Your Views On Column Fish Tanks

[mskazza]

Hi ive seen a 220litre column fish tank i like, its 5ft 7 tall, but i wanted to know are these tanks any good and what fish would be suitable to keep in them?

 

[Louiseness]

They aren't great, because a long, thin column only has a very small surface and bottom area. The small surface area means there isn't much oxygen exchanged into the water which means you can't stock these tanks nearly as much as , say, a 220L rectangular tank.

 

[Cazgar]

The stocking would be very limited, & I imagine it would be a nightmare to keep clean.

 

[OldMan47]

They are beautiful tanks but are not very practical for many of us. Are you going to put a few inches of water in it and then climb inside to plant it? Do you have a 6 foot long gravel vac? How bright must the lights be to get enough light to the bottom to grow a plant or even to see your fish?
I am sure that many of the fish we keep would do fine in deep water but there are limits to what people can do in deep tanks to maintain them. I don't buy the fish limit argument because adequate circulation can keep any water system at oxygen saturation conditions but there are plenty of practical reasons to avoid the,. The things I listed above are a real issue for me on a tank that is only 2 feet, 60 cm, deep.

 

[FishBlast]

They are beautiful tanks but are not very practical for many of us. Are you going to put a few inches of water in it and then climb inside to plant it? Do you have a 6 foot long gravel vac? How bright must the lights be to get enough light to the bottom to grow a plant or even to see your fish?
I am sure that many of the fish we keep would do fine in deep water but there are limits to what people can do in deep tanks to maintain them. I don't buy the fish limit argument because adequate circulation can keep any water system at oxygen saturation conditions but there are plenty of practical reasons to avoid the,. The things I listed above are a real issue for me on a tank that is only 2 feet, 60 cm, deep.

And the best question would be: How will they get out after planting it? Isn't having a ladder inside dangerous?

 

[gdoggy1678]

omg that beast is 5 foot 7? I would also like to now how you'd be able to stick plants into the substarte

 

[Ruskull]

Most fish prefer room to swim over depth, for instance a 20 gallon long is better than a 20 gallon high.

I wouldn't want a tank that tall, I'd rather have the length.

 

[winkle]

As a bit of an idea, I suppose you could possibly find a really long, interesting looking piece of wood, then use fishing line to attach plants that would be ok growing off wood, like java fern/moss, or some of that whats it called, anubis? It would give the fish something to interact with and act as a platform for shrimp or bristlenoses maybe.

Then you could lower it into the column, but light penetration would be an issue, possibly. It might be possible to lift it out for plant maintenance, but it would be messy business.

I have no bright ideas about getting to the bottom to clean any gravel though. Might be worth just not having any! Imagine the length of pipe you'd need to go to the bottom, up over the edge and back down to a bucket!

I think it could be an interesting project, but a seriously daunting one!

 

[mskazza]

Ok so officially a bad idea lol but they do look nice (in the shop were it will now be stopping D) i am looking for a tank round that water volume any ideas of something thats a little different but practical? Thanks for all the advice too!!

 

[Lufbramatt]

Juwel trigon tanks are cool and much more practical. Or a fluval Osaka ..