Custom Aquarium Boxes
Custom aquarium boxes — a double-wall carton with a cradle for a glass tank, a retail carton for a filter or a heater, a food-safe carton for fish food — sized to the product from 100. Dieline and price the same working day.
Packaging for a hobby made of glass, water and electricity
- Board
- BC double wall for tanks; E flute and 20–24pt boxboard for equipment; food-grade for food
- Builds
- Tank shipper with corner cradles; window cartons with inserts; long heater and light cartons; food cartons
- Cradle
- Molded pulp or foam corners; board frame for lid and light
Get a price for Aquarium Boxes
Send the size and quantity — we reply the same working day with a price, a dieline and a date. Artwork optional at this stage.
- Free dielineThe flat drawing comes with the quote, before you commit.
- Proof before pressNothing is printed until you have seen it laid on the dieline.
- Die kept for reordersTooling is paid once. Every reorder skips straight to press.
- Quoted in four marketsUS, UK, Canada and Australia, in the delivery currency.
Tanks: a box built like a shipper
A glass tank ships in a BC double-wall carton with a molded pulp or foam cradle at each corner, so the glass never touches the board and the load goes through the corners. A board frame holds the lid and the light in a separate cell. The carton is drop-tested with a tank in it before the run, because a cracked tank is the whole sale. Our pet packaging across every animal covers the rest of the category.
Equipment cartons
| Filters and pumps | Window carton with a board insert; the unit visible; a crash-lock base |
|---|---|
| Heaters | A long slim carton with a cradle; the glass tube protected |
| Lights | A long carton with end pads; a window for the unit |
| Test kits and treatments | Small cartons with a platform for bottles |
The regulated panel on electrical goods
The dieline reserves the panel for the longest list among the markets sold in.
- Voltage, wattage and the safety marks for each market on the back panel.
- A "for aquarium use only" and the water-depth rating where relevant.
- A barcode on a matte patch.
- A reserved area for a fitment or compatibility label.
Fish food and dry goods
Flake, pellet and freeze-dried food ship in a carton around a tub or a bag, in food-grade board with a plain interior and, for freeze-dried, a moisture-resistant liner. A window shows the tub; a printed tub in a printed carton is the retail standard.
Say whether the product is sold in a shop or shipped direct. A tank sold in a shop needs a retail-printed carton; shipped direct it needs a plain shipper and a printed inner.
A range that matches on a shelf
Aquatics retail is a wall of boxes from one brand. One print system across the tank carton, the equipment cartons and the food cartons — a color, a wave, a logo — makes the wall read as a brand. The dies are kept per product and the system holds the range.
Aquarium Boxes — specification
The rows that are specific to this build first, then what applies to every job we run. Anything not listed is a question, not a limit — send the brief.
This build
- Board
- BC double wall for tanks; E flute and 20–24pt boxboard for equipment; food-grade for food
- Builds
- Tank shipper with corner cradles; window cartons with inserts; long heater and light cartons; food cartons
- Cradle
- Molded pulp or foam corners; board frame for lid and light
- Panels
- Electrical marks per market; water-depth rating; barcode; label area
- Test
- Tank carton drop-tested before the run
- Full color on white liner; one system across the range
- Minimum
- 100 boxes
On every job
- Print process
- Digital below about a thousand, offset above it. One side or both, with spot colors where a match has to hold.
- Color
- CMYK as standard. Uncoated and kraft stocks print lighter and warmer; a spot color is the only exact match.
- Tolerance
- Cutting plus or minus 1 mm, creasing plus or minus 0.5 mm, confirmed on a plain sample before the run.
- Tooling
- A cutting die per size, made once and kept. Foil and emboss dies per artwork, also kept.
- Food contact
- Food-grade board and inks where the carton touches food, with the interior left plain.
- Sustainability
- Mono-material board wherever the product allows; recycled-content and FSC stocks; no claim printed the pack does not earn.
- Artwork
- Vector PDF or AI, 3 mm bleed, 4 mm safe area, fonts outlined. We check every file and send a proof before press.
- Dieline
- Supplied free with the quote, before you commit. Yours whether or not you order.
- Sample
- A plain unprinted sample at the finished size on request, for fit and construction.
- Reorders
- Skip the tooling and go straight to press at a lower unit price.
- Lead time
- Quoted with the price against your fill date rather than promised before we have seen the spec.
- Markets
- United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia — priced in the delivery currency, freight included.
Boards and films we build aquarium boxes on
A folding carton is one sheet of board, so the board is the product. These are the stocks we run for cartons, what each is good at, and where it lets you down.
Natural kraft
Unbleached folding board. Warm, hides marks, costs least. Mutes color — one or two flat colors print well, photographs do not.
250–350gsm sleeves; 14–24pt cartonsWhite SBS
Solid bleached sulfate: bright, coated, the retail carton standard. Takes accurate color and every finish. Shows scuffs sooner than kraft.
14–24ptWhite lined chipboard
A recycled gray core under a white printing face. Cheaper than SBS and slightly duller; the back of the sheet stays gray.
16–24ptKraft-look coated
A kraft face over a coated inner. The natural look with a barrier behind it — the answer where oil, grease or moisture would mark plain kraft.
14–20ptRecycled-content board
Post-consumer fiber with a gray-brown cast. Right for outers and inner components; poor for bright whites and photography.
