As the number of people getting involved in the fish keeping hobby keeps growing at a rapid pace as well as the number of people who are doing their own DIY is increasing at an exponential rate, we have noticed a number of people reaching out and asking about keeping a fish tank under their TV.
Although this can be done, it is actually more difficult that most people initially think with many people often starting the DIY project before properly researching the task resulting in them having to give up half way through and end up stuck with a hold below their TV that they have to fill with something else.
It seems as though so many of these stories of how difficult it can be to keep a fish tank under a TV have managed to make it onto social media and this is why we see so many people reaching out about it right now.
Thankfully, the majority of people people we do see reaching out are doing plenty of research so we wanted to try and put our own article online to help as many of our readers as possible who are thinking of keeping a fish tank under their TV.
We will be focusing on the three main questions that we see from anyone who is looking to keep an aquarium under their TV to try and make this an easy-to-read resource that people can just use for reference for their own projects.
The comparison table below is able to easily help you navigate the article too helping you skip to sections of the article that you may need help with.
Can You Keep A Fish Tank Under The TV?
You can keep a fish tank under a TV but finding the right fish tank or aquarium for the tasks is more difficult and more expensive than most people think with custom built fish tanks often being required.
There are a few things that you can do to make your fish tank safe for fish that is under a TV but still, finding a non-custom built fish tank that is the perfect dimensions for your needs can be very difficult.
We have seen some people worried about the water risk for the cables of their TV and if you have correctly mounted your TV to the wall and routed the cables as required, there really shouldn’t be any reason to worry about the water of your fish tank causing problems.
If for whatever reason you do have to have TV cables near the top of your fish tank and we would highly recommend that you do everything in your power to avoid this, then you at least use a tank with a lid to reduce any risks.
Ideally, the majority of our readers should always be using fish tanks that have a lid anyway as it is a quick, easy, and cheap safety measure as many fish species will often try to just jump out of their tanks randomly.
So, even if the TV above your fish tank does have its cables routed correctly, we would still recommend that you get a tank that has a lid to help protect your fish from themselves.
Does TV Light Bother Fish?
The majority of fish are not bothered by TV light at all and many fish are kept in locations of the home where they are exposed to TV light without issue.
Even the more sensitive fish species seem to not have major problems with TV light allowing you to keep any fish species you like in your fish tank near your TV.
If you are keeping your fish tank under your TV then the tank is not in direct line of sight of your the TV anyway so any of the light that the tank is exposed to is a reflection of another surface in the room so not as bright as direct light.
We have already gone over the effects of red light on fish as many people seem to think that fish can’t see red or have negative effects when exposed to red light but this is not correct.
Although some fish can have problems with ultraviolet light exposure, a TV does not emit UV light so poses no risk on this front.
There are already a large number of people who keep their fish tanks under or near their TV without their fish having problems with the light or the fish keeper having to take precautions to protect their fish from the light.
Does TV Sound Bother Fish?
Depending on the sound system, volume, and velocity of sound coming from your TV, the sound waves can sometimes cause problems with your fish, especially the more sensitive fish species.
Thankfully, there are foam mats available that are able to reduce these risks but it is something to be mindful of if you are going to keep your fish tank near your TV.
In some cases, you may have to apply foam to the sides of your fish tank too if you have surround sound speakers that allow the sound to come in from an angle.
Thankfully, it is rare that you will have a rear speaker that is facing towards the TV and your fish tank so there is usually no requirement to add sound protection to the front of your fish tank and risk ruining the view.
The majority of people with a regular TV set who keep their volume under 30 shouldn’t have any problems with their fish being sensitive to the sound from their TV though.
Even the more sensitive fish should be fins unless you are watching something with a large number of loud explosions going off on a regular basis.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over keeping a fish tank under a TV to an end. We hope that you have found it helpful and that you are able to avoid the common mistakes of getting an aquarium that is not the correct size or not soundproofed correctly that we see many people making. For the most part though, the hardest part of keeping an aquarium under your TV is finding a fish tank that is the ideal size for what you need and if you can do this, the rest is relatively easy.
