Fish tank coffee tables...  

I want to get a fish tank built into my wall :)

I had a dream several times that I build a house where the walls were of glass and they were a foot thick or more and filled with water so that I coud fill them with tropical fishes. The outsides walls would be the regular insulated walls but the inside walls would be one continuous aquarium.I had many ideas as to the types of fish that would go in there but I did not plan on how to clean such a deep of a tank or how to support the ceilings and roof without blocking the glass walls. So I started thinking about building a tank that is "L" shaped or even "C" or "E" shaped to go into a basement room or the entire basement to have a very large tank so that the fish could get very large.I have seen people that did built a tank in their basement like the one that I mentioned but I thought of it before I actually saw it. Too bad it would cost so much to built such a tank.

Wow... that's a very good idea, incorporating your hobby to your furniture's. As for me, I think that this will not work because our house is small and we don't have large space to accommodate the coffee table fish tank. I only customized my wall to have a build-in fish tank. About maintaining the fish tank, you must have a good filtration in able to keep the water clean. And as for the outer part of the glass, wipe it with dump cloth then after that with newspaper.

In terms of maintenance, the size of the tank is really not the issue. In fact, larger tanks can be easier to maintain because the large amount of water means that conditions stay more stable. A tiny chemical change will not affect a huge tank as much as it will affect a small one. Just make sure you have the proper equipment (filtration, gravel suckers, etc.) and a compatible mix of fish. And it's always a good idea before you get a new aquarium or make any changes to your existing aquarium to do some research.