Insider Tips to Creating Successful Aquariums______

It takes time to build the experience needed to be able to create an aquarium that is both aesthetically beautiful and functional. When it comes to designing aquariums, there are a few key elements that separate the casual aquarist from a professional. First, the professional always looks at the overall project through the eyes of his client. As a professional you must realize that your client doesn’t know or care about all that goes on behind the scenes, rather, they care about the impression that your design creates. Your task is to facilitate an “experience” for everyone who views the aquarium. What’s this mean?

Think back to a piece of art that moved you. Why was a two dimensional piece of canvas covered with colored pigments able to stir your emotions? It was because the artist created the work from your perspective. Art is subjective by nature, meaning that certain people like certain types of art, because they are connected to it in some personal way. The same is true for aquariums. An aquarium is a living piece of artwork. Your canvas is the aquarium’s design and shape, your paint is the multitude of colorful fish and animals that you select. The challenge is to make a connection that stimulates your audience personal level.

When you design a system, make sure you know why your client wants an aquarium in the first place. Do they just love fish? Probably not or else they would be tinkering on their own as a hobbyist. They hired you to create an ocean in their home. Why? Maybe they love to travel to the tropics each year and love to snorkel over the reefs. In this case your tank has to be a reminder of that experience. You want the aquarium to be a time portal for them.

Each time they sit in front of their tank they should feel transported back to that favorite spot. In this way their aquarium offers them a mini-vacation everyday. With this client in mind, you would first find out where they like to vacation, next find out what kind of reefs are found there, and then try your best to replicate that experience. Paying attention to these details is something that few other aquarium pros do, but I guarantee you that these little details will set you apart.

Define Your Objective

What kind of aquarium do your customers really want? It’s not enough to say, “I’ll build a reef tank,” because that is really vague and doesn’t define your end goal. The ocean is a big place with many different types of reefs. When you design a tank it is very important to have an end in mind. You should define what you are trying to replicate as narrowly as possible. For instance, you say you want a reef tank, but what kind of reef do you want? Do you want an Atlantic reef, Pacific Coastal reef, or the most popular Indo-Pacific reef?

Let’s say you set up a “reef tank” and stock it with live rock from Fiji (Indo-Pac), you add some Red Leg Hermits (Atlantic), some Astrea Snails (Pacific), a Cleaner Shrimp (Pacific), a couple of Yellow Tangs (Pacific), you and your customer are happy for now. Then you add a cool new fish, a Spanish Hogfish (Atlantic). Everything seems to be going okay. However, (aside from this being a hodgepodge of animals), it can also be problematic, because the animals don’t instinctively interact well. Case in point, almost immediately after you added your last fish, the hogfish, your client noticed the cleaner shrimp was missing. Oops! The hogfish munched it.

The hogfish didn’t recognize the shrimp as a helpful neighbor, but more like a tasty snack. That’s a costly mistake. To make matters worse, that murderous hogfish ends up eating all of the snails in the tank, which allows algae to grow unchecked. Now what do you do? Once a fish is in a tank it’s not easy to get it out. You may even have to end up draining the tank to catch the culprit.

These are the kind of amateur mistakes that will cause serious headaches and are best avoided by paying special attention to the ecosystems you are trying to replicate.

The world’s reefs are amazing examples of the complexities of evolution. The reefs themselves are made up of the most diverse food webs on the planet. The thousands of symbiotic relationships within the reef formed over hundreds of millennia; these relationships of necessity came about because of the specific influences of the reef environment in that area of the world. For these reasons, it is easy to see why it is so important for the aquarist to understand which environment he wants to replicate. Keep in mind the fact that once you have decided on the type of reef you’ll want to develop it is nearly impossible to change your mind once the tank is up and running without completely starting over again.

Know Your Budget

Most people have no idea how much an aquarium will end up costing them when they start out. Realizing that the aquarium they are buying today will cost them money from now until the day they take it down is an important part of an aquarium budget. The average person, (not a hobbyist per se), who is interested in buying an aquarium is more often than not buying on impulse. Meaning, they haven’t really got a clue as to what it takes to start and keep an aquarium. They probably saw a tank in a lobby or at a friend’s house and thought, “Wow, that’s so cool, I’ve got to get one,” which is in my experience usually how it goes. These people need to be informed of exactly what an aquarium is. An aquarium is both a dynamic piece of furniture and a living breathing “pet” for lack of a better term. It is never completed and always at risk of total annihilation.

