Aquarium & Vivarium Parts
Tank kit is full of small plastic parts that snap, and almost none of them are sold on their own. Printing one back is straightforward. Where it gets serious is what happens when plastic goes into the water with animals you care about — so that is the part we put first, not the part we bury.
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Get a aquarium & vivarium parts estimate
Upload your file or describe the part. We review printability before confirming anything.
Common uses
- Lid clips, glass brackets, canopy and hood fittings
- Light bar, controller and dosing pump mounts
- Pipe, hose and cable holders for tank hoods and cabinets
- Vivarium vent covers, background mounts and hide fittings
- Stand and cabinet fittings, door catches and trim
- Above-water frames, guards and holders
Printed plastic in a tank is not inert by default
There is no aquarium approval on a spool of filament, and we are not going to invent one. Two problems, both real. First, surface: an FDM part is built from stacked lines of plastic, and the grooves between those lines are a texture you cannot scrub clean the way you can a smooth moulded surface. In a warm, wet, biologically active tank those grooves are somewhere for bacteria and biofilm to sit. Second, chemistry: filament is a base polymer plus colourants, additives and processing aids that the manufacturer does not fully disclose, and nobody has tested what leaches out of that specific blend into your water over months with your stock in it. We cannot advise you on livestock safety, we will not claim a part is safe for fish, shrimp or amphibians, and any decision to put a printed part under the water is yours to make with your eyes open. Above-water fittings — brackets, lid clips, mounts, holders — carry none of that risk, and that is the sensible use for this.
What we will not print
No heater parts, no filter internals, no impellers, no pump components. Nothing in a pressure path — CO2 regulators and lines, canister filter seals, sump plumbing under head. Nothing whose failure floods a room or kills your stock overnight. These are the parts where a small crack has a large consequence, and a layered plastic part is exactly the wrong thing to trust with it. Feeding rings sit in the middle: people print them, they are cheap, and the contact is short and shallow — but they are still plastic of unknown blend touching water your fish live in, and we would rather you knew that than have us sell it as an obvious yes.
Damp, heat lamps and what survives above the tank
The space above a tank is warmer and wetter than people think. PETG is the default for damp above-water fittings: it shrugs off humidity and does not go soft in a warm hood. PLA is not the one — it creeps in warmth and humidity, and a hood that sits at 35°C all summer will slowly deform a PLA bracket. ASA is the pick for anything sitting under a basking or UV lamp, because UV is what destroys most plastics outdoors and indoors alike. Be realistic about lamps: any FDM plastic close to a heat lamp will deform, so mounts want distance and airflow designed in, and we will tell you if the position you have described is asking too much.
How it works
Send your file or describe the part
Upload an STL, OBJ, 3MF or STEP file, or tell us what you need with photos and a few measurements.
Get a guide price
When we can read the geometry we estimate from it straight away — material, print time, supports and quantity all priced openly.
We check printability, then confirm
A person reviews orientation, wall thickness and supports, flags anything that will not print well, and confirms your final quote before any work starts.
Aquarium & Vivarium Parts — example prices
Worked examples on real models from our print library, priced by the same calculator that estimates your own part. Sizes span small to large so you can see how cost moves with the part.
| Example part | Size | PLA | PETG | ABS / ASA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15mm Pipe Clip | 19 × 39 × 12 mm | £1.18 – £1.51 | £1.25 – £1.60 | £1.42 – £1.81 |
| L-Bracket (small) | 30 × 25 × 30 mm | £2.08 – £2.65 | £2.20 – £2.81 | £2.46 – £3.15 |
| L-Bracket (medium) | 50 × 30 × 50 mm | £4.75 – £6.08 | £5.01 – £6.40 | £5.58 – £7.13 |
| Gusseted Shelf Bracket (large) | 90 × 60 × 90 mm | £21.97 – £28.07 | £23.09 – £29.51 | £25.54 – £32.64 |
Guide prices for a single unit, calculated from the measured geometry of each example model — not fixed quotes. Small parts land at or near the £0 minimum order, and per-unit prices fall with quantity. Your price depends on your own part, its material and its printability. How pricing works.
Example models for aquarium & vivarium parts
Open-source designs from our print library that show the kind of part this service suits. View any of them for a full material and quantity price breakdown.
Garage Tool Rail (6-hook)
15mm Pipe Clip
10mm Cable Clip
J-Hook (large)
These are open-source example designs (CC0) we publish to show what the process suits and what it costs — not a record of past jobs. Prices shown are examples in PLA.
Aquarium & Vivarium Parts — FAQ
Is a printed part safe for my fish?+
We cannot tell you that it is, and anyone who does is guessing. We do not know the full additive package in a given filament, nobody has leach-tested it for your water and your stock, and the layered surface holds biofilm. Above-water fittings avoid the question entirely, which is why we point you there.
Can you print a replacement impeller or filter part?+
No. Filter internals, heater parts, pumps and anything in a pressure path are off the table — the failure mode is a flood or a dead tank, and a printed part is not the thing to trust with it.
What is actually a good fit for printing?+
Everything above the water line. Lid clips, glass brackets, light and controller mounts, hose and cable holders, vivarium vent covers, cabinet fittings. These are the parts that snap, that nobody sells separately, and that carry no livestock risk at all.
Will it survive the damp and the lights?+
PETG for humid above-water fittings, ASA for anything under a UV or basking lamp. Not PLA — warmth plus humidity is the combination it handles worst. Anything sitting close to a heat lamp will deform whatever it is made of, so we design for distance and airflow.
How much does aquarium & vivarium parts cost?+
There is no fixed per-item rate — price comes from how much plastic the part uses, how long it takes to print, how much support and finishing it needs, and how many you want. The example table above shows what real parts of this kind work out at. Upload your file for a guide price on your own part.
How long does it take?+
It depends on the size of the part, the queue and the material. Tell us your deadline when you enquire and we will tell you honestly whether it is achievable before you commit.
Can I order one of the models from your library?+
Yes. Every model in our print library is a design you can have printed — pick one, choose a material and quantity, and the example price on its page is your starting point. You can also download the file and take it elsewhere; they are all CC0.
Are my files kept private?+
Yes. Uploaded files go to private storage, are never made public, and are only used to quote and produce your job.
Worth reading first
Practical guides that help you get a better part and a more accurate quote.
What Is TPU (Flexible Filament)?
TPU is printable rubber. It bends, grips, seals and absorbs shock — and it behaves nothing like PLA, which is the whole point and the whole difficulty.
Nylon and Carbon Fibre Parts
The engineering end of FDM. Nylon is tough and wear-resistant; carbon fibre makes it stiff and stable. Both are harder work — here is when that pays off.
ASA vs ABS for Outdoor Parts
Nearly the same plastic, one important difference: ASA survives sunlight and ABS slowly does not. Here is when that difference is worth paying for.
Other services
Get a 3D print estimate
Upload your file or describe the part. We review printability before confirming anything.