AQUARIUM MAINTENANCE

If you have a love and passion for fish, then starting a business maintaining aquariums for others would be perfect for you. The starts up costs for this business are minimal, as your customers will be paying for all the supplies needed. You can run this business part time or full time depending on your circumstances and ambitions. To truly enjoy this type of business you should have a love for fish and truly enjoy working with aquariums.

Concept

The general idea is to visit the homes or premises of aquarium owners and offer a full aquarium care and cleaning service. To get started in this business you should have a basic knowledge of fish and aquarium care. You can easily continue to educate yourself by reading some fish care books. You will need water testing kits, nets, buckets and products suitable for cleaning aquariums.

Your client may not follow all your instructions on maintaining their aquarium in between your visits. You may end up with fish which have died from over eating or smelly, slimy tanks. You could offer additional services where you source and introduce replacement fish into their aquarium and also a weekly tank check up for a reasonable fee.

Basic services for existing aquarium owners:

Clean and maintain the tank
Feed and care for the fish on a routine basis
Replace filters, add any special chemicals required and make adjustments as needed.

Basic services for new aquarium owners:

Set up tank and add all chemicals needed
Set up any pumps and filtering systems
Selection of fish if your customer requires this

The following lists the basic essentials you need to get started:

Computer and Printer

Your computer need not be the most expensive one on the planet. As long as you can create documents, make lists of clients and write letters, it will do the job.

Telephone and Fax

You will need a telephone and fax so you can get in touch with clients, find new clients and so people can contact you. Although the fax is not essential to get started, it is useful to receive confirmation of orders right away from clients. Another convenient tool is getting a simple email address so they can confirm by email.

Business Cards

The humble business card is still one of the most useful methods of promoting your business. Many online printing firms even offer drastic reductions if you order small quantities through their website. At the time of writing at least one online firm was printing and delivering 250 cards for less than five pounds, including postage.

Growing the business:

If you can clean an aquarium you can also maintain ponds. You could even create ornamental items and plants which can be placed inside aquariums and garden ponds. You could also offer services such as cleaning patios, swimming pools and providing water features.