Using the site on your phone

Underground Aquarium works in your phone's web browser, with a layout built for small screens. There's no app store download: you can add the site to your home screen and it opens like an app.

How is the site different on a phone?

On phones and small tablets, the long top menu is replaced by:

• a slim top bar with the logo, the notifications bell (when signed in) and a menu button
• a bar along the bottom of the screen with the five places you use most

Everything available on a computer is still there. The wider layout (with More, the profile menu and Post Free Ad at the top) appears once the screen is wide enough, for example on a larger tablet or when you turn some tablets sideways. See Getting around the site for the computer layout.

What's on the bottom bar?

From left to right:

• Feed: the community feed. It's also highlighted on the home page.
• Classifieds: free local ads.
• + (the blue button in the middle): opens the Create menu.
• Messages: your conversations. A red number shows how many conversations have unread messages (up to "9+"). Signed out, it opens Log in.
• Me: your photo and your Dashboard. Signed out, this tab says Sign in and opens Log in.

The tab for the section you're in is shown brighter. Me stays lit on your Dashboard, Trophies and account settings pages.

What does the + button do?

Tap the blue + to open the Create menu from the bottom of the screen. It has three choices:

• Post to the feed: "Photos, a question, what's new in your tanks." Opens the Feed with the post box ready to type in.
• Post a free ad: "Sell or give away fish, plants and gear." Opens the Post a free ad form.
• Ask the forums: "A question or a build for the whole community." Opens the new thread form.

Tap the X, tap the dark area above the menu, or pick an option to close it. You need to be signed in to actually post. If you're signed out, Ask the forums sends you to Log in and then straight back to the new thread form, and Post a free ad shows a Sign in button on the form. Post to the feed just opens the Feed without a post box, so tap Sign in on the bottom bar first.

What's in the phone menu?

Tap the menu button (three lines) at the top right. The menu fills the screen and has:

• The Society at the top, in gold
• Explore: Forums, Classifieds, Shops Near Me, Fish Species, Events, Courses, Glossary, Tank Builder, Water Check, Breeding Guides, About and Help Center
• a Sign in button at the bottom, if you're signed out

Tap the X (in the same spot as the menu button) to close it. The menu also closes by itself when you pick a page. While it's open, the page behind it doesn't scroll. Opening the menu closes the Create menu, and tapping the bottom bar closes the menu, so only one is open at a time.

The phone menu is for places on the site. Your own things (listings, shops, settings, sign out) live on the Me tab.

What's on the Me tab?

Me opens your Dashboard. There you'll find:

• your photo, name, @username, email and bubbles, with Edit profile and Public (your public profile)
• a Society card: Society member area for members, or Join the Underground Aquarium Society
• Your stuff: Public profile, My listings, My shops, My tanks, Trophies, and Certificates for Society members
• Tools: Tank Builder, Water Check
• Settings: Account & data
• Sign out
• your certifications and your tanks further down

From Account & data, a row of buttons across the top lets you swipe between Profile, Account & data, Password, Your listings, Your shops and Notifications. See Your dashboard and settings.

Where are notifications on a phone?

Tap the bell at the top of the screen, next to the menu button. On phones the bell opens the full Notifications page instead of a small panel. A red number on the bell shows how many new notifications have arrived since you last checked (up to "9+"). The bell only appears when you're signed in. See Notifications.

How do I add Underground Aquarium to my home screen?

Adding the site to your home screen gives you an icon that opens Underground Aquarium full screen, without the browser's address bar, starting on the Feed.

iPhone or iPad (Safari)

1. Open undergroundaquarium.com in Safari.
2. Tap the Share button (the square with an arrow pointing up).
3. Scroll down and tap Add to Home Screen.
4. Tap Add.

Android (Chrome)

1. Open undergroundaquarium.com in Chrome.
2. Tap the menu (three dots) at the top right.
3. Tap Add to Home screen or Install app, then confirm.

The icon is labeled "Underground Aq" (the full name is "Underground Aquarium"). The exact wording of these menus depends on your phone and browser version.

Is there an Underground Aquarium app?

There's no separate app in the App Store or Google Play. The website is the app: add it to your home screen (see above) and it opens like one. Everything you do there is the same account and the same site as in your browser.

Does the home screen version send push notifications?

No. The site doesn't send push notifications to your phone. You'll see new notifications on the bell and messages on the Messages tab whenever you open the site, and we send some notifications by email. See Emails we send.

Will the bottom bar cover the page or my phone's home indicator?

No. The site leaves space at the bottom of every page so the bar never hides the footer or the last item on a page. On phones with no home button, the bar sits above the home indicator line and the page fills the screen edge to edge around the notch or camera cutout.

The bottom bar is hidden on the Log in, Create account and Reset password pages, and inside an open message conversation so it doesn't get in the way of the reply box.

Common problems

I can't find the bottom bar. It's hidden on sign in pages and inside a conversation. Go back or tap the logo to get it back. On a wide screen (like a large tablet) you get the computer layout with the menu across the top instead.

When I open the home screen icon, I'm not signed in. Some phones keep the home screen version separate from your browser. Log in once in the home screen version and it will remember you.

There's no Back button in the home screen version. Because it opens without the browser's toolbar, use your phone's back gesture (swipe from the left edge on iPhone, or the Back button or gesture on Android), or use the bottom bar and menu to move around.

I don't see "Add to Home Screen" on my iPhone. Make sure you're in Safari, then look further down the Share sheet. You may need to tap Edit Actions to show it.

The Create menu and the phone menu keep closing each other. That's on purpose: only one can be open at a time. Close one, then open the other.

The notification sound doesn't play. Your browser only allows sounds after you've tapped somewhere on the page, and it only plays while the site is open. Check that your phone isn't on silent.