Finally, there’s a PC case that combines your love of fish and PC gaming in one place for less than $100. The Y2 Fish Tank Chassis from Metalfish is a micro-ATX case with, as promised, a functional fish tank on top, with an LED light strip and water filter.
Your fish will live in the 5mm-thick water tank above the chassis where all your PC components go, separated by a thick layer of transparent acrylic. The case even includes a USB-powered filter that keeps the water clean for your little fishies. The bottom portion of the PC case slides right out, so you don’t have to worry about disturbing the sea life whenever you change components.
Years ago, we saw a PC case that had fish actually swimming inside the PC that seemed like a bit too much, even for me. (I already have to worry about dust getting in my GPU, I don’t want to have to think about underwater particulates passing through the fan blades too). The Y2 Fish Tank seems like a compromise, though it’s still admittedly a couple of gallons of water sitting over your expensive components.
The case dimensions are smaller at 14 x 9.6 x 11.4 inches, meaning that it can only accommodate micro-ATX and Mini-ITX motherboards and GPUs less than 200mm in length. You’ve got room to install a single 2.5-inch storage drive, 90mm CPU cooler, and a small power supply. The case includes two 9cm RGB fans whose lights are controlled by a remote.
Since the listing for the Y2 lacks some finer details, our friends over at Tom’s Hardware calculated that the tank could be filled with about 13 liters of water based on its dimensions. I don’t own fish or plan on getting any, but there’s no stopping me from turning the tank into a cute little terrarium.
MetalFish says on the product page, “Flowers, birds, fish, and insects are traditional personal hobbies, and a beautiful landscaping fish tank will make people feel relaxed and calm.” However, I don’t know if the fish will remain calm after watching me pitch a fit after losing again and again in Fortnite.
My question is, will the water heat up at all after a couple of hours of gaming? I feel like it would be a very uncomfortable living situation for your watery friends if their home just increased in temperature whenever you start streaming to Twitch. I’d consult a veterinarian or someone who knows their fish before setting up your PC gaming aquarium.
The Y2 is a big step up from Metalfish’s first fish tank case, the Fish Cube, a teeny mini-ITX PC case/aquarium that’s about a third of the size and looks half as cool. It sells for about $75 (opens in new tab) (not including shipping costs) and you’ll have to import it from China which could take a while.