42 
HO USE & GARDEN 
THE SELF-SUSTAINING AQUARIUM 
Ornamental Fish, Water and Aquatic Plants Co-Exist Harmoniously in the Balanced 
Glass Tank—A Natural and Little Known Life Transplanted to Your Dining-Room Window 
W HEN you mention aquariums to 
the average person, one of two 
pictures will probably flash before his 
mental vision. The first, and the more 
usual, is that of a globular, bare glass 
bowl containing one large, domineering 
goldfish and another smaller, dispirited 
one which drift in circumscribed circles 
and twitch their eyes spasmodically at a 
black-and-white cat crouched on the mid¬ 
dle of a Persian rug. The second is of a 
wall lined with great tanks through whose 
glass sides angel-fish, cods and mud- 
puppies indifferently regard the scarcely 
less human appearing crowd on the far 
side of the protecting brass guard rail. 
If you persist and begin to enlarge upon 
the pleasures of aquarium keeping, your 
listener is apt to put you down as a scien¬ 
tist or merely a person lacking in a sense 
of the fitness of things. 
All this, I say, is true of the average 
case. The exceptions, the people who know 
the possibilities of a real “balanced” aqua¬ 
rium, will meet your enthusiastic remarks 
about fifty per cent, more than half way. 
What “Balance” Signifies 
A balanced aquarium is one in which the 
plant life “balances” that of the fish, so 
that both exist and thrive indefinitely in a 
perfectly natural state. Fish inhale oxygen 
like all other forms of animal life and ex¬ 
hale carbonic acid gas. Plants inhale this 
gas, the carbon of which they turn into 
vegetable tissue while they purify the oxy¬ 
gen and set it free for the animal life to 
take up again. So if you put fish and 
aquatic plants in water together, one helps 
to support the other, and with the aid of 
tadpoles, newts, snails and other small 
denizens of the 
pond, some of 
which a c t as 
scavengers, you 
have a little 
system so com¬ 
plete in itself 
that it will re¬ 
quire very lit¬ 
tle attention—- 
merely an oc¬ 
casional addi¬ 
tion of water 
to m a k e up 
for that lost 
by evapora¬ 
tion, the feed¬ 
ing of the ani¬ 
mal life, and 
once in a 
while the 
cleaning of the 
glass walls. 
The best 
aquariums are 
those made of 
a good strong 
iron frame, 
with plate 
glass sides fas- 
tened with 
Another type with green 
rim, flowers painted on the 
side, 15" x 15" on a 28" white 
enamel wood stand, $25 
ELSIE TARR SMITH 
This bowl aquarium of green and white 
Japanese ware, 22" in diameter, may be 
had complete with fish and plant for $25 
Photograph by Dr. E. Bade 
The balanced aquarium should stand near 
a window where it will get light without 
too direct rays of the sun 
waterproof cement, the whole framework 
being secured to a slate or marble bottom. 
As no part of the metal touches the water, 
there is absolutely no danger from rust, 
and barring accidents they are practically 
indestructible. The all-glass aquarium is 
very pretty to look at, but it possesses the 
disadvantage of being liable to break 
through expansion or contraction with sud¬ 
den changes of temperature, and of course 
the slightest crack will completely destroy 
its usefulness. 
The ordinary fish globe is almost useless 
for aquaria purposes, the water surface ex¬ 
posed to the air being too small to allow 
a proper supply of oxygen to be absorbed 
from the atmosphere. Constant changing 
of the water is therefore necessary, with 
consequent bad results to even the most 
hardy fish, and certain death to the more 
delicate varieties. 
The Best Location 
The placing of the aquarium is a most 
important matter. It should have plenty of 
light, and a position close to a window is 
therefore most suitable. Avoid a southern 
exposure, as too much sun will overheat 
the water, exhaust the oxygen, and result 
in the loss of valuable specimens. If, how¬ 
ever, a southern window is the only one 
available, some means can readily be de¬ 
vised to intercept the excessive heat. 
Placing the aquarium outdoors during the 
summer months will be found to result in 
no possible benefit to the fish. On the con¬ 
trary, it favors the growth of algae to such 
an extent that the water turns green and 
unsightly and must be changed. 
The soil in which the plants are to grow 
must be filled in to a depth sufficient to pro¬ 
vide a firm anchorage. About 3" is deep 
enough for all practical purposes. 
Most of the aquatic plants suitable for 
aquarium purposes thrive well in pure 
gravel, and this will be found the most satis¬ 
factory material for general use. The ordi¬ 
nary bird gravel can be employed, but it 
should be topped with a layer of a much 
coarser kind, as this will keep the fish from 
uprooting the plants. Sea shells should 
never be used, as they are composed of 
lime which is injurious to the health of the 
fish. 
Unless the aquarium is of a very large 
size, it is best to avoid all rock work or pot¬ 
tery ornaments; they are too artificial in 
appearance and out of harmony with the 
other con¬ 
tents. In 
any case, 
use them 
with cau¬ 
tion. 
In mak- 
i n g selec¬ 
tion from 
the numer¬ 
ous differ¬ 
ent aquatic 
plants that 
are avail- 
a b 1 e, be 
careful to 
select 
those that 
have been 
found to 
be the best 
oxygen 
makers, 
for plants 
differ 
greatly in 
this re- 
s p e c t. 
Species of 
Mi 11 f oil 
(M y r i o- 
This one is 16" across, with a 
height of 10". The stand is 
27 y 2 " high. Natural color, 
$15; stained, $16.50 complete 
