Aquarium Fish Tanks for Dummies

Once you decided to turn your dream of owning an aquarium into a reality, the very first piece of equipment you have to get is a fish tank.

What you need to consider are the

• shape and size of the tank
• space available to accommodate it
• number and types of fish you wish to keep

Keep These Following Tips In Mind When Buying Your First Fish Tank

Shape and Size of the Fish Tank

In general, surface area is more important than volume in determining how many fish a tank can support. For instance, if you wish to keep bottom-dwelling fish, a tank that is all, rather than wide, won’t allow you to keep too many of them. You can read more on how the shape of your aquarium tank can affect your fish here.

Larger Doesn’t Equal More Work: Although it appears that larger tanks require more work than smaller ones, this is not the case. Regular partial water changes for a larger tank may require at the most one bucket of water more than for a smaller tank, and that doesn’t translate into extra work!

Large and Stability: In fact, it is easier to keep the water chemistry stable in a larger tank than in a smaller one. That’s because the less water there is, the greater the impact resulting from any chemical fluctuations in the water. Conversely, the effects of a chemical change become weakened in a larger body of water.

Bigger Beginning: Beginner fishkeepers will usually experience a growing interest in their new hobby, and it is common for them to want to add more fish to their aquarium. As a 10-gallon tank can only support a handful of medium-sized fish, it may be wiser to start with a larger tank.

Material of the Fish Tank

Tanks are available in a variety of materials, the most common of which are glass and acrylic. Consider the pros and cons of each before making your choice:

Glass Fish Tank

• Cheaper per gallon
• Doesn’t scratch easily
• Higher index of refraction (higher level of distortion when viewed from an angle)
• Heavier than an acrylic tank of the same size (especially when tank is larger than 30 gallons)
• Tank stand only needs to support the edges of the tank.
• Break easily

Acrylic Fish Tank

• More expensive per gallon
• Scratches easily (difficult to scrape algae away)
• Lower index of refraction (lower level of distortion when viewed at an angle)
• Comparative lighter than glass
• Special stand needed to support the entire tank bottom, not just the edges
• Harder to break

One last tip, be prudent. This will not be your first and last fish tank!

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