aquarium aquarium an aquarium (pl aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquatic reptiles, such as turtles, and aquatic plants. the term aquarium, coined by english naturalist philip henry gosse, combines the latin root aqua, meaning 'water', with the suffix -arium, meaning 'a place for relating to'. the underwater tunnel in the london aquarium a freshwater aquarium with plants and various tropical fish the aquarium principle was fully developed in 1850 by the chemist robert warington, who explained that plants added to water in a container would give off enough oxygen to support animals, so long as the numbers of animals did not grow too large. the aquarium craze was launched in early victorian england by gosse, who created and stocked the first public aquarium at the london zoo in 1853, and published the first manual, the aquarium: an unveiling of the wonders of the deep sea in 1854. small aquariums are kept in the home by hobbyists. there are large public aquariums in many cities. public aquariums keep fish and other aquatic animals in large tanks. a large aquarium may have otters, dolphins, sharks, penguins, seals, and whales. many aquarium tanks also have plants. an aquarist owns fish or maintains an aquarium, typically constructed of glass or high-strength acrylic. cuboid aquaria are also known as fish tanks or simply tanks, while bowl-shaped aquaria are also known as fish bowls. size can range from a small glass bowl, a few liters in volume, to immense public aquaria of thousands of liters. specialized equipment maintains appropriate water quality and other characteristics suitable for the aquarium's residents. history and popularization cat and fishbowl, after isoda koryusai. original c. 1775. antiquity in 1369, the hongwu emperor of china established a porcelain company that produced large porcelain tubs for maintaining goldfish; over time, people produced tubs that approached the shape of modern fish bowls. leonhard baldner, who wrote vogel-, fisch- und tierbuch (bird, fish, and animal book) in 1666, maintained weather loaches and newts. it is sometimes held that the aquarium was invented by the romans, who are said to have kept sea barbels in marble-and-glass tanks, but this is definitely not true. nineteenth century goldfish in a glass: portrait of therese krones, 1824 an aquarium of the 1850s containing vallisneria spiralis and coldwater fish from shirley hibberd's the books of the aquariums and waters cabinets. london in 1832, jeanne villepreux-power, a pioneering french marine biologist, became the first person to create aquaria for experimenting with aquatic organisms. in 1836, soon after his invention of the wardian case, dr. nathaniel bagshaw ward proposed to use his tanks for tropical animals. in 1841 he did so, though only with aquatic plants and toy fish. however, he soon housed real animals. in 1838, félix dujardin noted owning a saltwater aquarium, though he did not use the term. in 1846, anne thynne maintained stony corals and seaweed for almost three years, and was credited as the creator of the first balanced marine aquarium in london. english chemist robert warington experimented with a 13-gallon container, which contained goldfish, eelgrass, and snails, creating one of the first stable aquaria. the aquarium principle was fully developed by warington, explaining that plants added to water in a container would give off enough oxygen to support animals, so long as their numbers do not grow too large. he published his findings in 1850 in the chemical society's journal. the jardin zoologique at the bois de boulogne included an aquarium that housed both fresh and saltwater animals, 1860 in paris. the keeping of fish in an aquarium became a popular hobby and spread quickly. in the united kingdom, it became popular after ornate aquaria in cast-iron frames were featured at the great exhibition of 1851. in 1853, the aquarium craze was launched in england by philip henry gosse who created and stocked the first public aquarium in the london zoo which came to be known as the fish house. gosse coined the word "aquarium", opting for this term (instead of "aquatic vivarium" or "aqua-vivarium") in 1854 in his book the aquariums: an unveiling of the wonders of the deep water. in this book, gosse primarily discussed saltwater aquaria. in the 1850s, the aquarium became a fad in the united kingdom. tank designs and techniques for maintaining water quality were developed by warington, later cooperating with gosse until his critical review of the tank water composition. edward edwards developed these glass-fronted aquaria in his 1858 patent for a "dark-water-chamber slope-back tank", with water slowly circulating to a reservoir beneath. "what an aquarium should be" – a humorous 1876 british engraving, apparently showing thomas huxley dreaming about sea creatures germans soon rivaled the british in their interest. in 1854, an anonymous author had two articles published about the saltwater aquaria of the united kingdom: die gartenlaube (the garden house) entitled der ocean auf dem tische (the ocean on the table). however, in 1856, der see im glase (the lake in a glass) was published, discussing freshwater aquaria, which were much easier to maintain in landlocked areas. in 1862 william alford lloyd, then bankrupt because of the craze in england being over, moved to grindel dammthor, hamburg, to supervise the installation of the circulating system and tanks at the hamburg aquarium. during the 1870s, some of the first aquarist societies were appearing in germany. the united states soon followed. published in 1858, henry d. butler's the family aquarium was one of the first books written in the united states solely about the aquarium. according to the july issue of the north american review of the same year, william stimson may have owned some of the first functional aquaria, and had as many as seven or eight. the first aquarist society in the united states was founded in new york city in 1893, followed by others. the new york aquarium journal, first published in october 1876, is considered to be the world's first aquarium magazine. an antique cast-iron aquarium made by j. w. fiske & company in the 1880s, new york city in the victorian era in the united kingdom, a common design for the