Discussions with Zharphyn

Aquarium designs are becoming increasingly creative. No longer are you destined to have a basic rectangle to house your fish. Some designers are using existing obsolete objects such as phone booths and toilets to create unique aquariums, and others are creating designs reminiscent of hamster cages. You are now able to purchase an aquarium to suit your decor, rather than trying to make your aquarium blend in.

Octopus Studios has created what they call the Silverfish Aquarium. Inspired by hamster cages, the Silverfish is six globes connected with tunnels, and has a water capacity of 230 litres. The Silverfish comes complete with a heater, undergravel filters, an external filter, and an airpump. Despite its unusual appearance, Octopus Studios claims “due to the extremely high quality filters used, along with an innovative filter combination, maintenance effort can be slightly lower than with a standard rectangular design.” If this is true, it would certainly be an interesting aquarium to own.

For those of us that do not have the space for any more aquariums, you can find several models that are integrated into your furniture. The Moody Washbasin and the Aquariass would make for an interesting bathroom experience. With the Aquariass, a separate “tank” contains the fish so that when you flush, the aquarium is not affected. The washbasin is insulated to protect the aquarium from overheating when using hotwater. Having the aquarium integrated into the coffee table, or dining room table can make for an impressive conversation piece. With many designs available, finding the one that suits the room can become a challenge of too many choices rather than from too few.

The ZeroEdge Aquarium looks to infinity pools for inspiration. With water spilling over all four sides to give the illusion that there are no sides to the aquarium. Water gets channelled back into an overflow tank and pumped back into the aquarium from the bottom. These aquariums have
amazing beauty and are available in a variety of shapes and sizes. Keep in mind however, that these are a lidless aquarium, and some species of fish are known to jump.