When I am dealing with a new client like this, I always take the time to make certain that they know what they are getting into. Always ask them the questions that they don’t know to ask for themselves. First, ask if they have any experience with aquariums. Most won’t. Then inform them about the constant responsibility involved. Ask them if they know how much a custom tank will cost them. I like to compare a new aquarium to a home entertainment center. The tank is like the TV, the heart of the system. Explain that you can spend a lot of money for a top-of-the-line TV and the same is true for a tank. The bigger and fancier, the more you’ll spend. After the tank, then there’s the filtration, which is like the sound system. There are multiple components for both; the sound system has receivers, speakers, DVD players, etc. The filtration system includes multiple components too; a sump, skimmer, chiller, etc. Then there’s the furniture. A entertainment center can be built-in with custom cabinetry and fine trimmings or it can be free-standing with minimal cost. The same is true for aquarium furniture. Most people will be able to easily see the similarities between aquariums and entertainment centers and they will appreciate the parallels.

Location, Location, Location

Now that you have a customer that has an idea of the time, money, and commitment involved in owning an aquarium, it’s time to talk about location. As the old saying goes, location is truly everything. Your clients will have an idea in their minds about where they think the tank should go. THIS IS RARELY THE RIGHT LOCATION! Remember, you are the professional, you have the experience in this matter, and if you set up a tank in a bad location it won’t matter that it was your client’s idea, because you should have known better. Your client needs your help. They don’t know where an aquarium should be located or why some areas are troublesome. Let’s take a look at some common problems with choosing a poor location.

First, an aquarium is a focal point in any home; therefore it should be located in an area where people spend most of their time so they can maximize their enjoyment. The best areas for aquariums are living rooms, entries, room dividers, and within or adjacent to a kitchen. It sounds strange, an aquarium in a kitchen, but trust me on this. The average person entertains at their home five times each year. Most people tend to congregate in or around kitchens. So, if you want to create maximum prestige for your client, make it easy for them to show off their investment, put it near a kitchen. An added benefit for a tank near a kitchen is that the tank is easier to service, because there are sinks and drains near by, which can be used during services.

I don’t recommend installing aquariums upstairs either. Many times people will ask to put a tank in their bedroom or the child’s room, but I strongly suggest otherwise, because having an aquarium upstairs creates many problems. First, a tank upstairs will rarely be seen by anybody. Second, you will be lugging water up and down stairs each and every visit. Take is from Sisyphus, this is torture. Also, keep in mind that if anything were to happen, like a leak or worse, a tank located upstairs will drain water downstairs. Gravity is a bitch! You don’t want a leaking tank ever, but you really don’t want a leaking tank upstairs that will end up raining down on everything below it. That’s double trouble.

If possible, locate your tanks in rooms that can provide storage for supplies and equipment. If the tank needs a chiller it is best to located the chiller remotely. This can be done by placing the chiller in a ventilated closet or basement and running the plumbing from the tank through the floor to the chiller. A basement is perfect for this because it stays cool, reduces noise,

and will hide the chiller. If there is no basement, a chiller can be put outside in a ventilated weatherproof shelter, however running the plumbing can be tricky due to the fact that you will have to drill through walls and run long spans of plumbing to and from the chiller. It is best not to place your chiller inside the aquarium stand unless it is properly ventilated with exhaust fans.

Proper Sizing

One of the most frustrating problems that I deal with happens when I am hired by someone who already has an aquarium is size. What’s the issue with size? Well, many times people install tanks that are too big, too small, too deep, too narrow or too tall. Sizing a tank properly is another trait of a skilled professional. Again, depending on the overall “Theme” that you are trying to accomplish, the size of the tank is critical. I don’t mean size so much as volume, but more related to shape. An aquarium can be enjoyable in any volume from a 10 gallon nano tank to a 1,000 gallon shark tank, but if the tank is the wrong shape, you will have problems.

The most common mistake when choosing a size and shape is proper depth. The depth of a tank is critically important when designing a functional tank, especially a reef tank. Reef tanks should be shaped differently than a saltwater fish tank, and differently than a freshwater show tank. As a professional you need to know why. Let’s start with the reef tank. Reefs in the wild and in the home live by photosynthesis; therefore lighting is the most important necessity when designing a reef tank. If you design reef tanks less than 30” deep you’ll save yourself a lot of trouble. The amount of energy (light) needed to grow a tank less than 30” deep is about half that of deeper tanks, because as light penetrates water its energy is diminished. So remember, the deeper the tank, the higher the power of lights that must be used.

Another mistake when picking the size and shape of a tank is made by choosing a tank that is too narrow. Often people think that they want a tall tank, which seems bigger than it really is. They associate a tall tank as being a better value since it takes up more surface area I guess. But the truth is that tall narrow tanks are a real nuisance, because they are a pain to decorate and clean. These “Show” tanks were popular in the 80’s and 90’s for some reason.

