Should you maintain your own aquarium or outsource this task to a team of professionals? In Texas alone, thousands of aquarium owners recruit the expertise of their local aquarium experts. But, thousands also maintain their own aquarium and are more than happy managing that task. Here we will weigh the pros and cons of maintaining your own aquarium versus outsourcing to a team of trusted professionals.
First, you must ask yourself what purpose your aquarium serves. Most people with aquariums in their homes may never have considered this question. You love aquariums so you decided to purchase one. But, your answer is simple! The purpose of your aquarium is pleasure and enjoyment. There are many reasons individuals and businesses would purchase an aquarium, including enjoyment, stress relief, therapeutic effects, to provide a sense of luxury or a peaceful atmosphere and many other reasons. Find out why you purchased your aquarium in the first place and we’ll go from there.
Then, once you’ve determined why you originally purchased your aquarium you can build on that by deciding just how clean your aquarium needs to be. If this is a home aquarium, perhaps the aquarium does not need to stay in absolute perfect condition all year-round. If your aquarium is intended to relax patients at a hospital, then you will most likely want to keep this aquarium clean and worry-free.
MAINTAINING YOUR OWN AQUARIUM
Maintaining your own aquarium has many advantages such as your level of control. When your hands are the only hands on the aquarium (literally) then you have more control as to what happens. You can easily manipulate the landscapes and livestock. Also, you will have a better understanding for your aquarium and its needs. You will have the opportunity and the motivation to learn all about your aquarium, its inhabitants and underwater ecosystems in general.
There are a few cons to maintaining your own aquarium. Sooner or later, you’ll run into a problem that you haven’t ever seen before. When something like this comes up you can visit your local fish store or consult a few of the many helpful online communities. But, unfortunately, no one will be quite as helpful as your very own hired service expert with their years of education and experience. Let’s be honest, as owners of our own aquariums, we can get greedy. So, having that helpful outside opinion will keep us reigned in and prevent us from adding too many fish to an aquarium.
OUTSOURCING THE MAINTENANCE SERVICES
Outsourcing the maintenance of your aquarium can be beneficial to you in many respects. If the time you spend cleaning your aquarium costs more than what you would spend on the monthly services than it is a financially sound decision to hire some help. Perhaps you’re a huge aquarium enthusiast, you know how you want your tank to look but you don’t know how or you haven’t been able to bring your tank to the level where you want it. Maybe it’s time to bring in the experts to take it where you want to see it within just a few months. Business owners can’t afford for their tank to malfunction or even appear any less than perfect.
But, there are a few tradeoffs to trusting the health and longevity of your aquarium. You really don’t know who you’re trusting your aquarium with. Some aquarium maintenance services can be costly depending on your aquarium and the frequency of services needed. Outsourcing your aquarium maintenance services can create some distance between you and your aquarium because you no longer appreciate the work that is put in to care for the aquarium. Although, outsourcing these services could leave your aquarium in better condition than it was originally which would leave you even more infatuation for the aquarium. Most noteworthy, perhaps they have a different vision for your aquarium than you do!
SUMMARY
Even though an open line of communication about your vision and expectations for the aquarium can keep the team on the same track, aquarium maintenance services are not right for everyone. If you’re on the fence trying to decide between hiring a team of aquarium experts, continuing the services on your own or selling the aquarium altogether, I would recommend having a conversation! Stop by your local fish store or call a couple local aquarium maintenance professionals! Tell them about your aquarium, your reservations and your expectations and then just listen. After just a few short minutes on the phone, you will have a clear vision for the future of your aquarium!