Task & Project Management
2.9/5.0
VerifiedContact SalesLast technical review:
Markdown for AI (.md)

Fish Tank Atlas

Aquarium simulator focused on technical nitrogen cycle management.

Pricing

Contact

Contact Sales
Score

2.9/5

Last technical review
2026-11-06
Available plansVisit website (opens in a new tab)

Technical Overview

Fish Tank Atlas is an aquatic simulation tool that models a real biological ecosystem, specifically the nitrogen cycle. Users must manage bacteria colonization, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels, and water maintenance. Geared toward aquarium hobbyists and complex system enthusiasts, the software provides a realistic test environment for tank upkeep before real-world implementation.

Analyst Evaluation: Pros and Limitations

Verified Advantages

  • Precise technical simulation based on real biological processes.
  • Integrated tools for monitoring water chemical parameters.
  • Interface focused on teaching aquatic ecosystem maintenance.

Technical Considerations

  • Lacks advanced user collaboration features.
  • The depth of simulation may be intimidating for casual users.

Technical Capabilities & Features

3/7
Included:REST & GraphQL API
Not available:SSO / SAML Authentication
Not available:Self-Hosted Option
Included:Full Data Export
Included:Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
Not available:Custom Domains & SSL
Not available:Immutable Audit Logs
Scorecard
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Technical Scorecard: Fish Tank Atlas

48/100
DX & Tech Documentation
Improvable
50/100
Pricing Fairness
Improvable
50/100
Security & Governance
Improvable
40/100
Data Portability & Sovereignty
Critical
30/100
Performance & Reliability
Favorable
70/100
Pricing & TCO
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Pricing

Contact Sales/mo

Model: CONTACT.

Get Fish Tank Atlas (opens in a new tab)
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Projection: Fish Tank AtlasCONTACT
Deterministic cost estimation at 12 and 36 months based on team size, including SSO tax premiums and annual prepay discounts.
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Indie / Solo (1 active user)

Solo developer or independent technical founder.

Base Monthly Cost
$12/month
1 active user
12-Month Investment
$122/year
Includes ~15% savings via annual billing
3-Year TCO Projection (36m)
$366total
Consolidated software licensing expenditure

Estimated Self-Hosted VPS + DevOps Cost

Break-Even Point: Profitable starting at 3 active users

Calculated infrastructure: VPS 1 vCPU / 2GB RAM (~$5) + 0.5h DevOps/mes ($20)

Annual VPS + DevOps Cost$300/year
Differential vs SaaS LicensingSaaS is $178/year
Startup (10 active users)

Agile engineering team in validation and early traction stage.

Base Monthly Cost
$120/month
10 active users
12-Month Investment
$1,224/year
Includes ~15% savings via annual billing
3-Year TCO Projection (36m)
$3,672total
Consolidated software licensing expenditure

Estimated Self-Hosted VPS + DevOps Cost

Break-Even Point: Profitable starting at 10 active users

Calculated infrastructure: VPS 2 vCPU / 8GB RAM (~$15) + 2h DevOps/mes ($80)

Annual VPS + DevOps Cost$1,140/year
Differential vs SaaS LicensingSavings of $84/year
Growth (25 active users)

Scaling company with team governance and granular access control requirements.

Base Monthly Cost
$300/month
25 active users
12-Month Investment
$3,060/year
Includes ~15% savings via annual billing
3-Year TCO Projection (36m)
$9,180total
Consolidated software licensing expenditure

Estimated Self-Hosted VPS + DevOps Cost

Break-Even Point: Profitable starting at 28 active users

Calculated infrastructure: Cluster VPS 4 vCPU / 16GB RAM (~$45) + 6h DevOps/mes ($240)

Annual VPS + DevOps Cost$3,420/year
Differential vs SaaS LicensingSaaS is $360/year
Scaleup (100 active users)

Established organization with enterprise security policies and mandatory SAML/SSO.

Base Monthly Cost
$1,200/month
100 active users
12-Month Investment
$12,240/year
Includes ~15% savings via annual billing
3-Year TCO Projection (36m)
$36,720total
Consolidated software licensing expenditure

Estimated Self-Hosted VPS + DevOps Cost

Break-Even Point: Profitable starting at 78 active users

Calculated infrastructure: Infraestructura HA redundante + Backups (~$150) + 16h DevOps/mes ($640)

Annual VPS + DevOps Cost$9,480/year
Differential vs SaaS LicensingSavings of $2,760/year
Usage Surcharges & Bill Shock Simulator: Fish Tank AtlasWhat usage costs as you scale
Detect overage penalties before they impact engineering budget.
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Prototype / MVP (10 GB)

Included base quota in plan: 20 GB.
Low Risk / Predictable Bill
Base Monthly Rate
$20/mo
Fixed subscription or contracted tier
Overage Penalty
$0/month extra
Usage covered within plan quota
Estimated Monthly Invoice
$20/mo
Total monthly cost before taxes
Technical Mitigation Recommendation:

Suitable for development; verify concurrent connection limits.

