corner tank
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stevendoll
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Sun Jul 31, 2005 2:48 pm
corner tank
Does anyone have experience with corner tanks? I am looking at a 35 gal corner tank (bowed front), and am curious to know what the various considerations are (lighting) as it has a reatively large width and I am not sure if the light wit reach the exreme back and front of the tank. Penny for your thoughts...
I have a 54G bowfront tank. It's definitely true that it takes more care to light these tanks, and it might be even harder to aquascape them, but if done carefully, you can come out with a very nice tank. For my 54G tank, I have two 55W power compact bulbs above the center of the tank. This lights most of the aquarium, but leaves a dark spot in the back corner. For me, I've built up a bunch of wood in front of that back corner, and just leave the back corner for a heater, filter intake/outtake, and powerhead. I'll note that I keep this relatively low-light with just anubias and java fern types of plants. I have seen very nice looking setups with metal halide pendants hung above the tank, but that wasn't possible for my situation.
Now, one of the nice things about the corner tanks is that you have a lot more depth from front to back than you will in a rectangular tank. Unfortunately, since the width of the tank get smaller and smaller as you go back, it's hard to fully utilize that depth. Additionally, the mirror effect of the sides of the tank is much more noticable than in a normal tank. None of these things are insurmountable, but all things to think about.
Finally, it is MUCH harder to get a good photograph of a bowfront tank IMHO. For starters, if you look at it head on, the top corners always seem to distort a little bit from the curve of the glass. Additionally, that same distortion seems to mess with the depth perception. Finally, since the curve of the glass runs perpendicular to more than one plane, reflections are hard to avoid when shooting. (You should shoot in total darkness, which I didn't do in the picture below.) If anyone has any tricks to photograph thru curved glass, please chime in.
Now, one of the nice things about the corner tanks is that you have a lot more depth from front to back than you will in a rectangular tank. Unfortunately, since the width of the tank get smaller and smaller as you go back, it's hard to fully utilize that depth. Additionally, the mirror effect of the sides of the tank is much more noticable than in a normal tank. None of these things are insurmountable, but all things to think about.
Finally, it is MUCH harder to get a good photograph of a bowfront tank IMHO. For starters, if you look at it head on, the top corners always seem to distort a little bit from the curve of the glass. Additionally, that same distortion seems to mess with the depth perception. Finally, since the curve of the glass runs perpendicular to more than one plane, reflections are hard to avoid when shooting. (You should shoot in total darkness, which I didn't do in the picture below.) If anyone has any tricks to photograph thru curved glass, please chime in.
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