home aquarium was a glass front with the other sides made of wood (made watertight with a pitch coating). the bottom would be made of slate and heated from below. more advanced systems soon began to be introduced, along with tanks of glass in metal frames. during the latter half of the 19th century, a variety of aquarium designs were explored, such as hanging the aquarium on a wall, mounting it as part of a window, or even combining it with a birdcage. twentieth century around 1908, the first mechanical aquarium air pump was invented, powered by running water, instead of electricity. the introduction of the air pump into the hobby is considered by several historians of the hobby to be a pivotal moment in its development. pike in an aquarium c. 1908, at the belle isle aquarium, belle isle park aquaria became more widely popular as houses had an electricity supply after world war i. electricity allowed artificial lighting, as well as aeration, filtration, and heating of the water. initially, amateur aquarists kept native fish (with the exception of goldfish); the availability of exotic species from overseas further increased the popularity of the aquarium. jugs made from a variety of materials were used to import fish from overseas, with a bicycle foot pump for aeration. plastic shipping bags were introduced in the 1950s, making it easier to ship fish. the eventual availability of air freight allowed fish to be successfully imported from distant regions. popular publications started by herbert r. axelrod influenced many more hobbyists to start keeping fish. in the 1960s, metal frames made marine aquaria almost impossible due to corrosion, but the development of tar and silicone sealant allowed the first all-glass aquaria made by martin horowitz in los angeles, ca. the frames remained, however, though purely for aesthetic reasons. japan played an increasingly important role in shaping aquarium design in the latter part of the twentieth century, with the aquascaping designs of takashi amano influencing fishkeepers to treat home aquariums as aesthetically pleasing compositions, rather than simply as a way of displaying fish specimens. in the united states, as of 1996, aquarium keeping is the second-most popular hobby after stamp collecting. in 1999, an estimated 9.6 million us households owned an aquarium. figures from the 2005/2006 appma national pet owners survey report that americans own approximately 139 million freshwater fish and 9.6 million saltwater fish. estimates of the numbers of fish kept in aquaria in germany suggest at least 36 million. the hobby has the strongest following in europe, asia, and north america. in the united states, 40% of aquarists maintain two or more tanks. over time, there has been an increasing appreciation of the usefulness of access to an aquarium to provide potential stress reduction and improvement of mood in people observing aquatic life. according to the research of having an aquarium is many health benefits like reduce stress, blood pressure and heart rate improvement, better quality sleep, reduce anxiety and pain, therapy of excited children, alzheimer's therapy and improve productivity. design an 80-litre home aquarium glass the very first modern aquarium made of glass was developed in the 19th century by robert warrington. during the victorian age, glass aquariums commonly had slate or steel bottoms, which allowed them to be heated underneath by an open-flame heat source. these aquariums had the glass panels attached with metal frames and sealed with putty. metal-framed aquariums were still available until the mid-1960s, when the modern, silicone-sealed style replaced them. acrylic aquariums first became available to the public in the 1970s. laminated glass is sometimes used, which combines the advantages of both glass and acrylic. a regular tank with goldfish on a table today, most aquaria consist of glass panes bonded together by 100% silicone sealant, with plastic frames attached to the upper and lower edges for decoration. the glass aquarium is standard for sizes up to about 1,000 litres (260 us gal; 220 imp gal). however, glass is brittle and has very little give before fracturing, though generally the sealant fails first. aquaria are made in a variety of shapes, such as cuboid, hexagonal, angled to fit in a corner (l-shaped), and bow-front (the front side curves outwards). fish bowls are generally either made of plastic or glass, and are either spherical or some other round configuration in shape. glass aquaria have been a popular choice for many home and hobbyist aquarists for many years. once silicone sealant became strong enough to ensure a long-term water-tight seal, it eliminated the need for a structural frame. in addition to lower cost, glass aquaria are more scratch resistant than acrylic. although the price is one of the main considerations for aquarists when deciding which of these two types of aquaria to purchase, for very large tanks, the price difference tends to disappear. an aquarium in the burj al arab in dubai acrylic acrylic aquaria are now the primary competitor with glass. prior to the invention of uv stabilization, early acrylic aquaria discolored over time with exposure to light; this is no longer the case. acrylic is generally stronger than glass, weighs less, and provides a certain amount of temperature insulation. in colder climates or environments, it is easier to achieve and maintain a tropical temperature and requires less capacity from an aquarium heater. acrylic-soluble cements are used to directly fuse acrylic together. acrylic allows for the formation of unusual shapes, such as the hexagonal tank. acrylics are easier to scratch than glass, but unlike glass, scratches in acrylic can be polished out. other materials large aquaria might instead use stronger materials such as fiberglass-reinforced plastics. however, this material is not transparent. reinforced concrete is used for aquaria where weight and space are not factors. concrete must be coated with a waterproof layer to prevent the water from breaking down the concrete, as well as preventing contamination of the water by the concrete. plywood can also be used when building aquaria. the benefits of using plywood include: lower construction costs, less weight, and better