Software, Spreadsheets And Other Technology

I"m starting off this article with a couple of PAID versions of software but if you read down a little, you will also see a FREE version of software as well as some Excel Spreadsheets that are FREE.

Sea Apple Aquarium Lab - $24.95 U.S.

If anyone wants to try this program for free for 30 days and then the cost for keeping it would be $24.95, they should probably go to the software creators website, http://www.aquariumlab.com/.

From the AquariumLab website:
Aquarium Lab is a complete aquarium tracking software package for Windows Vista and XP, that will help you maintain healthy aquarium conditions
Monitor Aquarium Readings: pH, Temperature, Calcium, Alkalinity...
Track Aquarium Livestock including fish, corals, plants and invertebrates
Track Water Changes
Track Food and additives
Project manager and Calendar
Monitor Electrical costs and power consumption
Free 30 day Trial. Buy as low as $24.95
(END SNIP)

Aquariogest - $41.00 U.S.

AquarioGest Software presentation
AtlasDiscover Fish, Plants and Invertebrates Atlas illustrated with more than 670 professional photos.Aquariums managementComplete aquarium manager : watervalues, tasks scheduler and electrical equipments.Fish managementPurchase, birth, decease, sale, breedings and cares for each fish of your aquarium.Plants and Invertebrates managementFollow the growth of your aquatic plants and manage the invertebrates population.Water tests logsLog your water tests, significant indicators, graphs and alerts.Aquarium budgetControl all your expenses and follow the electric consumption of your equipment.Tasks planningPlan all your maintenance tasks to never forget them.Aquarium logbookNote all events of your aquarium.Assistants / WizardFind easily new fish, plant or invertebrate - Aquarium volume calculator - Backup tool - Tools of aquarium calculations & conversions - Units settings...
(END SNIP)

AquaLog - FREE

If you want a free program that does some or possibly all that this Sea Apple one does, you can use Aqualog for free - http://joejaworski.com/aqualog/. Besides being available on the creators website, it is also found on reputable download sites like CNet's Download.com http://download.cnet.com/AquaLog/3000-2130_4-10027868.html

From the Aqualog website:
Aqualog is a Microsoft Windows application that can be used to monitor and log any number of marine, reef, or freshwater aquariums. It is designed for both hobbyist and professional use, providing a convenient way to track water test results, maintenance items (such as water changes and chemical additions), and to keep an annotated log of observations. Click the image to the right to see a screen shot of the main AquaLog screen.

AquaLog is Open Source. You can download the fully functional version below free of charge. You do not have to register, give out your email address, or send any money to use it.
(END SNIP)

Excel Spreadsheets - FREE

These two spreadsheets have been set up by other fish keepers, including the second one that I have modified. I have uploaded these two files to my FileFront page so you can download them for free.

http://www.filefront.com/14247047/Water-Test-Log.xls/

http://www.filefront.com/14247059/Aquarium-Water-Test-Log---Modified-by-GoldLenny---2nd-draft.xls/

Below is a SNIP from my blog page on Fish Profiles And Compatibility Charts -

Here is a download chart in Excel/Spreadsheet format that has tons of information about fish, compatibility, etc.:

http://www.klsnet.com/fish.html or http://www.grizzlyrun.com/petedu/fishchrt.xls

Sorry.. the above two links no longer work but I did download these files a while back and I now have them hosted on my FileFront account so you can download them here....
http://files.filefront.com/13416948 (ODS file for Sun's Open Office)http://files.filefront.com/13416958 (XLS file for MS Excel)

(If you don't have MS-Excel, you can download a viewer from MS or if you want a FREE full service MS-Office type suite, go to Sun Micro's http://www.openoffice.org/ and download their full suite which will allow you to create, view and edit MS-Office documents.)

This page has a few downloadable fishkeeping related programs... mostly Freeware... and includes two programs under the Software Column of links, for Fish Compatibility named "Can I Keep It?" and "More Can I Keep It?". I haven't checked these out yet but they were recommended by an advanced member of fishforums.net. There are also some other fish related freebie programs on the site. I'm not sure if this is Neal Monk's site but I see "nmonks" in the URL and he has been writing articles for a while about fish. http://homepage.mac.com/nmonks/software/index.html

If you know of other free or paid software that will help fishkeepers do a better job, please post a comment below with the information or send me an email - goldlenny@gmail.com

Lenny Vasbinder a/k/a GoldLenny in the forums