Things to Consider before Purchasing an Aquarium

What type of tank do you want?

• Fish only aquarium
  • peaceful
  • aggressive
  • peaceful and aggressive
• Reef aquarium
  • peaceful reef with coral, fish, inverts, and clams
  • predator reef with larger aggressive fish and corals - no inverts or clams

Where will you put the tank?

• Must be away from direct sunlight, vents, or high drafts
• Are you near a water source?

This will make maintenance or building automated topping-off water systems easier.

What size tank do you want?

• We suggest going as big as your space and or budget allows.
• Nano size tanks have also become popular because of new turn-key systems that are easy to maintain. However, the livestock you can keep becomes very limited.

What will your aquarium stand on?

• desk
• aquarium stand
• custom built aquarium cabinet
• Be sure to ask an expert whether your stand can hold the amount of water weight anticipated.
• Also, be sure you have room for the kind of filter system you want as well as room for maintenance issues.

What kind of lighting do you want or need?

• Fish-only aquariums with live rock do not require bright lighting.
• Proper lighting is an absolute necessity for any reef aquarium.

Will you use live rock?

• We highly recommend the use of good live rock.
• Live rock is an excellent biological filter.
• Live rock is good for aqua-scaping your aquarium and also make great caves and hiding places for fish.