Buying Your First Fish Tank

A lot of people when they buy a fish tank aren’t thinking of the welfare of the fish. They are mostly thinking of what it will do for them. Or how great a conversation piece it will make. But if you are thinking of raising fish live in the aquarium, and if you love animals, you should wish for them to have the best environment possible. This means attempting to create an ecosystem as close to their natural environment as you can. After all, fishes do have personalities as you’ll discover once they have had a chance to acclimatize to their new aquarium surroundings.

If this is your first time buying a fish tank, there are a few guidelines that you should follow to give your fish the best chance at both survival and of having a happy life.

First you have to consider where you will place your new aquarium. Ideally it should be a place without too many extreme temperature changes. Even though aquarium heaters can, to a degree, help to control the water temperature, they are not built to regulate between extreme temperature ranges. The place should also have strong enough flooring to easily withstand the weight of the aquarium.

For instance, when filled up with water a ten gallon tank is generally not a problem. It’ll probably weight somewhere between 85 and 95 pounds depending on the weight of the tank. On the other hand, a huge fish tank could very well weigh over a thousand pounds and, as a result, not  be safe for your current flooring. Be careful also of positioning the tank in the path of direct sunlight which can possibly cause the water to overheat. Finally, your tank should be placed in an area where it will be easy to maintain. If not, it’s very likely that the difficulty of maintaining it will, unfortunately, cause it to be maintained very little or not at all.

The second most significant matter to think about when purchasing an aquarium is its size. If the aquarium is too small it will cramp the living area of your fish making them miserable. But it’ll also require you to clean it more often. The absolute smallest sized tank that you should even consider is a ten gallon tank. And if you plan on having your fish breed, probably a twenty gallon or greater tank would be best. Probably the best rule of thumb is to buy the largest sized tank that you can reasonably afford and that will fit into the room where you will keep the tank.

Thirdly, when you buy a fish tank, buy one with standardized dimensions. You’ll find it much easier to find accessories for. For instance, aquarium filters come in a variety of standard sizes. However, if you have an odd sized or custom tank, it may be very difficult to find the right filter for it, because your local pet store will most likely carry standard sizes only. Additionally, if the tank manufacturer has gone out of business, it may well be impossible. But, even if you do find the filter, odds are that you’ll pay more for it than you would a standard filter. You’ll have similar problems when trying to fit your aquariums with things  such as aquarium pumps, plants, backgrounds, and so on.