More than a Fishbowl: Custom Home Aquariums

Few things are more rewarding for a homeowner than combining one of their hobbies or passions with home improvement. If you love fish and marine life, you should install a home aquarium that will help you share this passion with your friends and family. A small rectangular aquarium is fine for your kid's goldfish, but a custom made aquarium can be as much an investment in your home as it is about having a pet. Different home aquarium designs can accommodate modest budgets or unique, ambitious ideas. Here are some things to consider about putting in a custom aquarium for your home.

Custom Aquariums
Custom aquariums can add distinctiveness to your home. Many aquarium designs double as furniture—a coffee table or side table, for example—and can help justify the expense. These aquariums are a nice addition to your home and their reasonable pricing may surprise you. An aquarium table may cost less than many other kinds of custom tables.

On the other hand, you don't necessarily need to go with a pre-manufactured aquarium design. Custom aquarium companies will design an aquarium specific to your space and preferences. You can install a spherical aquarium in your home office desk with matching wood encasing. You can install an aquarium tower within the space of a spiral staircase. You can transform an extra closet into a built-in aquarium. You can even have two separate tanks connected by a glass chute. The possibilities are nearly endless.

Installation
The principles of glass adhesion required for DIY aquarium building are not difficult to understand, but if you haven't worked with glass before, a large aquarium (55 gallons or more) is probably not the best place to start. Without a perfect bond that creates an airtight, bubble-free seal, your home aquarium isn't going to last as long as you'd like. If you do decide to take the project on yourself you'll also need to make sure you have proper glass thickness and quality to withstand the extra pressure the water will apply. You'll want to leave a good margin for error, especially if you're thinking about something ambitious as a table aquarium that may accidentally take a pounding.

A home aquarium company will also be able to advise you on location, maintenance, and aquarium environment. For larger home aquariums, you'll need to make sure you have adequate support from your flooring. The aquarium will need to be near an electrical outlet but not too close to external heat sources. A professional aquarist can also give you suggestions on what types of settings go well with your home and the marine life you choose. He can also help you decide whether a freshwater or saltwater tank is right for you.