72 Gallon Bow Front question

[tmcmullen]

Wondering if any of you has a 72 gallon bow front tank. I'm upgrading from a 55 gallon regular tank and trying to decide if I want a bow front or a regular long 48" tank.

My main concern is distortion. I've seen a 46 gallon bow front that seems distorted when you are trying to look up close at the fish. I've been told that larger tanks would not show as much distortion, but I want to be sure before making the investment and going through the steps to set it up and transfer my fish.

Thanks!

[Diana]

I have both the Aqueon 72 gallon bowfront and the All Glass 46 gallon bowfront. (same company, just changed names)
I have not really seen any distortion in either tank.
If the option was to get a tank that was 4' long, and as wide as the bowed part (roughly 17") then I would get a rectangle tank 4' x 18" x whatever depth you like. IMO if you are going to use up that much floor space, you might as well make it water.

[Francois van Brederode]

Some of my friends has bowfronted tanks and they hate them.

The distortion is no problem from afar, but wreaks havoc if you try to make close-up picters of your fish.
(and can make your head go weird if you stick your nose right up on the glass )

[tmcmullen]

Francois, what are the sizes of your friend's tanks? I have noticed a lot of distortion in the smaller tanks.

Thanks Diana.

[soul-hugger]

I would personally go with the rectangular tank as well. The reasons for this are more space and better dimensions, as well as some the others have mentioned. Rectangular tanks are also easier to light, especially if you want to go with high tech planted, or any other plants for that matter.

Now I would like to ask you what you hated about your 55 Gallon tank. How about the lack of depth, the inability to aquascape, the one-dimensional look from the front, the height too tall for the depth? I have a 55 and I hate it for so many reasons. It's hard to plant, hard to light, and overall is a bad shape for keeping most fish and plants.

A 72 Bowfront, though it is nice in idea, is very narrow from the side and very tall. Though you will gain some space with the bow front, you will still have the problem of depth, and if you keep plants, you will need to have some serious lighting to get it to reach the bottom. You will also have less footprint, which is more important to most fish than height in the end.

A 75 Gallon has nice dimensions. It is shaped more proportionately and has both height and footprint without too much of either. If you are not planning on keeping plants, a 90 would work as well. It has extra gallonage and extra height, but is still 18" wide.

Have fun planning your new tank!
soul-hugger

[tmcmullen]

Soul-hugger, I just love detailed responses like yours. Diana is also very good with detailed replies.

The 55 gallon I am replacing is falling apart. The plastic frame across the top that supports the light is breaking, and nearly completely separated. It started as a small crack, and just progressed from there. The bottom of the front glass bows out just about 1/8" in the middle, which scares me! I also noticed last week that the base has a split on two ends at the corner, where the two pieces of wood come together. It looks perfectly fine otherwise, and if it weren't for me paying very close attention it wouldn't have been noticed. I can just see this thing crashing to the ground with my 10 year old Dojo and 9 year old Clown loaches (I have 4). It would break my heart.

I want to upsize because I have too many fish in the tank for the size. I got a little fish happy and bought about 12 rainbowfish. I know I should have better control over my buying impulse, but I just love those fish.

I like the bow front for the elegance. I realize the fish would be better off with the rectangular 75 gallon, but this is also a very large piece of furniture, and to keep my husband happy - since this is my passion not his - I need to make sure that this large fish tank that is in my kitchen/dining area is a pleasing piece of furniture. I'm sure he'll gripe about the extra few inches it will take up on the floor, but he'll get over that in time.

I don't have plants, and haven't been able to successfully keep them. I struggle to keep up with the tank honestly with everything else we have going on, but I do regular water changes and clean out the canister filter regularly too. I really see a difference in the fish's behavior if the tank went a little longer between water changes. They seem so happy to have a clean tank again. I honestly just don't have enough information on how to keep plants alive. When I have more time I'll probably start to research that a little more. For now though the urgency to get a new tank is priority.

Thanks so much for the advice! I'm still undecided, and I hope that seeing the tanks in the store will help.

[SidtheMonkey]

Lot of naysayers for practical reasons , but it is my dream tank. Not nearly so blocky as the rect. 75. For a show tank, it fits into alot of rooms better...more like furniture.

A 90 bow is beautiful too, but since I am always reaching in messing with the plants, it's too deep.

I'm surprised to hear of difficulty in lighting the 72 bows tho.....are they much deeper than the 75 rect? If it's the bowed front, I can plant mostly low growing and low light crypts etc up there.

[tmcmullen]

SidtheMonkey, the size difference is very slight. 48x18x22 for the Bowfront and 48x18x20 on the rectangular, so with only a 2" difference I can't imagine it would make it much harder to clean and care for.

[MTS]

My concern would be cleaning the glass. Sometimes it takes a scraper to get tough green spot algae off the glass and its more difficult to scrape the bowed surface than a strait surface.

[tmcmullen]

We made our purchase and decided on the 75 gallon rectangular tank. My husband isn't a fan of the bow front and I want it to be something we both like. He wasn't a fan of the 75 gallon size either (we currently have a 55), but the fishies need more room! I'm amazed at how that huge glass structure just sits atop a 1/2 inch thick base that just doesn't look as sturdy as you would want it to!

