AquaSage vs AqAdvisor
AqAdvisor has been the default stocking calculator since 2009, and it earned that: species breadth built up request by request, deliberately cautious verdicts, and warnings — male-to-female ratios, shoal minimums — that many newer tools still lack.
But it has barely changed in a decade, and the most common complaints are the same year after year: verdicts with no explanation, plants ignored entirely, and a form-and-reload interface. AquaSage is what we believe a stocking calculator should look like in 2026 — here is the honest comparison.
Side by side
| AquaSage | AqAdvisor | |
|---|---|---|
| Explanations | Every warning names the check, the numbers and a suggested fix | Verdicts and percentages without reasoning |
| Plants | First-class: CO2-aware capacity offset, and planting reduces aggression scoring | Not factored into stocking at all |
| Planner | To-scale drag-and-drop tank — adult sizes, live re-scoring | Text form with full page reloads |
| Data sources | Every species cites its sources and shows a confidence level | Data origins not shown |
| Tank shape | Volume, footprint length, floor area and height are separate gates | Volume-centric; shape largely ignored |
| Your setup | Filtration, surface area, maintenance habit, planting and hardscape all feed the verdict | A filtration percentage adjustment |
| Species | 222 curated and cited, growing weekly | 800+ accumulated since 2009 — genuinely broad |
Credit where it's due
AqAdvisor's caution has protected a generation of beginners from overstocking, and its accumulated depth — ratio warnings, juvenile mode, sheer breadth — took years of listening to users. We aim to keep what it got right and fix what it never did: tell you why.
Common questions
- Is AquaSage a free alternative to AqAdvisor?
- Yes — the stocking calculator and the full species library are free, with no login. A free account adds saved tanks and sharing.
- Why do AquaSage and AqAdvisor sometimes disagree?
- Different models: AquaSage computes bioload from adult body mass, intersects water bands instead of averaging them, and checks tank shape and aquascape. When we warn, we show the numbers behind it — so you can judge the disagreement yourself.