We Build LEGO Tropical Aquarium, a Decoration You Don't Have To Clean

The tank's dimensions are 14 inches high, 20.5 inches wide, and 11 inches deep; were this a existent tank, it would clasp astir 13-and-a-half gallons of water. You physique the achromatic framed edges of the tank, the level of the vessel (which is designed to look similar sand), and the inheritance scenery of the vessel (a blue, aquatic backdrop decked with small waves and bubbles). You're not gathering the solid that forms the vessel itself. But erstwhile you look astatine the aquarium from a tiny distance, the scenery does immoderate dense lifting, and your encephalon concludes that each the antagonistic abstraction is water. It's a chill optical illusion that enhances the set's attractiveness; I tin easy ideate radical doing treble takes erstwhile walking past it.

Building the vessel itself is straightforward – you furniture bricks to found tactile spot and physique notches to "fit" and fortify the transportation points. But the astir amusive parts of the physique are the tank's inhabitants: the fish, crustacean, rocks, coral, seaweed, anemones, and thematic elements that the LEGO designers thoughtfully arranged into a colorful pastiche.

The closest equivalent to gathering the LEGO Tropical Aquarium scenery is gathering 1 of the LEGO Botanical sets. Like the flowers successful a bouquet, the coral is besides composed of galore colorful pieces, which are arranged successful symmetrical, circular patterns. It is simply a redundant process, admittedly. But the assortment of coral means you're ne'er gathering 1 enactment for excessively agelong earlier you're moving connected to the adjacent one. My favourite portion of the scenery are the oversea anemones, which sprout from the stone facade similar a bouquet of poisonous flowers.

The animals bash not person real-life equivalents. They carnivore beardown resemblance to existent species, but LEGO is contented to notation to them arsenic "brickfish" successful their promotional materials. A fanciful attack allows the LEGO designers to play with size and scale. Looking astatine this aquarium feels similar looking astatine 1 done a magnifying glass; everything is larger than life. The full vessel seems a small much crowded than it ought to; there's nary mode that a food of specified ample proportions could navigate a vessel this small.. But the assortment and aesthetic interaction overrides applicable quibbles.

Each carnal and benignant of corral gets its ain integrative bag, which makes it casual to disagreement the enactment among aggregate friends oregon household members. You physique an element, instal it into the tank, and past physique the adjacent element; determination is nary sequential necessity to immoderate of it. This is the benignant of acceptable that, owing to its divers yet isolated elements, lends itself to collaboration.

There are respective mechanical functions built into the tank. The rocks fell built-in gearboxes, rods, and pins, which let you to animate 4 antithetic elements by turning a crank oregon dial. A crab emerges from its cave. A monolithic food waves its process and torso. A clump of orangish coral sways successful the waves. And a treasure chest, fractional buried successful the sand, opens and closes. Inside the thorax are golden bars and a enactment successful a corked bottle.

As an 11th people precocious schoolhouse English teacher, I work a batch of assemblage essays, and 1 of my students wrote a peculiarly memorable 1 this year. He elaborate his efforts to incorporated a freshwater food vessel into his bedroom. For him, it was a acquisition successful patience, consistency, and semipermanent readying – of realizing determination is simply a league's quality betwixt creating thing fantastic and maintaining that happening for an extended magnitude of time.

The LEGO Tropical Aquarium is simply a stress-free alternate to the existent happening – for radical who privation the ambience but not the ongoing costs and labour that spell into establishing a nitrogen rhythm and minimizing algae growth, not to notation cleaning the vessel itself.

LEGO Tropical Aquarium, Set #10366, retails for $479.99, and it is composed of 4154 pieces. It is disposable exclusively astatine the LEGO Store.

Kevin Wong is simply a contributing freelancer for IGN, specializing successful LEGO. He's besides been published successful Complex, Engadget, Gamespot, Kotaku, and more. Follow him connected Twitter astatine @kevinjameswong.

Originally posted:

Dec 20, 2025 8:30 pm