The Balanced Aquarium and the Snailery 



full-grown specimens of various animals that live in the seas as 

 well as in rivers and lakes. For such, the water in the tanks 

 requires constant change, or the inhabitants would die. There 

 is a pipe bringing in a fresh supply, and an exhaust pipe carrying 

 off the excess in each tank. The. greater the surface, the better 

 chance for fresh air, which plants and animals all need. Many 

 animals come to the surface for air. The best aquarium imitates 

 the pond in having the largest possible surface in proportion to 

 its depth. 



A tank fitted with running water is too elaborate and too 

 expensive an outfit for home use. The care of it soon becomes 

 a burden. 



The Home-made Tank. — ^The image that arises in the average 

 mind is of a tank made of an iron frame, plate glass and cement, 

 with a large rock-work piece in the centre. Through the arch- 

 ways and colonnades, and in and out among waving plumes of 

 water plants there passes a procession of gay gold fishes. 



Let me counsel the beginner to curb his aspiration for a 

 home-made tank. Materials cost little, and it looks reasonable 

 to suppose that a good mechanic can put them together success- 

 fully by simply following directions. The experience of many 

 an ardent aquarist has been that failures succeed failures, no 

 matter how carefully he has tried to forestall them. "Water 

 is so thin! It will work through anywhere." Changes in tem- 

 perature, warping of the wood, cracking of glass, disintegration 

 of the cement in spots — these are contingencies that keep the 

 builder of a home-made tank in constant suspense. The leak he 

 anxiously expects for months is sure to come, like a thief in the 

 night, to ruin his hopes. If you must have an aquarium of this 

 type, buy it of a dealer who will guarantee it, or make good, if 

 any faults in construction come to light. Thus risks are mini- 

 mised, and the owner can sleep o' nights. 



Solid Glass Aquaria. — Rectangular tanks "made in one piece" 

 are very satisfactory. Examine them before buying, to be sure 

 that objects are seen without distortion through the sides. Choose 

 one as nearly uniform in thickness as possible. The fault of these 

 jars is that in moulding the angles are likely to be thinner than 

 the sides, which makes them liable to crack when the temperature 

 is variable. 



Cylindrical tanks, with circular bottoms and perpendicular 



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