[soul-hugger]

Soul-hugger, I just love detailed responses like yours. Diana is also very good with detailed replies.

Yes, Diana is excellent with her responses. She helped me a lot when I was first getting started.

I used to get called Mrs. Mulroney in school. (If you are familiar with Canada, you will know that Brian Mulroney was the Prime Minister in the late 80's.) I would get teased and bugged for never giving a short answer:)

You have made a good choice! Don't worry about the stability; the tanks are made strong in order to withstand the pressures of containing water.

I'm sure that once you start aquascaping, you will find a huge difference from your 55 with the extra 6 inches you have gained in depth. I have a hunch your husband will warm up to it once everything is inside and looking great!

I don't blame you on making the purchase of Rainbowfish. They are beautiful fish that also enjoy similar conditions as Loaches and will be a colourful addition to your tank.

As far as keeping plants, I have found myself that it is an entirely different section of the aquarium hobby. Keeping aquatic plants is a whole different experience from keeping terrestrial plants and there is a lot to learn. One of the keys is knowing what plants to choose for the level of care you want to give.

If you would like to try some plants that are easy to keep and will withstand the vigorous behaviour of your Rainbows and Loaches, I would recommend Java Fern, Cryptocoryne, Anubias, and Giant Vallisneria.

Both Java Fern and Anubias are low-light, low-care plants that can be attached to rocks or wood in the tank. They do not like to be planted in the substrate. Cryptocorynes are long-lived, hardy, beautiful, and will also thrive in low light. There is a stunning variety of them you can try; something for everyone. The best thing you can do with these is to plant them and leave them alone. Their beauty increases over time, and in fact they won't be their best until they have been in the same spot for at least a year or more. Buying Giant Vals for my Loach Tank was the best thing I ever did. They are fast growers, don't need anything fancy, and they will quickly grow both wide and tall to fill the back spaces of your aquarium. I wasn't sure if I liked them at first, but their strap-like leaves now fill the back of my tank and float on the water surface.

soul-hugger

[tmcmullen]

Soul-hugger, I may take your plant advice and try a few since I have all this new room to fill I am definitely looking for easy care, so I can slowly ease into plant keeping. How about moss balls? They look so interesting in the pet stores. Do you know if they are easy to care for?

My best friend is Canadian, but I cannot say I am familiar with Brian Mulroney, although I really enjoyed your explaination on the comparison. I'm the same way on the phone, and tend to be rather chatty by text also.

Since the hubby will be home at a decent hour tonight I am hopeful that I can convince him to help me transfer to the new tank this evening. He doesn't like getting into projects after work, so I'll probably have to bribe him, or at least cross my fingers and pray that he'll help! I can't do it myself.

[JonasBygdemo]

I prefer bow-front. Sure, it distorts to some extent, but I think it looks classier.

[soul-hugger]

Moss balls will be fine. My daughter has one in her tank, and though she does nothing with it, it has thrived and even grown. Her tank is just a simple 10 Gallon with an incandescent light, she does not fertilize, and provides no special care. After the first year, it had grown and started to lose its round shape. Then what we did is we stretched it out over a section of driftwood. It has now attached itself and looks really neat that way, like a mossy log.

I know how it feels to be anxious to start your new tank. I also have a brand new 75 Gallon sitting empty just waiting to be filled. It was a gift from my boyfriend, who is also into fish. It's great having someone around who can share this interest, makes it all the better. Two heads and two pairs of hands can create some really amazing designs.

As far as the plants go, there is a lot of information out there on how to start. Some of it can get quite complicated, but if you stick to the low light plants at first, you will do fine. A lot of it is trial and error as well; experimenting and seeing what works for you.

Maybe you're setting up your new tank by now....

Let us all know how it goes!
soul-hugger

[tmcmullen]

We did it! We set up the new tank last night, and although it's gorgeous I couldn't sleep last night for thinking "What have I done?" I was having anxiety attacks over the size of the 75 in comparison to the 55. I love it, but I guess I am just afraid I may have over done it a little. Over time I know the anxiety will settle down. It's in my kitchen, which is a good size, so it does fit fairly well. We'll see what the reaction is this Sunday when my entire family is over for Easter dinner.

Transfer was a major task! We siphoned out the water into large 20 gallon rubbermaid tubs. While the third was filling I moved fish from the tank. Then my 11-year-old son realized "Willie", our precious and ill 10-yr old dojo loach was missing! I looked everywhere and then realized the poor guy was stuck in the siphoning tube We cut the tube in front of him and tried to use the water to push him out, but ended up having to blow him out of the tube. Poor guy was floating upside down, then right side up, then upside down again... This morning he is still alive and lying at the bottom of the tank. He has not been well lately. He has some whitish patches on him and I've treated for both bacteria and fungus, but it's not helping. I think he's getting close to his end. Hard to believe he's 10! Actually, I think he may even be older than that. I had him in a little 1/2 gallon tank when I was not so wise to fish keeping. I quickly learned that I needed to upgrade, and here we are with a 75 gallon!

One of my rainbows jumped clear out of the tub and I didn't even notice until my son came in to check on the progress and saw him. I put him back in and he was fine. Now my largest clown loach is showing stress and has a cloudy ring around his eyes. I'll treat for cloudy eye and keep my fingers crossed!

Thanks for all of the support and help!