Aquarium Types for Freshwater and Saltwater Fish

Aquariums come in many shapes and sizes. Fish tanks can be made out of glass or acrylic and typical sizes are 10, 20, 29, 30, 40, 50, 55 gallons and larger. Some are tall, some are short. Some are rectangular or hexagons and some have bowed fronts.

An acrylic aquarium is going to be lighter, stronger and more durable than a glass aquarium. But an acrylic aquarium will scratch much easier and it can be very difficult to buff out an aquarium scratch on an acrylic tank, if at all.

Generally, the bigger the tank the better it is because a larger aquarium will tend to have much more stable water parameters. For example, take a 5 gallon versus a 55 gallon tank. In the 5 gallon tank the temperature may fluctuate up to 10 degrees fahrenheit every day whereas the temperature isn't going to fluctuate as much in the 55 gallon. Having more water will usually buy you more time to correct anything that should happen. Check out your local fish store or online for an aquarium that fits your needs.

Another important consideration for your pet fish tank will be the aquarium stand. It will need to be strong enough to hold the finished tank. Roughly, an aquarium will weigh at least 10 pounds per gallon. So a 55 gallon aquarium stand will need to be able to support 550 pounds! Don't skimp on the stand and make sure it's level and strong.

The picture below is of some small aquarium setups that many use to keep one Betta. Don't have more than one Betta in a tank without a divider. Many people also use a tank like this to keep goldfish. If you are planning on keeping a goldfish in a small tank like this, be prepared to perform frequent aquarium maintenance.
Please review the small fish tank setup for more information.