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How to set up a Frozen themed fish tank

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A fish tank based on Disney’s Frozen it simple to set up and can end up looking great.

This guide at Aquarium Blueprints will help identify some of the possible ornaments, decorations and more visual elements to use to build this themed aquarium, either for yourself or as a gift to a loved one.

What is Frozen?

Frozen is a computer animated film from Walt Disney Animation Studios. Based on The Snow Queen fairy tale written by Hans Christian Andersen, the film follows Anna and her companions as they journeyed through the harsh wintry weather to find her sister, Elsa. The iconic Elsa is the queen of Arendelle who can control ice and snow.

Frozen came out in 2013 and became a phenomenon as it ended up breaking box office records for an animated movie, at that time, with a total gross of $1.28 billion. So, it should be no surprise that the movie got a sequel. Frozen II, which hit theaters in 2019, has done even better with a total gross of $1.44 billion.

Aside from the main films, Disney also released two short movies: Frozen Fever in 2015 in addition to Olaf’s Frozen Adventure in 2017.

Fish Tank Size

In general, we prefer getting as large of a fish tank as possible if you care about the health of your fish and other aquatic pets. Of course, you have to need to have the space in your home in addition to making sure you have to a suitable aquarium stand as well. For more information, you can take a look at our fish tank size guide and fish tank stand guide. 

Frozen Aquarium Decorations

Penn Plax has several officially licensed Frozen ornaments. The products include the Ice Castle, Anna, Elsa as well as two versions of Olaf. You can check out all five licensed aquarium decors below:

If you want to add some wintry looking plants and/or trees, then you should take a look at biOrb Sea Fan as well as the uxcell Aquarium Snowflake Shape Plant Blue/White. You can check out both via the following Amazon links:

Substrate

When it comes to mimicking the snow from Disney’s Frozen, the best substrate we recommend is the Royal Ram Natural White Marble Decorative Real Sand. We propose adding at least 2 inches of substrate in your aquarium, which will give plenty of surface area for beneficial bacteria (which will help break down the toxic ammonia and nitrite toxins). We recommend buying 1 or two bags to see how much the snow=looking sand fill up the bottom of your aquarium. You can then purchase more if necessary.

If you are interested, you can purchase the Royal Ram Natural White Marble Decorative Real Sand with this link on Amazon. (#CommissionsEarned)

Rocks

When it comes to rocks, we really like the look of the GracesDawn Pine Bark Stone Shape Landscaping Decoration as the stones look like they are being slightly covered with snow. You can find the rocks on Amazon. (#CommissionsEarned)

Background

While having a winter-themed background makes sense for a Frozen aquarium, we don’t advocate doing it. This is because you will most likely end up getting algae in your fish tank. In lighter backgrounds, especially when the backdrop is white, the algae is easily noticeable. With darker backgrounds, however, the algae in the back panels are not as visible. Thus, we recommend getting either a deep blue of black background. If you are interested in doing so, you should take a look at the Donau Blue/Black Aquarium Background on Amazon with this link. (#CommissionsEarned)

When buying the background make sure that you are getting the size that fits your fish tank. If the backdrop is a little bigger than the dimensions of your tank, you can cut the backdrop down to the appropriate size.

Lighting

Since we aren’t keeping any live plants in this build, a simple lighting fixture is good enough. You should take a look at the NICREW ClassicLED Aquarium Light, which you can find on Amazon. (#CommissionsEarned). Make sure you get the size that fits the longest end of your tank so that you can brightly light up all of the aquarium.

Filter

For filtration, we recommend using a sponge filter (along with an air pump and airline tubing if you don’t already have both). The sponge filters are very affordable, easy to clean in addition to providing more than enough mechanical and biological filtrations as long as you don’t severely overstock your fish tank. We advise that you get the Aquaneat Aquarium Bio Sponge Filter, which was made for up to 60 gallons, in addition to the Tetra Whisper Air Pump. If you need airline tubing, then you should check out the Penn Plax Airline Tubing.

For those that have tanks larger than 60 gallons, you can simply get another sponge filter and place it on the opposite end of the other filter in your tank. The “40-60 Gallons” and “60 to 100 Gallons” versions of the aforementioned Tetra Whisper have two outlets so don’t have to get another air pump.

You can purchase all three aforementioned filtration products with the following links:

Heater

There is a good chance that you need a heater, especially if the fish you want to keep is tropical. We think highly of the Eheim Jager Aquarium Thermostat Heater from Amazon. (#CommissionsEarned). This heater can be purchased based on watts, which depends on how big your tank is. You can find a list of the recommended heaters based on aquarium size below:

  • 25 Watts = up to 6 gallons
  • 50 Watts = up to 15 gallons
  • 75 Watts = up to 26 gallons
  • 125 Watts = up to 53 gallons
  • 150 Watts = up to 79 gallons
  • 200 Watts = up to 105 gallons
  • 250 Watts = up to 158 gallons
  • 300 Watts = up to 264 gallons

Disney’s Frozen aquarium set up and care

Once you got all your decorations and equipment, you have to setup your tank and make it suitable for fish to live in. You can find out how to do so in our tank cycling guide. You should also be prepare to do periodical maintenance, which you can find out more about in our water change tutorial.

What fish should you add to your Frozen tank?

You can add whatever fish you prefer for your aquarium. If you are looking for suggestions, we believe that white and/or pale fish fit into the wintry theme nicely. Some ideal white/pale fish that are great for beginners include Albino Corydoras, Snow White Guppies, White Moscoy Guppies and White Opal Betta.

Keep in mind that a Betta can be aggressive, especially towards Guppies. So we suggest getting either 1 Betta or a group of male Guppies. Albino Corydoras will do fine with both Bettas and Guppies as tank mates.

Related posts:

  1. How to set up a Mickey Mouse themed fish tank
  2. How to build a SpongeBob SquarePants themed fish tank
  3. How to set up a fish tank without a filter