I once had a client who inherited one of these tanks when he bought a restaurant. The tank was 5’ long by 3’ tall by 18” wide. The client wanted to convert the tank into a reef tank. I told him that he’d be better off keeping it a freshwater tank with tall fake plants, but he insisted he wanted to try a reef. I should have refused to do the job. Hindsight is always clearer. In any case, I took the job and the first challenge was trying to build live rock base for the reef. It was a complete nightmare. The rock had to be stacked nearly vertical and the whole thing was very unstable. By the time I had completed the job I was frustrated and embarrassed. It turned out that my client wasn’t really impressed either and eventually replaced the tank with a more suitable shape for a reef tank. So please learn from my mistake and never try to make a reef tank out of a Show tank. A quick rule of thumb for a properly shaped reef tank is that the tank should be about 1 to 1 ½ times as deep (front to back) as it is tall.

Aquascaping: A.K.A. Decorating Aquariums

Long gone are the days of a sunken treasure chest and a pirate skeleton on a bed of multi-colored gravel as appropriate aquarium décor. Today authenticity is the name of the game. You want your designs to mirror the natural systems that inspire you, whether it be a Fijian Reef or the Amazon River, you must now your subject.

Professional aquascaping is a talent that is only developed through practice. As with any other skill you will become make mistakes, but you will learn from these, and the solutions that you find will be extremely valuable. Since you must make your own discoveries in this area, I will lay out just a few ground rules, which will limit some of the most common mistakes.

Always set live rock or any other rock for that matter directly against the bottom of the tank. Don’t put sand in first and set the rocks on the sand. This could lead to a poor foundation of your reef and could even cause a crash, which could break the tank if it is made of glass. Make sure you have a sturdy foundation.

Never build a reef like a block wall. Always stack the live rock in a way that allows water to circulate through the core of the reef. This is not only helpful in assuring proper filtration, but it will also let your fish hide and search for food within the reef. Try not to stack the rock against the back of the tank for support, because this will cause areas of poor water flow. If you must do this I recommended that you place a powerhead behind the reef to stir the water along the back of the tank.

When building the reef base, keep in mind that you will need pockets and holes to place the corals. Also, when stacking the rocks, be sure not to stack them too tight. Live rock naturally has many holes and pockets due to the way it has formed. Use these natural holes for placing corals as often as possible. If the rock is lacking enough holes for some reason, then you can drill proper sized holes into the rock. Drilling large diameter holes into live rock is not hard to do, but it can be tricky. The rock is brittle and will tend to split easily. For this reason I recommend using an old wood bit up to ¾” diameter. Use a cordless drill and go slowly. It will take a few attempts before you get the hang of this, but it does work well.

When aquascaping an aquarium it’s important to remember that nature doesn’t stack things vertically and remember that perfection is a human endeavor. With this in mind, keep your designs simple. Usually you will make twice as much work and trouble every time you try to over think a project.

Animal Selection

One of the most important parts of being a professional aquarist is the fact that we are ambassadors for the natural systems we replicate. As such, it is critically important that every aspect of your business is performed conscientiously and with conservation in mind. For too long the aquarium trade has run amuck with very little thought, regulation, or consequence attached to the gross exploitations that occur around the world. Our industry is unique to say the least. We deal in the most exotic, rare, and beautiful commodities ever traded. But like any other rare commodity they are easily mismanaged and abused.

Today, we are experiencing a commodity explosion. Everything from tropical hardwoods, oil, silver and gold has come into high demand. As the prices of these and other natural commodities skyrocket there is ever growing pressure to consume these goods while they are available at any cost. This creates a vicious circle for everyone involved. Yet in times like these with prices soaring for natural goods, it is often overlooked that the price of a good doesn’t equal its value. This is where economics gets a little fuzzy. You see the price of something changes erratically depending on the perception of two people, the buyer and seller, but the true value of a thing is more constant and not easily expressed in terms of dollars and cents. Value is like beauty.

You and I deal with wonderful creatures from all corners of the Earth, but more and more of these creatures, which were once commonplace, are becoming increasingly rare. When I entered the industry ten years ago the reef aquarium boom was in full swing. The fact that living coral and tropical fish were now readily available to the consumer was an amazing attraction. People were thrilled that they too could have a piece of living reef in their home. It was a time of plenty and a time of growing demand. Many opportunists appeared to meet that new demand. New exporters and collectors were popping up all over the world. Strange and marvelous fish and corals were showing up from far off places in the South Pacific and Indonesia. As a merchant in this business, I was thrilled with these new found riches. Business was booming and the supply of fish and coral seemed to be ever ready to meet the demand. But like every other natural resource, eventual the demand will outweigh the supply and then the system begins to show its fragility.

