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A long planted aquascape with dense aquatic plants and driftwood

Gear

The kit, compared on the numbers that matter.

444 products from 12 brands, with real specs. Tell us your tank size and we'll show what fits, then line products up side by side.

Photo: Simon Infanger· Unsplash

Kit finder

What fits my tank?

Pick your tank size and we’ll line up the gear that suits it, using the same rules of thumb as the planner.

Classic 60 × 30 × 30, the ADA mini-M standard scape.

Plan livestock and plants for a 60 L tank

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TL;DR, buying gear for a planted tank

Start with the tank, because everything else is sized from it. Once you know the volume and length, the rest follows: a filter rated at about 5 to 10 times the volume per hour, a heater around 1 watt per litre, and a light made for the tank's length. Decide early whether you want a low-tech tank (low light, easy plants, no CO2) or a high-tech one (strong light, CO2, faster growth), because that choice changes the light and CO2 budget more than anything else.

Every product here lists the specs we could verify from the maker or a major retailer, and every category has a matcher that filters by your tank size. Found two or three you like? Add them to the compare table and look at them side by side, model by model. We only list main equipment and hardscape, not spare parts or consumables, so the lists stay useful.

Frequently asked questions

The questions people ask most when kitting out a planted tank.

What equipment do I need for a planted aquarium?

A tank and a stand that can carry it, a filter rated at about 5 to 10 times the tank volume per hour, a light made for the tank's length, and a heater of roughly 1 watt per litre if you keep tropical fish. Add pressurised CO2 only if you want high light and demanding plants, and choose hardscape and substrate that suit the water you want.

How do I know which filter fits my tank?

Multiply your tank volume by 5 and by 10: a filter rated inside that range per hour suits a planted tank. A 60 litre tank wants about 300 to 600 L/h. The filter page's tank-size matcher does this for you and shows which model of each filter fits.

What size light do I need?

One made for your tank length, the same length or a little shorter. Then match the output to your plants: low light for ferns, anubias and crypts, medium for most stem plants, and high light only alongside injected CO2.

Can I compare aquarium products side by side?

Yes. Tap Compare on up to four products in the same category, then open the compare table. Every published spec lines up in one table, and you can pick the size of each product.

Where do the product specs come from?

From the makers' published specifications or a major retailer's listing, checked where we could. Fin & Stem is not a shop and is not paid to rank anything in the catalogue. Makers revise products, so confirm figures before you buy.

Brands covered: 2HR Aquarist, ADA, Boyu, Chihiros, Dophin, Eheim, Juwel, Oase, Qanvee, SunSun, Twinstar, UNS. Fin & Stem is not a shop and is not paid to rank anything here. Product photos are supplied by the brands and their distributors.