Aquarium Position

Position your aquarium in a place that it will be a feature and easily viewed and enjoyed. It must be in a location where you can easily access it for maintenance and feeding.

The tank must not be near a window or in strong direct sunlight. This will cause excess algae, may overheat the aquarium and may also clash with your lighting timer, giving the aquarium too much light during the day.

It is clearly ideal if the tank is positioned close to electricity supply (that will not be tampered with or unplugged) and also within fairly easy reach of a water supply to make water changes painless.

It is important not to put your fish tank in a busy or confined space that people use. Continual motion close to the tank may well stress the fish, especially at night when the lights are off. Huge shadows passing across the tank can literally petrify the fish. I have seen the contents of a community tank so scared by lots of people around at night time that all of the species school together in a frenzied manner. This is not good.

If you have other pets, especially cats, make sure that they have no access to the top of the tank.

I recommend not having the tank exposed on all sides. It is best for the fish if the back wall of the tank is next to a wall or covered by a mural, so that there is never any movement across 180⁰ of their vision. Aquariums that are islands in a room or built into walls and viewable from 2 rooms often cause the fish to feel trapped and stressed in the long term. If you really do want to do this as a feature, make sure that there are plenty of hiding spaces in the tank.

One nice aspect of fishtanks is that they can provide a lovely source of side or ambient lighting for a room or hallway. I have a fishtank in my hall, which means that even with the main room lights off, the room is light enough to walk through without having to reach for the light switch. Aquarium lights on a timer can make a house look occupied which may have security benefits and often when I get home, there is already a light on when I walk in the house. As mentioned above, I don't recommend putting your tank in a hallway if it is narrow or confined.