Aquarium automation and maintenance
Automation and upkeep gear matched to your tank
Pick your tank's size or type to see how a feeder mounts, where the air pump and check valve go, which water-change tool fits and what to set up before time away, from maker manuals and published sources, with the limits stated.
Find your tank setup
Takes you from your tank's size or type to the feeder, aeration, water-change and timer choices that suit it, with a source on every field.
Choose your tank setup to see the key facts. Each one links to its source on the full page.
Find your time-away plan
Pick how long you will be away to see what automation can cover, what it cannot, and what to set up and test before you leave.
Choose your time-away plan to see the key facts. Each one links to its source on the full page.
Start with what you need to do
- Prepare your tank for time awayWhat a feeder, timer and backup air pump can cover, and what still needs a person.
- Choose an automatic feederCapacity, food type, power source and how to check it before you leave.
- Pick a quieter air pumpNoise and flow figures from published measurements where they exist, plus tubing and check valves.
- Aquarium air pumps: flow, noise figures and outage backupHelps you size an air pump from published flow figures, read noise numbers for what they are and plan aeration for an outage.
- Aquarium electrical safety: drip loops, voltage and marksHelps you set up aquarium power safely and check that a device is the right voltage and carries a real safety certification.
- Aquarium maintenance tools: what the routine needsTurns the routine care schedule into a short list of tools and the wear parts to check, so maintenance does not depend on memory.
- Aquarium timers and smart plugs: load ratings and limitsHelps you pick a timer or smart plug for aquarium lights by load rating, stated certification and where it can safely sit.
- Airline tubing and check valves: sizes, direction, placementHelps you match tubing to your pump and valves and fit a check valve so water cannot siphon back into the pump.
Tools, shortlists and comparisons
Common buying mistakes
Trusting a feeder you have not watched
No independent data shows how reliably any consumer feeder works, and capacity is not trip length. Fish Mate itself recommends supervising a new F14 for fourteen days while you are home before relying on it.
A pump below the water with no check valve
When the power stops, water can siphon back down the airline into a pump that sits below the water level. Run the pump above the tank, or fit a check valve the right way round in the airline outside the water.
No drip loop on the cords
Water runs down power cords. Aquarium makers tell you to loop each cord below the outlet so water drips off before it reaches the plug, and to keep every plug dry.
Fixing a 230 V pump with a plug adapter
Some aquarium pumps are made only for 230-240 V / 50 Hz mains. A plug adapter changes the plug, not the voltage. In the US, choose the variant rated 120 V / 60 Hz.
Guides
All guidesRecently updated
How we choose
We start from your tank and the job, not the product. Specifications come from maker manuals and pages, standards bodies and published measurements, and each one is labeled with its source; a maker's figure and an independent measurement are never mixed. For anything that plugs in, we look for the exact 120 V / 60 Hz variant and the certification the maker actually states, and a seller tied to the brand. Nothing here has been tested by us, we make no feeder-reliability or livestock-safety claims, and we do not cover heaters or other life-support devices.
Read the full methodology