5 Deadly Aquarium Design Mistakes and How To Avoid Them

Using your imagination to decorate your aquarium tank is all fine and dandy, but some items simply have no place in the whole scheme of design. Many can turn into hazards for your fish.

To keep your tank a safe haven, work with the following limitations and guidelines. They will ensure your fish won’t have to live (or die) with your mistakes.

1. Toxic City

Dissolved chemicals can make your fish ill within a matter of minutes. In high concentrations, toxic materials kill in seconds.

Thinking of displaying metallic components in the tank? Exposure to metallic substances, however small they are can contaminate and poison the environment making your fish insusceptible to disease.

Other toxic materials that wreak havoc are dyed items, crayon, clay and items that have come into contact with chemical like detergents, cleaners or solvents.

2. Polluted Waters

Water is a universal solvent. Avoid paper-based items, fabrics or human food that can dissolve and pollute your tank, turning it into a deathbed.

Clay, ceramic, plastic, and glass are safe, so let your creativity loose with Lego toys, clay and ceramic pots, or colored glass marbles.

3. Rocky Underworld

Using rocks for the watery landscape? Don’t lean them too close to, or directly on, the tank walls. They may exert pressure on the glass or scratch the acrylic while setting. Stacking rocks? Glue them together to prevent them from toppling over on unsuspecting fish seeking cover beneath. Use a silicone sealant, and avoid toxic glues.

4. Animated Hell

They may look engaging to you, but your fish probably won’t find moving treasure chests or little fishing figurines very amusing.

Action pieces like these distract and disturb to fish, making them nervous, stressed and anxious. Even if your fish eventually get used to the jerky movements, taking these animated objects out for cleaning and putting them backing could bring on the jitters again.

5. Natural Disasters

That pretty piece of driftwood, coral or seashell you picked up on the beach can be poisonous in your tank. These items may carry mineral deposits or parasites invisible to the naked eye. Wood may leach tannins and upset the pH balance of the water. Rocks, shells and corals may leach calcium and other minerals that your fish may not tolerate.

Test for calcium by dripping some vinegar onto the suspected item. If it foams or bubbles, it means that leaching will occur.

Wash, scrub and boil these substances for two hours before use. Soak them for a week or two and change the water daily. Dry the items in the sun or oven to kill any leftover micro-organisms lurking within them.

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