Building
Water and filtration
Aquarium habitats replace land area with deep water area and add salinity. This page shows the published salinity groups and the smallest and largest water requirements.
Filtration and water quality are what make an aquarium different from a terrestrial habitat. Salinity is published per species, and the ranges are narrow: saltwater animals do not accept freshwater.
| Salinity | Species | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Saltwater | 25 | Blackspotted Puffer, Blacktip Reef Shark, Blue and Gold Fusilier |
| Freshwater | 7 | African Tigerfish, Blunthead Cichlid, Boeseman's Rainbowfish |
| Brackish, Saltwater | 4 | Giant Grouper, Hawksbill Turtle, Javanese Cownose Ray |
| Any Salinity | 1 | West Indian Manatee |
| Freshwater, Brackish | 1 | Giant Gourami |
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Smallest published deep water area | — |
| Largest published deep water area | — |
- Build to the deep water area, not to the visual footprint: filtration sits on top of that area.
- Check salinity before buying: 25 species are saltwater-only in the current records.
- Keep staff airlocks reachable — 1.0.4 fixed vets getting stuck removing animals from aquariums.
FAQ
FAQ
Common questions about this topic.
Do I need filtration for every aquarium?
Filtration and water quality are the systems that define the habitat type; treat them as mandatory.
Can freshwater and saltwater species share a tank?
Only where the salinity values are compatible; some species accept brackish ranges.
What is the smallest aquarium?
The table names the smallest and largest published deep water areas.