When selecting and designing the equipment for my tank, I followed several principles: I wanted equipment that would provide the best possible conditions for healthy livestock, that would minimally distract from the display (the less visible and audible, the better), that would be as amenable as possible to automation, and that would minimize ongoing cost and effort (e.g., lower power, less maintenance) in exchange for a larger up-front investment of time and money. The implementation of these design principles is described in more detail in the pages linked below.