There are roughly 500 species of fish and over 100 species of corals traded in the aquarium industry. In the mid 1980’s the aquarium business was on the verge of a new era of growth. It is estimated that the total export value of the marine aquarium trade in 1986 was $40 million per year. By 1996 that export value was nearly $200 million. That’s a five fold expansion in exports within 10 years. The estimated retail value for the exports from Southeast Asia alone was near $750 million in 1997. Today, those figures are surely into the billions of dollars.

This phase of unprecedented growth had caused the U.S. to adopt new and strict policies with regard to our own domestic harvesting of aquarium fish and corals. In 1999 the government approved a plan to identify unsustainable harvests of marine animals and put limits and restrictions in place to protect those animals. This was a good first step in conservation at home; however, most of the animals seen in the aquarium trade today are collected abroad. Many times the governments of these countries are small and under funded, so placing trade restrictions become logistically and economically unrealistic. Exporting countries increasingly rely on Americans for much of the demand in aquarium animals. For instance, Indonesia exports rough 1 million corals each year with 95% of those destined for the U.S. markets. I would venture a guess that far less than half of those corals imported experience any sort of scrutiny by the collectors, exporters, or even the U.S. importers. There are necessary changes to be made in the way that the aquarium industry conducts business. I feel that there is a new and growing concern for the state of the Planet’s reefs and oceans. Hopefully, with changes in the way that retailers conduct their business, the demand for maricultured and sustainable harvests will grow.

As a part of this industry, we as professionals must do our part to facilitate this shift from pillage to preservation. It is our duty to keep our customers educated and informed. As a conscientious business person you must demand from your suppliers that they do their part to provide animals that have been sustainably harvested, maricultured or captive bred. Recently, there has been some progress in this regard. New harvesting and trade standards have been developed by organizations such as MAC (Marine Aquarium Council), which work on behalf of the hobbyist and the industry to track animals from collection through to final sale, but these efforts have been slow to catch on and are hard to verify results. Even so, any efforts to reform the industry through education, preservation, and certification must be seen as an improvement.

Sustainability will come to this industry through the continuing efforts of both the hobbyist groups and trade associations working in collaboration with stakeholders to create a mutually beneficial trade system, which is based on providing quality animals by implementing certification standards to collectors and traders. These certified animals will be much healthier and more environmentally sane than animals that are not certified and because of these benefits, the consumer demand for certified sustainable catch organisms will grow. The result will be a future where aquarium enthusiasts, retailers, and traders can transform the fish and coral trade from a stressor of wild reefs to a savior. In the future aquaculture may produce a significant percentage of the animals sold in the U.S. These producers, (some international organizations and even hobbyist frag-farmers), will also grow animals used to replenish natural reefs. Through the combined efforts of businesses and hobbyists the future of the aquarium business will surely offer us a sustainable and profitable tomorrow.   

A Note on Sustainability and Showing you CARE

It is my personal belief that as a participant in this industry that I have a duty to give back as much as possible to preserve the reefs and oceans that have provided me with so much. For this reason my company has developed what we call our CARE Initiative. CARE stands for CONSERVATION, ADVOCATION, RESTORATION, & EDUCATION. All our aquarium systems must adhere to these objectives in order to reach our goal of building the most sustainable aquariums available. I also believe, (as the head of a company) that a certain percentage of profits should be shared with multiple conservation groups to give back and preserve the World's waters and aquatic habitats. Organizations such as ReefCheck.org and the Surfrider Foundation share many of my beliefs regarding reef, ocean, and water  conservation and I feel that they provide many excellent services through their efforts. If you are enjoying the beauty of the reefs or oceans you should be giving back in some small way. Even if you aren’t in the business, maybe you’re a hobbyist, you too have an obligation to preserve that which you enjoy so much. Become an advocate, share your passion, and make a commitment to join one of these or other organizations as a member. Donate anything you can and feel gratified in the knowledge that you are contributing in some small, but very noble way, to help preserve our oceans and our hobby.

About the Author

        This Pro-Guide was written and compiled by Tim Rademaker the founder and editor of YourFishBiz.com. He has a passion for coral reefs and has been bringing the wonders of the World’s ocean into homes and offices throughout Southern California since 1998. Tim started his first aquarium business at the age of 17 and was able to put himself through college, (thanks to the success of his small business), earning a Bachelors in Business with a minor in Environmental Science. He has created aquarium exhibits for top CEO’s, sports stars, and national corporations. Tim believes in spreading his knowledge of the aquarium business with those people who want to learn from his years of experience so they too can make a living by designing and maintaining wonderful and sustainable aquariums.