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Just a poll to see what people think about bowfront tanks.... (well this isn't working is it... thought you just type in the fields) each time I edit an option disappears and the remaining go out of order.

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

I wanted it to be

a. Once you get one you never go back (and want to upgrade all your tanks)

b. Good for certain setups

c. Overrated

d. What's a bowfront



{um... 'scuse.... can a clever mod please fix my dumbedness?}

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

c. Overrated

It's a matter of personal taste...I've had a couple bowfronts and never had much luck with aquascaping. I've seen some that are gorgeous though.

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

good for certain setups

Some things look REALLY silly in a bowfront, others look fantastic!

There is also the issue of lost space as for a similar amount of floorspace you could have a larger square tank with a larger footprint suitable for critters that like the substrate Often bowfronts are a bit higher so actual volume isn't so much of a problem.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Overrated. I don't care for them. I don't like the curving floorspace, they're tall and narrow, with only limited depth in the middle. They also present problems with lighting planted tanks. tetratech's 72 bow is obviously a beauty, but over-all I don't think they're all they're cracked up to be.

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Back in the saddle!

I voted overrated. Yes they are nice and I'm sure there are some beauties out there, but I just don't know. On one hand they're nice but the bowfront design just cuts out too much real estate, lowering the sqare inches of the tank while raising the height which limits your stocking while making scaping more of a challenge. I spose they'd be ok for a nice pair of angels.

I have never owned one I have seen some glass bow fronted tanks set up and they look very good but I personally think it would be a challenge to aquscape it not because of the shape but of the effects of looking at it from different directions and getting a lot of room reflections.
To me it a personal choice also they can cost a lot more. Depending on the shape of the bow lighting has to be set back a bit as well.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
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overrateed.

never felt that they were a big deal.

Um, Calla if you come back to this thread for a 'lookie-chook' can you fix the poll so it looks like my 2nd post in this thread... ie has options a-d

(jest askin' you because you have been to this thread and are a mod - don't cha feel famous?)

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

Thanks to everyone who has taken part so far... interesting *tilts head like Jana Wendt*

Thank you for persevering even though my inaugural poll attempt is kinda crappy......

Wot actually looks good... Calla said some look good but not others.

For those who have aquascaped one o' these suckers.... what's the secret?

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

I think they look good in certain setups. Like a big african cichlid setup with a big pile 'o rocks in the middle that cacades down to the edges, or the same with coral or a big fat piece of driftwood

and i tried to edit it for you, but it didn't give me options to change your poll.

d) what's a bow front?

I think I know, but I'm not sure? Does it mean a tank with rounded front corners? If so, I think all my tanks are bow front (& I didn't know). Even though the front corners are rounded, the tanks are almost rectangular - but not quite. At each edge, the tank is 17inches wide, but in the middle it is 18inches wide - so the difference isn't great.

So, is mine a bowfront?

If it is, I haven't found any issues with aquascaping. The main downfall is when I'm trying to net fish.

BTW, I think tetratech's bowfront I beautiful, but then so are LF's & Wings, which as far as I know are straight tanks.



Cheers
TW

A bowfront is a one that has a flat back, flat sides, but the front piece of glass is curved several inches from each side to the middle. It's like a half moon shaped front, hence the bow.

Click here

Mine definitely don't differ by several inches. On the biggest tank, the differences is maybe 1 inch max. On the 2 smaller tanks, the difference is even less.

Maybe that is why I haven't found them very difficult to aquascape - they are almost straight, with the slightest curve.

So I guess that means I can't help you with scaping tips for bowfronts after all.

Cheers
TW

Normal rectangular tanks often have a slight bow on the top of the front or back pane if they have a weak brace or no brace at all due to the pressure of the water on them. A little bit is normal, but too much can lead to disaster.

The slight curve in my tanks isn't due to weakness etc. They came this way, as brand new tanks, so the curve isn't from water pressure. The built in hood matches the curve. So all should be ok there. Thanks for mentioning it though.

Cheers
TW

I really want a 16gl (US) bowfront with a few small plants, some rocks and BARBS! Like an accent piece to go by my stereo... 2 16gl's would be better to go on either side .... ooooooooo.....


A girl can dream

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"it's the neck, it creaks under the weight of too much heavy thinking."

Oh, we have bow fronted aquaria in the UK too. But they are bow fronted variants of the standard sizes, which here are more long and wide than tall. The only tall bowfronts I've seen are also physically large in all other dimensions - for example, 48" x 24" x 24" aquaria can be obtained in bowfront format. But it's also possible to get a 36" x 15" x 15" bowfront from some places (one was nestling among the display of new aquaria at my local-ish branch of Maidenhead Aquatics) and it's even possible to get long bowfronts here, though they look rather odd.

A standard rectangular 48" x 24" x 24" is just shy of 120 gallons US (99.7 gallons UK), so a bowfront that size would be around 130 gallons US or thereabouts.

Personally though, I prefer the standard rectangular aquarium. I had a 24" x 12" x 12" bowfront as a teenager and it was an awkward aquarium to work with, because the integral hood had all the holes for pipework and cables in silly places. A classic example of 1970s 'style over substance' design that I don't think will ever be repeated, thankfully!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

I think they look nice, but they're waaayy over priced.

b. good for certain setups.

I have a 46 gallon bowfront (price - free ... dumpster find!) that is my Discus tank. It works great for the two discus as it's taller and I like the view from different angles.