Opinions: Bow Front or not to bow front

[caad3]

I was contemplating switching from 125 gallon standard, to a bow front? Any opinions?

 

[bad coffee]

it's harder to photograph through a bowfront. plus, i don't really like the distorted view when trying to look through the tank at an angle. It gives me headaches after about 10 minutes.

B

 

[Mr.First]

I also would never get a bowfront. It seems to be more novelty than purest. That is only MY opinion

 

[rookie07]

I have a bowfront 24 GL. i hate it. Im switching to a 34 GL, half b/c of the bowfront on my current 24.
For the reasons already mentioned above

 

[thirty5]

I have a 175 Bow. The tank looks awesome... But as others say, the distortion is a pain. I would go with reg tank next time.!

 

[drunktank]

i've had both. And personally was never bothered by the distortion, never noticed it to be honest, and sencondly i dont really care about taking pics b/c i have a $50 camera

i like the bow fronts on larger tanks simply b/c it gives the tank some more depth in the center for more swimming room etc.

 

[Awibrandy]

i've had both. And personally was never bothered by the distortion, never noticed it to be honest, and sencondly i dont really care about taking pics b/c i have a $50 camera

i like the bow fronts on larger tanks simply b/c it gives the tank some more depth in the center for more swimming room etc.

I totaly agree with everything drunktank has said, except the camera bit.:biglaugh: Advice from a greater photographer to me was take pics at a 45 degree angle. Now all I need a DSL camera. And I guess I'll get one when I hit the lottery, which will be an awesome thing since I don't play lotto.:biglaugh: I have a 155 bow front, and I love it.

 

[OctaviousMonk]

I absolutely love my bow front, and I manage to get pretty decent pics, no pics of the month pics but what percentage of us really are or care to. It does get some distortion from certain angles but I have grown to deal with it. I personally find it to very elegant and very aesthetically pleasing to look at from anywhere in the room which makes a big impact as a display tank in my living room. As a main display tank I would get one again, and then do a more "purist" tank w/ starphire in my fish room for the hard core fans who give a crap. Another quick downfall is that the stands suck and offer little storage but I easily got around that by adding matching black storage units from ikea on eaither side of the tank.

 

[jejton]

Dont mean to hijak but yours is the first reef tank I've seen with glass tops. Why is that?

 

[medicineman]

personally, i like the reverse bow

 

[PalmTree]

personally, i like the reverse bow

Wow thats a little diffrent! Very nice tank. I would find a bow front tank difficult to clean. I don't think they make a curved mag float do they?

 

[BlueSi4]

I have a 46G bow front, and from far away, i love it, like many people mentioned, it gives it a bit more depth, and the extra room in the front is always nice. But if you stand too close, the disortion thing kinda gets annoying, and also, i find it to give you a headache if you sit too close to it. Also, it tends to make things bigger than they are, which can be a good thing as well as a bad thing.

 

[grknyer]

I have a 46 bow.I like but wouldn't buy another one.Building a canopy was a #@%* problem but I did it.Another peeve I have with this type of tank is the center brace.When I started out it was a fish only tank so lighting didn't matter but when I turned it into a reef and obtained my mh fixture it was exactly over the brace.There is a shadow down the center of the tank.The only thing positive with the shadow is any nice low light loving corals that you would normaly place out and away can be right up in you face.

 

[aaron]

I have a 36 Bow and have never noticed the distortion except when i tried to look along the long side. I always just liked the proportions of mine. The added depth in the center is a nice counteraction to the visual foreshortening you get looking through the front.
No worries using a magfloat, its not curved enough to affect it.
Really it all comes down to what you like the look of.

 

[jab161]

Love my 155 bow and never was bothered by distortion, only when trying to look at it from a strange angle. only regret is that i would like to have the 24" on the sides for aquascaping

 

[nycmat]

they are both nice. just dont really care for the extra price with less real estate within the tank

 

[OctaviousMonk]

Glass tops are to keep my wrasse and other jumpers in check. One of these days I am going to make some screen tops for the tank.