Some apartment dwellers can't have furry, large, or noisy pets. But fish are almost always allowed. These aquariums by Aquarium ASP in Montreal are different from most in that they're flattened, making them part aquarium and part space divider...
They mount on tubes that are actually the source for replenishing the aquarium with filtered fresh or salt water. So, the whole system's "hardwired" - no manual refilling.
Sounds convenient, but we wonder at what point the fish are no longer a pet but pure decor. These do make very cool space dividers for a small apartment: they're colorful, reflective, and allow light to pass right through them. Orders are placed by phone or email, and the whole system (with your custom-designed seascape) is delivered and installed in about four weeks. See more at Aquarium ASP.
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On one hand, super cool. On the other hand, a little Deuce Bigelow Male Gigolo.
The integrated plumbing set up is a great idea, but keeping coral reef fish as a decoration is irresponsible since all of them (clownfish aside) are wild caught and most have expected life spans of 15 years in the wild and 3 years in your fish tank. Stick to freshwater, there are plenty of pretty ones there, too.
way to overpowering to me---don't break one of those without insurance to pay for the apartment repairs under you!
Most apartment dwellers who can't have furry pets can't install massively expensive plumbing modifications either. This product seems to be marketed to homeowners, since the investment is substantial enough to be considered a permanent fixture.
This post cracked me up, thanks. I hardly need to rain on anyone's parade given that these things are so expensive no one reading this blog will ever buy one (The smallest one costs $5000 without accessories or fish, add more for installation). And yet, I cannot resist mentioning how impractical they are.
Don't forget that the weight of the water alone is at least 490 pounds for the smallest model and 616 pounds for the largest (plus the glass, tubing, lights and so on), so it's a lot like hanging a glass piano from your ceiling joists. Then remember the negatives of the skinny tank shape. With more surface area, water temperature will fluctuate more than with a regular tank. Fish don't like that. Also, fish tanks look really bad when they get too much algae, which you'll be wrestling with constantly here b/c these flat tanks admit more light.
is that healthy for the fish? :( i imagine swimming around between two close planes would be very unpleasant. i guess i've always felt kind of bad for fish though...
Completely impractical, but soooo cool looking!
Agree with the other comments -- unless you want water intake and drain lines going across your ceiling, this seems better suited to homes at the building stage rather than to apartments or condos.
Even then, I think it's better to sit any aquarium on a platform rather than to fight gravity so expensively.
Also, isn't it inhumane to give fish such a narrow space to live?
Also, aquariums are expressly prohibited in many apartment rental leases (especially in California/earthquake zones). The water damage would be very expensive if one of these enormous tanks broke.
It looks like others have expounded on the kind of costs, and installation needed for these. I'll just say that I would never put my fish in that skinny a tank. I'd worry about them not having enough room.
Plus, a lot of apartments around here have clauses in the leases against fishtanks past a certain size. I think they are worried about possible water damage, if something goes.
Living (or dead, for that matter) creatures should never be decor.
Hang a velvet painting and you'll get the same cheesy effect without entombing fish between panes of glass. They are sentient beings, for crying out loud!
I'm a big fan of aquariums (and the integrated filtration system sounds very convenient), but this whole setup seems to value decor over practicality. Having an aquarium hanging from the ceiling scares the crap out of me, and the space is clearly not designed for the needs of the animals that go in (unless you plan on filling it with tiny, tiny fish).
Jenny - Deuce Bigelow! Ha!!! That was my thought too.
I'll add to the vote that it's cool looking, but would suck if you were a claustrophobic fish.
FWIW, as my previous post said I think these things are ridiculous for many reasons. But in their defense, they are not as narrow as the pictures imply. According to the manufacturer's website, they're actually 12-14 inches wide, which is not too different from an ordinary tank. The difference is that these tanks taper at the ends where the metal brackets hold onto them, which gives the illusion of narrowness overall.
I had an aquarium fit into a pass through between my kitchen and living room. It looked cool - when CLEAN - which was for about 2 days after I cleaned it. They're a maintenance nightmare, and I can't even imagine when it's not next to a sink like mine was. Steer clear of the awesome look posted in the pic, unless you have live-in help.
I've seen smaller versions of this at home shows, made to look like framed pictures to hang on the wall.
I think it's cruel to make fish swim in a space that's only a couple of inches wide. All they can do is go in two directions. It's not humane.