Base Production (50 GB)

Included base quota in plan: 20 GB.
Low Risk / Predictable Bill
Base Monthly Rate
$20/mo
Fixed subscription or contracted tier
Overage Penalty
+$5/month extra
Variable surcharge for consumption above plan quota
Estimated Monthly Invoice
$25/mo
Total monthly cost before taxes
Technical Mitigation Recommendation:

Implement table compression policies and temporal partitioning.

Active Growth (250 GB)

Included base quota in plan: 20 GB.
High Risk / Accelerated Overages
Base Monthly Rate
$20/mo
Fixed subscription or contracted tier
Overage Penalty
+$41/month extra
Variable surcharge for consumption above plan quota
Estimated Monthly Invoice
$61/mo
Total monthly cost before taxes
Technical Mitigation Recommendation:

Offload cold backups to standard object storage (S3).

Large Scale (1.000 GB (1 TB))

Included base quota in plan: 20 GB.
Critical Risk / Severe Bill Shock
Base Monthly Rate
$20/mo
Fixed subscription or contracted tier
Overage Penalty
+$176/month extra
Variable surcharge for consumption above plan quota
Estimated Monthly Invoice
$196/mo
Total monthly cost before taxes
Technical Mitigation Recommendation:

Migrate to dedicated instance or self-hosted cluster to curtail I/O fees.

Procurement Strategy & Discounts: Fish Tank AtlasB2B Negotiation Playbook
Corporate executive level with highest authority to approve budgetary exceptions.
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Fair Market Price & B2B Procurement Benchmark

Non-renewal notice: 60 days before expirationMedian achieved discount: -18%
Public List Price
Custom / Contact
100% baseline
Audited Market Average
-18% median
~82% of list price
Optimized Target Price
-28% target
Max achievable discount (Q4 / multi-year): -28%

Hidden Contract Add-ons & Cost Clauses

  • Soporte técnico premier / SLA dedicado 24/7 (15-20% adicional)
  • Retención extendida de auditoría y logs >90 días
  • Cuota de implementación y onboarding mandatorio

Verified Tactical Savings Levers

  • Multi-Year AgreementUp to -25%

    Multi-year contract commitment (2-3 years) with inflation rate lock.

  • Competitive Migration CreditUp to -30%

    Migration credits and buyout of remaining competitor contract period.

  • Logo & Case Study AdvocacyUp to -10%

    Additional discount in exchange for public logo use and technical case study.

  • Annual Upfront PrepayUp to -15%

    Consolidated discount for upfront annual billing versus monthly rate.

Security & Data Exit
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Compliance & Security Standards: Fish Tank Atlas

SOC 2 Type IINot reported
ISO 27001Not reported
GDPR / RGPDNot reported
HIPAANot reported
PCI-DSSNot reported
Jurisdiction & Legal Sovereignty
🇺🇸United States [US]Subject to US CLOUD ActGDPR DPA Available
SSO Availability (SAML Enterprise)
No SSO Documented
Data Residency
GLOBALAWS
AI Privacy Policy
Not evaluated
Data Liberation & Migration Runbook: Fish Tank AtlasCSV · JSON
Actionable escape runbook and credential export guarantees to mitigate vendor lock-in.
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Supported Structured Export Formats
CSVJSON
Password Hash Portability
Subject to Support Ticket (Manual Process)

Credential hash export requires commercial mediation or formal support ticket approval.

CLI Command / Rescue Endpoint
GET /api/v1/export/full (Requires Enterprise API Token)
Exit Protocol & Migration Notes

Automated extraction via Enterprise API or formal support request.

Deployment & Infrastructure Requirements: Fish Tank AtlasDocker
Hardware specs and Docker directives to run on local servers, dedicated VPS, or Kubernetes without telemetry leak to the cloud.
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Minimum Memory1 GB RAM (Recommended)
Compute CPU1 vCPU
Runtime / LanguageTypeScript / Go / Rust
Code LicenseOpen Source
Docker CLI Directive
docker run -d --name fish-tank-atlas -p 8080:8080 fish-tank-atlas:latest
Companion Services & Dependencies:
PostgreSQL 15+Redis 7+
Community & Repository
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Technical Reputation of Fish Tank Atlas

57/100 Technical Trust

Frequent Praises in Production

  • Precise technical simulation based on real biological processes.
  • Integrated tools for monitoring water chemical parameters.
  • Interface focused on teaching aquatic ecosystem maintenance.

Reported Production Frictions

  • Lacks advanced user collaboration features.
  • The depth of simulation may be intimidating for casual users.
Commercial Treatment & Vendor Lock-in:Requires Sales Contact

Assisted cancellation requiring meeting with account team or contract notice period.

Frequently Asked Technical Questions (Fish Tank Atlas)

How accurate is the nitrogen cycle in this simulator?

The simulation replicates nitrification processes via filter bacteria, requiring the user to manage ammonia and nitrite levels similar to a real aquarium environment.

Is this tool suitable for educational purposes?

Yes, it is an excellent tool for teaching the fundamentals of aquatic biology and the importance of consistent maintenance in closed environments.

Can I save multiple tanks and configurations?

The system allows for tracking parameters for established tanks, facilitating the management of different aquascaping configurations and fish populations.

Direct Alternatives

All tools in Fish Tank Atlas
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