Nature Aquarium Tanks

Cube Gardens have become essential equipment for today’s Nature Aquarium. There are many types of aquarium tanks and they have different characteristics. Let us examine how a tank should be handled while learning about the history of aquarium tanks.

Equipment Evolution

Growing aquatic plants in an aquarium is no longer difficult. Although advances in the study of aquatic plant physiology and the accumulation of data based on aquarists’ experiences helped, above all this is due to the advances in cultivating equipment. Nature Aquarium is not only a style of growing aquatic plants and fish, but it is also an artistic expression that results in a finished aquascape. Peripheral equipment for Nature Aquarium has also advanced to make such an expression possible. One of the equipment is an aquarium tank.

Aquarium Materials

An aquarium is a container that holds water. Although any container should be sufficient as long as water does not leak out of it, a glass aquarium is the most popular one for aquarium fish. Some large aquariums are made of clear acrylic material. The production cost of a large acrylic aquarium is lower than a glass one and it weighs less. However, its shortcoming is that it scratches easily. The refraction index of acrylic is very close to that of water and small scratches inside an aquarium are obscured when the aquarium is filled with water. However, a large scratch or one on the outside of an aquarium can be quite noticeable. Acrylics deteriorate under ultraviolet light, and after a while what appear to be very fine cracks may develop in the acrylic depending on the condition. They will obstruct the view even when there is no surface scratch. In this respect, glass is durable and its clarity does not change over a long time of use.

The History of Glass Aquariums

Glass aquariums have been used for ornamental fish keeping since the old days. Gluing of glass plates has a long history. There used to be a container called a glass vat before the use of clear sheet glass became commonplace. As in the case of a gold fish bowl, its glass surface was not flat and the fish inside looked distorted. Some glass had air bubbles in it, too. Stainless steel framed aquariums used steel frame to hold sheet glass together to enable fish in an aquarium to appear normal without distortion. Having an aquarium with a big shiny stainless steel frame was a status symbol in the days when tropical fish were expensive and fish keeping equipment was rather lacking. Putty was used to glue glass to metal. The putty often showed from the edges of the frame, and when the putty crumbled due to aging, water leaked. Aquariums were kept in use by repairing them.

Aquarium Frame

Later the aquarium frame changed to plastic. Aquarium tanks became more widespread possibly because other equipment became less expensive, and keeping tropical fish became simpler. Nature Aquarium gradually spread and was becoming commonplace. While an aquatic plant layout offers the fun of creating an aquascape, any aquascape has its own peak period. Words cannot express the joy that one experiences when the timing of the growth of all aquatic plants falls right into place, and the aquascape is completed as originally envisioned. But it lasts only for a moment. Photography is a way to capture and keep a record of the moment. It offers another way to enjoy Nature Aquarium. As a matter of fact, the aquariums kept evolving because of photography. What was overlooked while viewing a layout becomes evident in a finished photograph of an aquascape. For example, equipment such as piping appears unattractive unexpectedly. However, the item that gets in the way the most is an aquarium frame. No matter how big a layout makes an aquarium to appear, if an aquarium frame is in the picture, it fragments an aquascape. A vertical frame in the rear of an aquarium is especially distracting.

Frameless aquarium

An aquarium that was developed to resolve this issue was a product that is now known as Cube Garden Superior. The beauty of the aquatic plant layout in this aquarium attracted public attention when its photograph was published. The aquarium was described “as a cube cut out from a body of water.” This aquarium was constructed by fusing sheet glass made from a special material that was used to produce laboratory equipment. There was no exterior frame since it was produced from glass alone. Since there were no top, bottom, or rear frames, the joints were practically invisible and nothing spoiled the aquascape when looking at the aquascape from the front. However, the product did not gain widespread popularity since the material was very expensive, the manufacturing process was difficult, and a large aquarium could not be produced.

The Birth of Cube Garden Aquariums

In Europe, the most common aquarium tanks for fish keeping are produced with glass sheets secured only with silicone. A large aquarium made of thick glass sheets held together with silicone is sometimes seen in an ordinary household. Cube Garden was developed to produce Japanese size aquarium tanks using this technology. It has a very simple structure and eliminates the bracing of glass strips around the inside perimeter commonly found in European glass aquariums. This reduces the chance of an aquarium rim to spoil the aesthetic of an aquascape. Cube Garden continues to evolve further. Traditional sheet glass is tinted bluish green, which is quite apparent looking at its cross-section. The coloration of the glass sheet is not very noticeable ordinarily, but it is quite obvious when photographing an aquatic plant layout. Although it is not particularly noticeable with a small aquarium, as an aquarium size increases, the thickness of the glass is increased to withstand the water pressure, and the color becomes darker as well. Therefore, Cube Garden Clear was created for professional use with the use of clear glass that has very little tint. The specification of all Cube Garden aquariums will be changed to use a clear glass sheet equivalent to the type used in the Clear series in the future.
Another characteristic of Cube Garden is that the amount of silicone that bonds glass sheets is kept to the bear minimum. This eliminates an object that obstructs the view and makes an aquarium the most suitable for Nature Aquarium. A person who sees a Cube Garden aquarium for the first time may become concerned about the strength of the seams. Since the aquarium is produced carefully by skilled craftsmen, the seams are of no concern. Our three year warranty on the seams, which is the longest in the industry, shows our confidence in the quality.

Handling of an Aquarium

W60cm x D30cm x H36cm is the most popular aquarium size in Japan. It looks most stable since its aspect ratio is very close to the so-called golden ratio. It has the shape that appears most stable. Its popularity is partly because it is easy to find a space for this size aquarium even in Japanese houses, which are considered relatively small. The weight of the aquarium with water is approximately 50 to 60kg. We see some people place the aquarium on a small cabinet or a storage box occasionally, assuming that it should be okay as long as the cabinet or the box does not collapse when an adult stands on it. However, one must realize that this can be very dangerous. An aquarium becomes significantly heavy when it is filled with water. A slight slope or distortion puts undue stress on the stand. Since an aquarium smaller than a 60cm aquarium rarely breaks right away under such a condition, people tend to take it lightly. However, there is no guarantee that it is going to be completely alright. A crack or silicone coming apart can cause a water leak. A larger aquarium poses a great danger if you make a wrong choice in the selection of a stand. The damage by a water leak can be quite extensive. Water damage to the downstairs, equipment breakage, or a fire caused by a heater may result. Some stands sold for an aquarium may not be adequate depending on how it is used. A sturdy reliable stand should be selected.

Silicone degradation

Silicone can compensate for a slight distortion of an aquarium stand while the aquarium is new and silicone is flexible. This is the advantage of silicone bonding. However, silicone gradually degrades while in use. While it depends on various usage conditions, ultraviolet rays may cause some deterioration as well. Since the rate of degradation depends on the quality of silicone, a prolonged exposure affects silicone to a varying degree. Degradation reduces the strength of silicone and leads to a separation, resulting in a water leak. Moving an aquarium should be avoided since it can put undue stress on silicone. An aquarium should never be moved with water in it. Moving a large aquarium requires extra attention since it is very heavy due to its own weight. There has been a report that an aquarium that was left empty for awhile started leaking once it was put to use again. Silicone seems to degrade when an aquarium is left empty for a long time. When cleaning an aquarium, the closest attention should be paid to avoid scratching the silicone. Silicone may separate from glass gradually at the scratch depending on the condition of the scratch. Care should be taken not to damage a corner of an aquarium as well. Although a frameless aquarium is simple and beautiful, adequate care should be taken to maintain the performance of the aquarium. One should take note of the above to prolong the life of an aquarium for a long time.