Flounder Never Had It So Good

The aquarium concept goes back more than two thousand years. During the Roman Empire, for instance, the sea barbel was placed under the beds of guests in small marble tanks. Since then, aquariums have changed over the years as they have spread all over the world. They have evolved from marble to porcelain to wood to glass, which is what we are familiar with at present.

Today, more than 60 million aquarists exist worldwide. In fact, aquarium-keeping is currently the second most popular hobby in the United States.


Aquariums, which are a great way to accent a home, give it a signature touch, or feature a beautiful, unique, and one-of-a-kind living piece of artwork, in the past have been cumbersome, bulky, and less than efficient in terms of space. Moreover, they have often had awkward angles and edges that prevented unobstructed views of the marine life contained inside. Taking all of these issues into consideration, and in an attempt to alleviate them, Aquarium ASP has created a unique ceiling-mounted aquarium that is perfect for homes.

Aquarium ASP, based in Quebec, Canada, is the creator of Spacearium, the aquarium of the future. The Spacearium's design strays from that of typical aquariums in several different ways. The most prominent of these is the fact that the Spacearium does not take up any floor space since it is hung from the ceiling. Thus, living space is not infringed upon and can be used in more useful capacities. (If owners so choose, however, they can use the aquarium as a partial room divider.)

Another unique feature of the Spacearium is that it offers 360-degree vision with no obstructions. The aquarium, which is elliptical shaped, is made of lightweight acrylic and does not have any opaque reinforcements. This allows anyone standing at any place in the room to fully view and enjoy the aquarium's marine life.

The tank, which is 95 feet by 12 feet by 28.5 feet and holds 73 gallons of water, also uses a remote filtration system. (It can be configured for salt- or fresh-water environments.) The remote system means, yet again, that the view of the aquarium isn't interrupted by an unattractive filter. Moreover, the filter itself, which creates a stable ecosystem and thus requires very little maintenance, is remote mounted. It can be placed up to 15 feet away and concealed in another location above, below, or at the same elevation as the aquarium.

Starting at a base price of $8,400, all of the Spacearium's features come together effortlessly to ensure that the scene in the aquarium "keeps renewing itself in front of your eyes" and that its scenes are viewable by everyone. And, above all else, it has everything that you want in an aquarium and nothing you don't. Just as in the old fairy tale, this aquarium is just right.