The Aquarium Builder is a tank and equipment software package by D-D that allows you to not only select your tank make, model, and cabinet color online, it allows you to equip it too, resulting in a shopping list you can email or print out, and a price.
D-D isn’t the first to bring this concept to the aquarium market, but when you add the sheer number of products that you can add to your chosen tank, and multiply the number of options, it’s quite the body of work, but still results in a superfast, slick selection process and you can see exactly how it will look and the cost. You can also adjust and amend as necessary.
How it works
First, you choose if you want to equip a freshwater or a marine aquarium, as D-D supplies both. We chose saltwater, and then you get to choose again, first the range of saltwater aquarium, then the model/size, then the cabinet color, with a live display each time of your proposed tank and what it will look like. You can toggle the image of the main tank to show either a tank full of corals or your equipment like wave pumps, mounted in the correct place.
Next is lighting. We chose a virtual Reef Pro 1500s, which seeing as D-D are the European distributors for Aqua Illumination, gave us 22 different AI light combinations from Blades, to Hydras, to Primes, and combinations of both in different spectrums, colors, and models. It also offers you the right mounts you need for each combination.
Next is the sump equipment, starting logically at the prefilter (like a Clarisea,) return pump, skimmer, reactor, heater, and wave pumps, again with dozens of options, before choosing a dosing pump, the KH Manager, UV, Jump Guard and even rock.
The website does say “Create your ultimate marine aquarium,” and we admit to getting a little carried away, and racking up an “ultimate” reef tank shopping list for £9000. We like how every piece of equipment was to scale and when we added it, it placed a rendered image of the actual product in the right place in the aquarium. It also offers you the right equipment choices for that size, make and model of D-D tank, eliminating any doubts users may have on what is appropriate.
With 19 different aquariums, 11 different cabinet colors, 85 different equipment choices per tank, and 2700 images it’s the most comprehensive wizard we’ve used to date.
Do note however that you’re not clicking and buying directly from D-D at the end. You send your wish list through to your chosen store or website, and they process the transaction and delivery for you. What’s cool though is that the retailer can also access your order on the website with a unique access code and pin number, and advise you further if necessary.
