit, water source, maintenance route and emergency plan that support it.
Give every tank a permanent identity
Names such as “top left” fail as soon as a rack changes. Use a stable tank code that survives livestock moves. A practical code can include room, rack, level and position, but it should remain short enough to place on labels, test sheets and equipment.
- Use the same tank code in the app, on the tank and on any temporary container.
- Record the physical location separately so a tank can move without losing history.
- Do not reuse a retired tank code immediately; old photos and notes may still refer to it.
- Link shared equipment rather than copying the same pump details into every tank.
Build repeatable care routes
A large room becomes easier when work follows a consistent path. Feed in one direction. Test in one direction. Inspect air flow and temperature in one direction. The route reduces missed tanks and makes an interruption easier to resume.
- Look before touching.Scan behaviour, surface movement, leaks and temperature indicators.
- Handle clean systems first.Leave quarantine, illness and unknown losses until the end.
- Record exceptions immediately.Normal observations can be batched; unusual observations need a tank-specific note.
- Close the route.Count completed tanks and reconcile anything skipped before leaving the room.
Rank tanks by consequence, not convenience
A newly stocked tank, a dense fry tank and a hospital tank deserve more attention than a stable low-stock display. The 300-litre tank may contain more water, but a 20-litre fry tank can deteriorate faster. Risk is a combination of volume, stocking, age, feeding, filtration, treatment and recent change.
AquaNexus should allow a keeper to see the high-risk tanks first rather than presenting every aquarium as equally urgent.
Map shared failure points
Central systems save labour, but they create common failure points. If one air pump supports many tanks, its service date matters to all of them. If several heaters share a circuit, the circuit is part of the aquarium system. If one hose is used across racks, cleaning and quarantine rules must be explicit.
Change one variable when possible
Large systems punish uncontrolled changes. Changing food, lighting, temperature and water routine at the same time can improve or damage results, but it will not teach you which change mattered. Record the date, tanks affected, reason and expected outcome before changing a shared process.
The minimum useful room record
- Tank code, size, location and current purpose.
- Livestock group, source and movement history.
- Shared air, power, water and filtration dependencies.
- Daily exceptions: low flow, unusual behaviour, missed feed or leak.
- Scheduled service dates for pumps, filters and emergency equipment.
- Changes to routines, food, temperature or stocking.
- Historical snapshots with a clear confirmation date.
The goal is not to record everything. The goal is to preserve the details that explain what happened and what should happen next.
Source and status
This page is original AquaNexus writing based on AquaNexus project notes, aquarium workflow design and the dated setup or target shown above. It does not reproduce FishBase text, numbers, tables, maps, photographs or database entries.
Historical counts and targets are labelled so they are not mistaken for current inventory or achieved results. Read the research register and source-use policy →
This field note documents one aquarium project and a method of thinking. It is not a universal stocking rule, production guarantee or substitute for aquatic veterinary, structural or licensed electrical advice.