Aquariums

Planted tank planner

Pick the plants you want to keep, get a substrate recommendation, water parameter range, light and CO2 requirements, and fish-compatibility warnings.

Planted tank planner substrate / parameters / fish compatibility
Pick the plants you want to keep. Order doesn't matter.

No plants picked yet. The analysis will appear once you add one.

Tick what's in your tank, or what you're planning. The planner flags plants that won't survive that company.
Compatible substrates -- Add plants to see compatible substrates.
Water parameters (roster overlap) --
Light and CO2 --
Findings

    What this does

    Add the plants you want to keep, and the planner intersects their requirements to tell you what the tank actually needs: which substrates will support the whole roster, the pH/temperature/hardness window everyone tolerates, whether CO2 is forced by any species, and which fish behaviors will threaten the planting.

    How the substrate recommendation works

    Each plant carries a substrate_compatibility list , which of the 8 substrate types it actually thrives in. The planner intersects those lists across your roster. If three plants list aquasoil, mineralized clay, and inert sand as compatible, the tank can use any of those three. If a fourth plant only works in aquasoil, that intersects down to one option.

    When the intersection is empty, the roster is incompatible , you'd need separate tanks, or you need to swap one plant.

    Parameter intersection

    pH range, hardness, and temperature ranges work the same way: the planner computes the overlap. A roster with cardinal-tetra-friendly plants (pH 5.5-7) and African-cichlid-friendly plants (pH 7.5-8.5) won't share a tank, and the planner says so.

    Fish-safety flags

    Optional. Tick the boxes for the kinds of fish you're keeping , plant-eaters (goldfish, silver dollars, some larger gouramis), substrate diggers (cory cats, kuhli loaches, geophagus cichlids), root-munchers (most cichlids, large livebearers) , and the planner warns when a plant in the roster won't survive that company.

    What it can't tell you

    Light intensity needs to come from your fixture spec sheet; the planner gives you the minimum tier required, not a wattage. CO2 dosing rates depend on your tank volume and water flow; the planner just tells you whether you need injection at all. Plant placement and aquascaping aesthetics aren't decisions the planner makes.

    Further reading