Selecting the Perfect Aquarium for Your Home:
Capacity of Aquariums
Dimensions of Aquariums
Weight of Aquariums
Material of Aquariums
Looking for a perfect aquarium for your home? Look no more!
If you’re contemplating to add a fish tank in your home, then you should know that fishes are the best house pets. Owing to their easy upkeep, serenity, and wide variety of species and sizes, they’re always adored by individuals with busy schedules. Not to mention, fish tanks make your living space brighter and aesthetically pleasing if you know how to choose the perfect aquarium for your home.
Don’t worry about making a wrong choice with aquariums anymore. This blog provides all the information you need when considering which aquarium to buy for your home – from size to material.
Tips for Choosing the Perfect Aquarium for Your Home
When looking for an aquarium, you will come across a number of options. However, there are a few things you need to consider before making the final decision. Maintenance, cost, and budget are some of those considerations that shouldn’t be overlooked. Hence, we have divided the information into following categories:
- Capacity
- Dimensions
- Weight
- Material
On a side note, if you’re thinking of adding an aquarium for aesthetic purposes, you might want to read our blog on low-cost home decoration ideas.
Choosing an Aquarium Based on Capacity
As mentioned earlier, choosing an aquarium can be a tricky business. One of the considerations include whether or not you want to buy an aquarium based on its capacity.
Here are some of the standard aquarium sizes available in the market:
- 1 to 4 gallons
- 5 to 10 gallons
- 11 to 20 gallons
- 21 to 40 gallons
Let’s see if any of these fit the structure and the interiors of your home.
1 to 4 gallons
Most of the people who are opting to get one single fish choose to get a fishbowl instead of a proper aquarium. A standard fish bowl can hold water from 1.5 to 3 gallons of water. Some people leave a few inches at the top of the bowl, so that they can easily feed the fish, while simultaneously maintaining and accessorising the bowl.
One of the strongest suites of owning small aquariums is that they can easily be adjusted without making a lot of changes to your interior. They are also easily manageable as compared to bigger tanks. While management is easy, they have their own drawbacks. As such, the surface area of fishbowls is usually low which reduces the chances for gas change. And, it gives way to harmful chemicals to build up.
Since you can only put one fish in a fishbowl, if you plan on getting more than one, you will need a bigger aquarium.
5 to 10 gallons
If you live in a small house, or an apartment, this is the ideal size for you. This size can easily hold up more than the fish bowl. And, it doesn’t require a huge space in your abode. They are also large enough to hold a number of fishes without much difficulty.
On a side note, you can add artificial aquarium plants and rocks for aesthetic purposes. Filters can also be added to make cleaning and keeping the tank fresh.
However, maintaining an aquarium with the capacity of 5 to 10 gallons of water is harder. It requires a constant check and balance on the PH level and filtration of the tank.
11 to 20 gallons
This is the most common capacity for aquariums in Pakistan. There’s a majority of the homeowners who opt for fishes as pets and choose this particular size for their homes. If you’re looking for more than just a home for your pet fishes, then this is the ideal size.
This size is huge enough to be home to 4 to 5 goldfishes easily. These aquariums would not occupy too much space in your house, but would be big enough so that they are easily noticeable. The increased capacity in these tanks would mean that you can now add more decorative items to the aquarium, making it more appealing.
21 to 40 gallons
While some look for aquariums because they want to have a pet fish, others look at aquariums for decorative purposes. If you fall into the latter category, this size is ideal for you.
You can have a dozen of fish in this aquarium. Since these aquariums are often seen as decor fish tanks, you will find a number of designs for these aquariums.
While they provide a spacious environment for your pet fish, they are quite expensive and need an efficient filtration system to maintain a stable environment.
Choosing an Aquarium Based on Dimensions
You can make decisions based on aquarium sizes and weights. After discussion capacity, we will mention the dimensions of an aquarium. You can choose what’s more suitable for your home.
Note: These dimensions are for rectangular fish tanks.
| Capacity | Length of Tank | Width of Tank | Height of Tank |
| 3 gallon | 12 inches | 6 inches | 8 inches |
| 5 gallon | 16 inches | 8 inches | 10 inches |
| 10 gallons | 20 inches | 10 inches | 12 inches |
| 15 gallons | 24 inches | 12 inches | 14 inches |
| 20 gallons | 30 inches | 12 inches | 16 inches |
| 25 gallons | 34 inches | 12 inches | 16 inches |
| 30 gallons | 36 inches | 13 inches | 16 inches |
| 40 gallons | 48 inches | 13 inches | 16 inches |
You can easily use this chart to judge whether or not you have the space for the aquarium that you were thinking about buying. If you were thinking about a 25 gallon aquarium, do you think the measurements shown in the chart are according to the place you have available in your home?
Choosing an Aquarium Based on Weight
When choosing the perfect aquarium for your home, one of the things you should consider is the weight of the aquarium you have your heart set on. The weight of the aquarium is an important factor because you might need to move it around at some point, and you won’t always have hired help.
Check out the table below in order to determine whether the size of your aquarium is a suitable fit for you or not.
Note: The table below shows the weight of various aquarium capacities when they are empty and when they are filled with water.
| Capacity | Weight when the aquarium is empty | Weight when the aquarium is filled |
| 3 gallons | 1.5 kilograms | 12 kilograms |
| 5 gallons | 3 kilograms | 28 kilograms |
| 10 gallons | 5 kilograms | 50 kilograms |
| 15 gallons | 9.5 kilograms | 7 kilograms |
| 20 gallons | 11 kilograms | 100 kilograms |
| 25 gallons | 14.5 kilograms | 128 kilograms |
| 30 gallons | 22 kilograms | 158 kilograms |
| 40 gallons | 27 kilograms | 206 kilograms |
Choosing an Aquarium based on Materials
Now that we have taken size, capacity, and dimensions into consideration, it’s time we discuss the material. Since most aquariums in the Pakistani market are transparent, the best choice of material for these tanks are either glass or acrylic.
We have covered the pros and cons of each of these material choices below:
Pros of choosing a glass aquarium
- Buying a glass aquarium is cheaper
- Glass aquarium is scratch resistant
- Glass is more stain resistant than any other material
Cons of choosing a glass aquarium
- Glass is heavier in weight
- It comes in limited shapes
- Glass is more prone to damage and breakage
Pros of choosing an acrylic aquarium:
- It is lighter in weight
- You can find variety in shapes
- The material is sturdier than glass
Cons of choosing an acrylic aquarium
- Acrylic is more prone to discoloration
- It is costlier than glass
- It is prone to scratches
Now that we’ve listed the pros and cons of choosing both glass and acrylics for your aquariums, we hope that you’ll have no difficulty when making the final purchase.
We have listed a few factors that you need to consider when choosing the perfect aquarium for your home. Now that you have choses the perfect aquarium, you must also maintain its up keep, here are some tips to take care of your aquarium.
If you have any questions or have some additional information, write to us at blog@jagahonline.com. You can keep a check on Jagah Online for amazing real estate investment opportunities. Follow us on our Facebook page for the latest updates.
