Bow front tanks

[AndrewGen]

Does the curvature of the front glass on a bow front tank distort the image of your fish and the contents of the tank?

[EmmanuelJB]

Nope. Mine doesn't. I even thought I read some where that it even makes it clearer.

[Northernguy]

Yup! Thats what I don't like about them.
Any curve in the glass can distort the view.

[EmmanuelJB]

Yup! Thats what I don't like about them.
Really Mine doesn't.

[EmmanuelJB]

"The Aqueon bow fronts add dimension and contemporary style to the standard aquarium. A curved tempered front glass panel provides a dramatic viewing area." Thats where I read that. Im pretty sure that was another product description that said the veiw is clearer. Anyway bowfront views the fish just as well as any other tank.

[lowlight]

I think it depends on the quality of the tank. My 55 has a slight distortion to it if I look through the front on an angle. I think it is normal in some tanks due to water pressure on the glass.

[UncleWillie]

It depends on size... 46 gallon + bowfront have no distortion whatsoever. In fact, the curvature of these long tanks allows for better viewing from slight angles off the front than flat-front tank. Flat-front tanks can cause fish to look 'skinny' if you view from too steep of an angle.
However, the smaller "Eclipse" type tank with have distortion around the edges. But a lot of this is due to the one-pieced curved acrylic.

[rhonin]

Bow front tanks do create a slight distortion when viewed from the front.
When moving my wife's Oscars from a 30 to a 43 bowfront, the fish appeared to the naked eye to look a bit bigger (magnified) and a small distortion as your viewing approached the side.

I swung by the Aquarium Depot down the street from me and one of their folks walked me through what is does.

Basically, the smaller the tank, the greater the curvature in the viewing area, the greater the observed distortion. Tanks greater than 50 (not the tall) have minimal distortion.
Quality of the tank does make a difference.

They do provide a much better view and make better "show-off" tanks.

On the down-side, stands and other materials that need to accomodate the bow-front shape are a bit more expensive.

Saw one there I may get, a 125g bowfront corner tank.
Future Oscar home?

:22:

[AndrewGen]

Bow front tanks do create a slight distortion when viewed from the front.

Basically, the smaller the tank, the greater the curvature in the viewing area, the greater the observed distortion. Quality of the tank does make a difference.

On the down-side, stands and other materials that need to accomodate the bow-front shape are a bit more expensive.



The reason I brought this up is that a local store has a clearance on a 36 gal bowfront for 50% off, so I wanted to know if it was worth purchasing. The stand, however, is a bit expensive and not something that I could DIY easily (due to the curved glass). In the end, it probably won't be a good deal, especially if you say that smaller tanks have greater distortion.

Thanks everyone.