Returning to the Fish World

[mbbowman]

Hi! I was a member here long ago, back when I had a lovely 38 gallon plantic tank with my favorite Botia kubotai and tiger barbs. Between two moves and building a house, my tank has set empty for probably 6 or so years.

We finally finishing our basement, and now my eyes are set towards a new tank. My son, now 10, wants one at least as much as I do. My husband says he'd rather dig me a 10ft outdoor koi pond than have another indoor fish tank . Anyway, I digress...

My old tank will fit in the only space we have for a tank, but it will face at an awkward angle, so I am looking into other options. I basically have a corner available. I found a 28in corner bowfront that would *barely* fit. One wall is about 26in to the (eventual) door trim, and about 42in on the other side.

So I guess my first question, is what would you stick in an awkward corner? Bowfront, hexagonal, round?

I'll surely want to go freshwater planted again, and I do like my Botias and barbs - which I do realize are happier in rectangular tanks, so that weighs on my mind as well. I could just stick my old tank in that corner, but then you's see it from the side on most of the room.

FYI, the room to the left of that corner is my office and laundry room, so I'll get to look at it while working. The dark room straight ahead will be another bathroom, so I'll have several sources of water and drains near by. The floor is Lifeproof vinyl plank over concrete slab.

 

[Jessie J.]

I would go for a planted freshwater bowfront, as that would probably look better than a hex. A reef tank would look good but I don't think there would be enough room for many saltwater fish. Good luck, and keep us posted on your project!

 

[mbbowman]

Oh! And here are my most recent well water tests.

 

[Colin_T]

So I guess my first question, is what would you stick in an awkward corner? Bowfront, hexagonal, round?

Don't waste your money on curved tanks, if they crack you throw them away because you can't replace the glass. Just get a plain old boring rectangular tank, it is better for the fish, easier to work out water volumes for treating, and generally a lot cheaper than anything with curved glass.

 

[Zikofski]

Welcome back to the forums and fish keeping, I would personally put a square/rectangle tank in that spot something that fits, a nice heavily planted tank but scape it so its heavier on one side and opens out towards teh door so you can look in from two sides still finding a tank that fits a space can be hard unless you go down custom design routes

So the bow front maybe a good compromise as it somewhat fits the space you have. As Colin_T mentioned they are near impossible to repair just got to be that extra careful, I myself have yet to break a tank or had one leak yet..

Good luck, check out the journal section for some more ideas and feel free to post one yourself.

 

[mbbowman]

What makes tanks leak? I had a tank set up for 6 years and never had an issue.

What other corner options are there?

 

[Colin_T]

Tanks leak if the silicon (glue used to hold the glass together) dries out and becomes brittle or comes away from the glass. Good quality silicon will last 20+ years but cheap silicon might break down after a couple of years.

Silicon tolerates acids very well but doesn't like alkaline substances like bleach. Avoiding bleach and other substances with a pH above 8.0, will help the silicon last longer.

Alkaline water is not a problem but bleach/ chlorine is bad for silicon.

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Aquariums were never designed for corners and normal plain old boring rectangular tanks are the best option.

 

[mbbowman]

I get it - you dislike curved tanks. In my space, a rectangle may not be the best option.

What are the favorite tank manufacturers these days?

 

[BeckyCats]

I think the corner bow-front would look awesome there. I think a bow-front would look much better than a standard rectangle. If it were me, I would get the largest either bow-front or octogon/hexagon that I could afford and that will fit and then just pick fish that will work with the tank and your water. I don't know about the fish you mentioned. I have never had that type, so I can't speak to them, but as to an opinion on the corner bow-front, I say, go for it! Alternatively, have you considered taking your husband up on that koi pond?

 

[Fishmanic]

I have a 35 gallon 24 inch tall hex tank nearly in a corner and I blacked out the rearward 3 sides... looks great. I have used this tank for over 13 years and never had a leak.Tall tanks are great for angels and fish that don’t need a very long tank. My hex works for my stocking that you see in my sig. I prefer glass tanks over plexiglass tanks as it stays scratch free far longer than Plastic/plexi tanks. My tank sticks out 21 inches from either wall even allowing for a hob filter that I mounted on the side that is closest to the corner.