What TIP would you leave someone about the placement of a new aquarium in their home?

[Flame2hawk]

Strongest recommendation is to insure you put it on level flooring or make adjustments prior to adding water. Most tank seam failures are due to unleveled stands or flooring.

 

[Dburr1014]

I like my spot.
Sump is in the basement directly under the tank. I built an enclosure under the basement stairs. I have a fresh water drain nearby and fresh water for the rodi system. It's tight but fits all my needs.
Next tank I'll have a fish room. Even better.

 

[Dakota_reef]

A few notes I'd give anyone wanting to setup a new tank.

1. Be aware of the weight of your tank and the support it's on. Some floors may not be able to handle a 200+ gal tank
2. Be aware of direct sunlight hitting your tank. This can increase algae blooms.
3. Be aware of exterior walls. In cold climates, it can affect your tank temperature if insulation isn't enough.
4. Be aware of the power requirements for your tank. 15 amp circuits can quickly be filled up depending on your pumps, heaters, lighting, etc. Smaller tanks should be okay, but my 150g tank is going to peak at 2000+ watts if lights and heaters are on with all pumps at max. I have two 20 amp dedicated circuits to be safe.
5. Make sure the floor is level so the tank is leveled. shims can be used on most stands to level it.
6. Tanks make noise. Be aware of this if you put a tank in your living room and watch quiet movies, lol.
7. Your tank will flood eventually. Be aware and prepared for this eventuality.

 

[UK softy bloke]

When considering an aquarium for your home one of the biggest decisions you have to make is the placement of the aquarium. Where will it go? It's important on many levels but here is one tip from me:

TIP: You want to place the aquarium where it can be enjoyed by the family and easily accessible. An aquarium that is placed in an inconspicuous area is often overlooked, unmaintained and usually ends in it being an eye-sore and is promptly decommissioned.

What TIP would you leave someone about the placement of a new aquarium in their home? (write your response as a tip)

image via @Takaki1980

If you only have one or two aquariums put them somewhere you can sit and enjoy them. I thought of putting a tank upstairs but I would have had to make the effort to just go and look at it let alone maintaining it.

 

[GillMeister]

Place the system close to your mix station and a drain for easier water changes. I'd also keep it away from direct sunlight. A hard surface under the tank helps with water spills.

I failed to follow my last tip but haven't had a problem with it yet.

 

[Fish Think Pink]

My tip for aquarium placement would be setting up on tile.

Due to water, I wouldn't do carpet due to mold. I did have 5 tanks setup on wood, and TRASHED those wood floors even though sealed and I'd wipe up spills. Vinyl can lift, even travertine tile like we put in can lift, but it takes more water spill neglect so hope never to personally have tile problems.

Agree with many of the posts here. This is such a wonderful, sharing community!

 

[zheka757]

Honesly I would say it's not a fair question. There is alot of variables as far as placing tank in a house. And you can't single them out as 1 tip. But if it has to be one, I would say, make a plan for how you want to do maintenance on the tank!
I'd say one of the reason people quit this hobby because their tanks become chores and not a hobby. And if they do plan all their maintenance right (eazy)from beginning it would never be a chore for them

 

[madweazl]

It's in the perfection location but it's only half the size I want it to be now.

 

[FishTruck]

The tank should be where you can sit and watch it, and see it every day. The sump and equipment should be someplace where you can spill a hundred gallons of water without your wife finding out.

 

[ZoWhat]

We talking Beerquarium or what?


.

 

[Fish man]

Tank placement is one of the things often overlooked when planning an aquarium. One, will the floor support a larger tank. When I went from a 55 to a 90 I had to reinforce the floor from the basement up to the room where my tank sits. Also when I brought home my tank my wife and I thought ok here's some vacant wall space in the dining room. I proceeded to set everything up and thought hey this is great. After a few days I realized I normally spend about 2 hours a year in the dining room, one at Thanksgiving and the other at Christmas. The kids would make fun of me saying; there's dad sitting in the dining room again looking at his fish tank. I think the tank should be in an area of the home where you would normally spend most of your time. I ended up moving it into my office within two weeks of getting it. I work from home and spend several hours a day in there. The only problem with that is I get distracted and my work productivity sometimes suffers. That was probably one of the best reefing decisions I ever made. I've said this before on other threads but placement is one of the things I think is often overlooked when planning an aquarium and the reason many people lose interest after a short time. I adopted my tank from a friend who had it in a hallway in his basement. It wasn't practical to view and quickly became just something else to maintain.

 

[reeftwincities]

I know folks have said to avoid direct sunlight on the aquarium but every future aquarium I set up will be in full view of a window. Natural sunlight on corals and fish is the best. I've never run into a situation where natural sunlight was the primary cause of algae blooms. I'm sure it can happen, but in the upper midwest, any natural light is a blessing, not a curse.

 

[sfin52]

Perfect spot first thing you see entering the basement.

I can see it from all part of my man cave

 

[TDiefRN]

Perfect spot in a room we occupy the most. It on one side of the TV. However, now I feel like we need another one on the other side to make it symmetrical

I hear ya!

 

[Guy317]

Honestly if you don’t want to move walls lol maybe make sure you can get it in the house

 

[Jorge Sanchez]

The aquarium is IMHO, at the same time, a hobby, part of the family, good conversation starter, and part of the house. For me, the most important tip about the installation site is to have easy access to: clean water, drainage and electricity.

 

[Atrumblood]

My current tank is not in a good spot. I put it too close to the wall. The room is carpeted and near the wall is the tack strips. My tank leans forward noticeably because of it. Very noticeable when I look at the water line and see that it isn't parallel with the rim of the tank.


My tip to anyone setting up a new tank is know what's under the carpet.

 

[Atrumblood]

Honestly if you don’t want to move walls lol maybe make sure you can get it in the house

I definitely got lucky on that one. I ordered a 100 gallon tank without checking that I could get it down stairs and around some tight corners. I ended up hiring piano movers to get it inside safely. Worth the 200 bucks though. They treated it very carefully and had special equipment to move delicate heavy items.

 

[bruno3047]

Someplace where you can enjoy it most of the time.

 

[WVNed]

Over time any tank will damage the place it is in if it can. Put it somewhere the damage can be mitigated or tough enough to handle it. My tanks are in the basement on a vinyl plank covered concrete floor. Heavy wood plank is on the walls.
The fish room has a concrete floor and I put exterior siding on the walls.