CHAPTER SIX 



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^ Construction of Aquaria, Tanks, Etc. §*§* 





AQUARIUM CONSTRUCTION 



The amateur aquarist with a little talent for things mechanical 

 can find profit as well as pleasure in making an aquarium according to 

 his own ideas and requirements. The few necessary tools either are, or 

 ought to be, a part of every household equipment. 



Naturally the first consideration is that of the space to be occupied 

 by the aquarium. In determining this it is well to be influenced, as 

 far as conditions will permit, by the needs of the aquarium inmates, 

 not forgetting that most aquarium fishes do best in shallow aquaria 

 with plenty of water surface. However, for artistic arrangement and 

 symmetrical plant growth we must have a certain amount of depth. 

 Twenty inches deep is sufficient even for large aquaria. For all-round 

 purposes, bearing in mind both the artistic and the practical, a good 

 general rule is to make the aquarium in the form of a double cube. That 

 is, the width and height identical, and the length twice that of either. 

 Unless an aquarium is to be viewed only from the top, it is not advisable 

 to make the width over twenty-five inches, as even a slight cloudiness of 

 the water considerably obscures the fishes when there is so much of it to 

 look through. Within reason, make the aquarium as large as possible, 

 but nothing over a seventy-gallon size is to be recommended for the 

 household. An accidental breaking of the glass, even at this size, is too 

 great a catastrophe to contemplate with composure. Since it is very 

 little more trouble to keep a large-sized aquarium than a small one, and 

 the results are so much better, at least with goldfishes, we would unhesi- 

 tatingly say to those weighing the merits of two sizes, take the larger. 



For most varieties of tropical fishes, a number of small aquaria 

 will be found preferable. These will be treated hereafter in the present 

 chapter. 



We will now take up in order the points of construction, remember- 

 ing always, the factor of safety. 



