How to Create The Perfect Home Aquarium

I love fish. Unlike cats and dogs that totally have attitudes and can give you the cold shoulder if they want, fish are just going with the flow (pretty literally). They just sit in their tank listening to your muffled problems through a glass wall and when scared of your lips against the glass, they hide. Who needs a therapist when you have fish?

How to Create The Perfect Home Aquarium

When it comes time for you to purchase everything you need for an aquarium, it can be overwhelming. Besides the fish you need to worry about what sort of tank you are getting, the kind of plants, lights, food, and so much more.

Sure, you can go with a single goldfish in a round fish bowl but if you want the real deal, you need to know what you are doing.

So here are 6 tips on how to create the perfect home aquarium:

1. Plan according to the space you have. You obviously don’t want to buy a tank larger than the space you plan to put it in. I suggest pre-measuring the space intended to house the aquarium that way when you are buying one, you know exactly the size you can get.
2. Determine a budget. Fish tanks can cost from $50 up to thousands of dollars. Before you get started on choosing everything, you want to determine a budget, and that will be the easiest way to know which route of fish, tanks, etc. you want to (and can) go.
3. Do your research on fish beforehand. Some fish require more care and maintenance than others. Ask yourself if you really have the time to care for high-maintenance fish, and if the answer is no, learn about fish that are less work to take care of.

   

4. Selecting the right water. Depending on the kind of fish you plan to purchase, the water is also an important factor. Fresh water tanks (and fish) are typically easier to maintain, especially for someone new to the aquarium world. Salt water fish (and salt water tanks) are typically higher maintenance and can be costlier.
5. Plan the contents. So you’ve got the fish, tank, and basic necessities, and if you have room in your budget, you will need to decide what other contents you want in your aquarium. Plants? Sunken ships? Rocks? These are all items that can make your tank more visually appealing and be homes to your fish. While these aren’t needs, it is a good idea to leave room in the budget for these as well.

   

6. When in doubt, ask for help. As I mentioned, becoming a new aquarium owner can be overwhelming. That is why if you are ever in doubt, ask for help from a professional! When visiting a pet store, you can ask an associate for help to ensure you get exactly what you need. Let’s just try to avoid too many fish deaths, okay?

Ready, Set, Shop for Fish!

Now that you are armed with some great tips to help you get through shopping for your new home aquarium, you might be wondering where you start with all of this. Well, I suggest heading to your local PetSmart.

PetSmart has a great selection of items that you can use to customize your perfect home aquarium. Plus, if you are like me the first time, you probably have no idea what you are doing when it comes to buying everything you need and you will need LOTS of help. Their employees are knowledgeable and able to help with you with your needs from start to finish.

If you have kids and you plan on of having them help maintain your new aquarium, I highly recommend you take them with you so they can learn right alongside you!