23 Apr

Buying A Fish Tank? (7 Facts to Know)

Common questions regarding buying a fish tank

As one of the best ways to add some interesting pets into your home life, owning a fish tank can be great fun. However, as you might have already found out, the ownership and usage of fish tanks can be quite confusing.

There is much more to this than simply going out and buying the first tank that you look at, after all. In fact, before you go ahead and make any purchase at all, we highly recommend that you take a quick look at these common queries around buying a fish tank.

Are fish tanks cruel?

So, the first question to think about is the most important one – ethics. Are fish tanks cruel?

Many assume they are, and many animal rights charities and groups fight back against their usage. However, the main way to remove any accusations of cruelty would be to invest a lot more time and effort into creating the right conditions within that environment.

You might find, for example, that certain fish need a specific size of the tank, position, and filtration system. Making sure your fish tank is 100% safe for the inhabitants that you have is very important. This can go a long way to ensuring the fish get a better standard of life and minimises the risk of illness, injury, and unhappiness overall.

Typically, the only fish tanks you could say aren’t really cruel in nature are those that are large enough to give the fish freedom and quality of life. Small fish tanks and fishbowls often offer no support for the fish.

Which brand of fish tank is the best?

When looking at the various fish tanks, you will likely notice that more than a few times you will see the same names turning up in your research. That is important to note, as some specific brands offer you the best chance for high quality, happy experience for the fish in your tank.

Popular brands that are worth considering as fish tank manufacturers include names such as SeaClear, Marineland, Fluval, and Tetra. These are rated as some of the best names within the industry and should give you access to fish tanks that are worth the money you would be investing when buying a fish tank.

Typically, though, branding can only be part of the argument; you still need to buy the right type and style of the fish tank.

What should a fish tank have?

When you are building fish tanks, you want to try and ensure that you can include all of the following as a minimum:

• Fish filters. These are very important as they can play a key role in keeping the water just right for the fish. This allows you to work with either mechanical, chemical and biological filtration.
• Water conditioners. Fish need to have the best conditions, and this includes adding in the healthy bacteria that they need. water conditioner helps to fill the tank with the bacteria needed for your fish.
• Air pumps. An air pump is vital to help you make sure that you can get the right kind of water flow. An air pump helps to keep the water high in oxygen, ensuring the fish can breathe easier. Also helps to balance out the heat of the water.
• Light sources. While you might not assume this matters, adding in some lighting sources – even simple LED lighting – can be very important for the fish to have a good quality of life. The light should be energy-minimal in terms of usage and should provide next to no heat.
• Lastly, investing in a fish tank heater can be a very wise idea. This should give you the chance to give the fish what they need in terms of temperature. As ever, check the temperature for the fish inhabiting your tank.

You also will need to regularly test the water to ensure it has the correct pH levels, the right hardness, and the correct alkalinity. This is very important to ensure a happy and healthy living environment for the fish, so you should make this a priority for the most part.

The more time you can spend looking into these key features, the easier it is to have a fish tank that benefits the creatures within.

Is it good to keep a fish tank at home?

Many think about owning a fish tank but aren’t sure where the best place to put one would be. We tend to recommend that you look to have a fish tank at home if you have space only and you can ensure that it is well-built, secure, and safe. Those who don’t put in the needed effort will simply create an unhealthy environment for the fish.

Only invest in fish tanks for home use if you believe that you can properly commit to the level of care that the fish need. If you are unable to do that, then you should probably focus on another kind of animal upkeep. Fish are much higher maintenance than you assume, so only get a home fish tank if you believe you can properly care for the creatures within.

Is it bad to have a fish tank at home in your bedroom?

This is often a personal choice, but some believe that a fish tank in the bedroom can be quite off-putting. The constant water movement can become irritating and distracting and can make it harder to focus or even get to sleep at night. Some also feel that the conditions of a bedroom can also be quite unsuitable for a fish tank.

If you wish to try and improve the experience, then you should definitely consider the bedroom conditions.

Unless you have an extremely large bedroom that offers safe spacing for the tank whilst allowing the fish all of the features they need, all without distracting you, then you might find that a fish tank in the bedroom is not a wonderful idea it might sound like.

As ever, it comes down to personal conditions and preferences when buying a fish tank.

Can humans get parasites from fish tanks?

Yes, unfortunately, you can run the risk of picking up parasites from a fish tank. People have previously become infected with a Mycobacterium marinum. This often happens if the water or the fish have become infected or contaminated. Most of the time, you could find yourself fighting off a skin infection – in more severe cases, though, the issue can spread to impact your bodily systems.

As such, testing water and caring for the fish within your fish tank is absolutely vital. If you are serious about making this commitment, then you should ensure that you take all of the opportunities you can to keep the tank as clean as possible.

You reduce the risk of personal infection, but you also reduce the risk of the fish and the water being contaminated with parasites.

Where should a fish tank be placed in a house?

Really, a fish tank can work in most rooms where the conditions allow. The main place to avoid a fish tank is placed within a sunny window. This can heat the temperature of the water to an extreme and can make life at best uncomfortable for the fish. In worst-case scenarios, it could potentially kill them.

That is why you should try and avoid a sunny area with plenty of natural lighting. You can add in your own lighting. Some recommend avoiding places like the bedroom (as discussed) and the kitchen. The kitchen especially should be avoided as the large heat build-up that can come from cooking can make the fish tanks needlessly uncomfortable for the fish within.

Most of the time, fish tanks work best when they are in naturally shaded areas that are outside of your eye-line when trying to concentrate.

Do fish tanks cause mould?

You might worry that having a fish tank at home could lead to mould build-up. The mould issue can come from having freshwater or saltwater fish tanks that let the water evaporate as the water heats up. This can start to raise the humidity within the room that the tank is in, which naturally can lead to quite a lot of moisture build-up.

In rooms where there is excessive moisture without it being handled properly, this can lead to mould on the surfaces, including walls, windows, and furniture. As such, you should always be ready to combat and deal with mould that is caused by the humidity increase by a fish tank.

Often, this can be dealt with by simply allowing fresh air in, by dealing with the humidity with dehumidifiers, and various other little tools that can help to avoid the room from becoming needlessly dried out.

Buying fish tanks can take a lot of time, effort, and analysis. If you use the information that we have provided above, though, you should find it a bit easier to work towards solving the conundrums slowly but surely you face regarding fish tanks.

The challenges are specific, but with enough education and looking around you can easily make sure that setting up a fish tank is much easier than it might seem today.