16–22ptMicro-flute E and F
A fine corrugated layer where a carton needs structure it cannot get from board — a large panel, a heavy product, a box that ships alone.
E 1.5 mm; F 0.8 mmUncoated and textured
No clay coat, or a linen or laid grain. Print reads softer and warmer; a deboss goes deeper. Photographs do not sit well on it.
280–350gsmMetallised and pearlescent
A metallic or pearl face for a shelf that needs to catch light. Costly, and it fights a photograph — a mark or a pattern suits it better.
16–20ptNot sure which? Say what goes in it and where it is sold — the material follows from that. Our notes on recycled, recyclable and compostable cover which claims each stock can honestly carry.
- 01
Send what you have
A dimension, a photograph beside a ruler, or the product itself. No technical drawing needed — that part is ours.
- 02
We quote and draw
A price, a dieline and a date come back together. If a different build would suit the product better, that is in the reply too.
- 03
Approve the dieline
The flat drawing is yours to check: which panel is the front, where the folds fall, how deep the cavity really is.
- 04
Artwork on the dieline
You place your design on the flat we sent, or we place it for you, and you see a proof before anything goes to press.
- 05
A sample if you want one
A plain unprinted sample at the finished size shows fit and construction — the things a drawing cannot.
- 06
Cut, printed, shipped
The die is cut once and kept, so every reorder skips the tooling and goes straight to press at a lower unit price.
Format
Vector PDF or AI where possible. Raster artwork at 300dpi at final size, in CMYK.
Bleed
3 mm past every trim line, so a fraction of drift on the cutter never leaves a white edge.
Safe area
Keep type and anything important 4 mm inside the cut and away from every fold.
Color
Convert to CMYK before sending. Uncoated stock prints lighter; a spot color is the only exact match.
Fonts
Outline them or supply the files. A missing font substitutes silently and the proof will not match.
Barcodes
On a light, matte, unvarnished patch with the quiet zone clear — a code on gloss fails the scanner.
Not set up that way? Send it anyway — fixing a file is a short conversation, and we check every one before press. Our guide to preparing print files covers each point.
Every finish here is a decision about light on a shelf, not about luxury.
Matte lamination
Reads considered, hides marks, takes a ballpoint.
Gloss lamination
Lifts color; glares under shop lighting.
Soft-touch
Velvet in the hand; shows fingerprints in a bag.
Hot foil
Real metal leaf — the most reliable premium signal.
Emboss / deboss
Shape with no ink; works in the dark.
Spot UV
Gloss shapes on a matte field.
Uncoated kraft
Warm, natural, mutes color.
Textured stock
Texture in the paper; cannot scuff off.
Not sure which suits the shelf it sells from? Say where the product is sold and we suggest one — our notes on specialty finishes show them on real boxes.
Sizing a folding carton so the die comes out right: aquarium boxes
Measure the product, not the box it is in now. A carton is built around what has to fit inside it, assembled — cap on, lid fitted, folded if it folds — at its widest point in each direction. Send those three numbers and say which is which.
- Length x width x height
- Internal, always. External dimensions include the board and are what the carrier measures, not what the product needs.
- Clearance
- 2–3 mm a side for a snug fit; more where an insert or void fill goes in. A carton cut exactly to the product is slow to pack and transmits every knock.
- Board thickness
- Heavier board takes internal space from the product. It matters most on small boxes, where four walls of 24pt is a real share of the cavity.
- Varies between batches?
- Glass, textiles, molded parts and cured soap all do. Measure several and build to the largest.
- Cutting tolerance
- Plus or minus 1 mm on folding board. Confirmed on a plain sample before the run.
- Units
- Metric or imperial, as long as you say which. Mixing them in one spec is where mistakes happen.
Not sure your numbers are right? Send the product dimensions rather than the box dimensions and we work the box out — the full method is in our guide to measuring for a box.
Interactive · five steps · no sign-up
Build your Aquarium Boxes in 3D
Pick a shape, type a size, choose a board and a finish. The preview on the left redraws as you go, and the spec lands with us exactly as you set it.
Frequently asked questions
Got a question about aquarium boxes? The answers below cover what we get asked most. If yours is not here, send it with a brief, message us on WhatsApp, or call +1 503-461-4788 — we reply the same working day.
Can you make a box that gets a glass tank through a courier?
Yes, a BC double-wall carton with pulp or foam corner cradles so the glass never touches the board, drop-tested with a tank before the run.
Can the equipment box have a window?
Yes, over the unit on a board insert, for filters, pumps and lights.
Do you print the electrical safety marks?
Yes, in a reserved panel per market, checked against your approved artwork.
Is the fish food carton food safe?
Yes, food-grade board with a plain interior, and a moisture-resistant liner for freeze-dried.
What is the minimum order?
100 boxes.
Can the whole range share one look?
Yes, one print system across tank, equipment and food cartons, on dies kept per product.
Do the boxes ship flat?
Cartons and board frames do. Pulp and foam cradles ship as they are.
Can a heater box protect the glass tube?
Yes, a long slim carton with a cradle at each end.
Do you supply a plain shipper for direct sales?
Yes, sized around the retail carton, quoted with it.
Where does the water-depth rating go?
On the back panel with the electrical marks.
Can I have a hang tab on small cartons?
Yes, for test kits and treatments sold on a peg.
Do you ship outside the US?
Yes, to the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, quoted in the delivery currency.
Same range
