1. What type of tank do you want?
• Fish only aquarium
• peaceful
• aggressive
• peaceful and aggressive
• Reef aquarium
• peaceful reef with coral, fish, inverts, and clams
• predator reef with larger aggressive fish and corals - no  inverts or clams
2. Where will you put the tank?
• Must be away from direct sunlight, vents, or high drafts
• Are you near a water source?
• This will  make maintenance or building automated topping-off water systems easier.
3. What size tank do you want?
• We suggest going as big as your space or budget allows.
• Nano size tanks have also become popular because of new turn-key systems that are easy to maintain. However, the livestock you can keep becomes very limited.
4. Do you want glass or acrylic?
• Glass scratches less easily than acrylic, but acrylic is stronger than glass.
• We highly recommend acrylic over glass and following simple maintenance procedures to avoid scratching.
5. What will your aquarium stand on?
• desk
• aquarium stand
• custom built aquarium stand
• Be sure to ask an expert whether your stand can hold the amount of water weight anticipated.
• Also, be sure you have room for the kind of filter system you want as well as room for maintenance.
6. What kind of lighting do you want or need?
• Fish-only aquariums with live rock do not require bright lighting.
• Proper lighting is an absolute necessity for any reef aquarium.
• See Lighting Requirements.
7. Will you use live rock?
   • We highly recommend the use of live rock.
   • You need it to place corals on, but they also make great caves and hiding places for fish.
   • Live rock is also an excellent biological filter.

The next section will discuss the main components of a complete filter system. These are things to also keep in mind in your planning stage.

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