Why are round aquariums not more popular?

[Dr. Dendrostein]

I have had upwards of probably 20 tanks over the last 15+ years and after observing my new 185g, I am wondering why there are not more round aquariums out there. I’m thinking the cons would be price, lighting, tank location, tank stand ect... But your fish have an unlimited linear path with no walls. I watch the tangs do circles in the tank and it’s nice that it’s not a swim 6’ stop and turn around deal like on my previous tanks.

I guess my point is, is that I think a 75g round aquarium would be much more suitable for a tang then a 75g traditional aquarium.

Any thoughts?

I picked up a used 80 gal. Round tank. In the planning stages for NPS softies. I have some hex tanks 40-90gal. But I luv the 360° tank.

Sample corals

 

[jhorrocks]

Very cool! Look forward to seeing it.

 

[tvu]

I think flow is your friend for sure. My tank with the coral insert and canopy I built for it makes it tricky to clean. I did build a feeding tube that allows for easy feeding so I never have to get in the tank.

I would for sure not have a reef with this setup.

I did build a saltwater mixing station with pump that drains tank and fills tank... I can change 40 gallons in about 5 mins so I plan on doing frequent water changes to help with keeping tank clean. Not sure your depth but mine happens to be 3’ deep which alone makes it tough.

No light bleed really. Depth of tank probably helps with this.... not sure.

Oh man! I’m planning a reef tank. Not sure how to place corals or clean.

How’s cleaning curved glass/acrylic? Any tips to not scratch? Thinking of using mr clean magic eraser and strong magnets.

Bought 4 radion xr15 g4 pro due to the tank depth.

I also have a canopy and stand that comes built with the tank and may need a step ladder to feed [emoji16]

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Very cool! Look forward to seeing it.

I have a shipment from Vietnam, 22 NPS softies hopefully this Friday. I have thread "RAISING (9) DENDRONEPHTHYA MONTH2". Title will be changed to "RAISING NPS CORALS MONTH1" as soon as their here. Stay tune

 

[jhorrocks]

Oh man! I’m planning a reef tank. Not sure how to place corals or clean.

How’s cleaning curved glass/acrylic? Any tips to not scratch? Thinking of using mr clean magic eraser and strong magnets.

Bought 4 radion xr15 g4 pro due to the tank depth.

I also have a canopy and stand that comes built with the tank and may need a step ladder to feed [emoji16]

I have the standard large magnet cleaner but it has a rough sock on it that makes cleaning easy. But I have glass... less risk of scratching.

I have a 6’ ladder reallyyyy close lol. My tank is 36” tall with the 36” stand and 8” canopy and I’m 5’8 lolol

 

[Ds04384]

Biggest reason for me is cleaning is difficult. On glass you can be more aggressive but it is more time consuming to keep a curve clean. I would never attempt curved acrylic.

 

[NeedMoreReef]

Great looking tank. I think its price and maybe slight image distortion. I would do a FOWLR cylinder tank in a heart beat if I had the cash and room in the house.

 

[Salty Lemon]

I love round tanks -- yours is beautiful. I've always liked the round tanks even though I have two rectangular tanks at home. I'm sure you are correct on your assumptions -- it has to do with price and tank placement. However, I currently have a perfect place for one in my home now that I think about it. Hmmm..... Maybe the next tank. I don't dare bring it up to my husband when I'm still building up my new 210. Perhaps next year.

 

[rock_lobster]

They are nice but a lot of distortion though and much less length per volume.

 

[jsker]

Great looking tank.

My wife has a astigmatism and says it messes with here eyes, I do not have an issue with curved glass.

This is pretty cool at the Radisson Blu in Germany

 

[revhtree]

My only issue with them was because they made photographing harder. They are awesome outside of that IMO!

 

[Geebs19]

I have a half round and the only complaint is the distorted view, unlike looking at a square or rectangle head on.

 

[Hemmdog]

You can buy all the lookdowns in the market and actually have a suitable tank for them. They love cylinder tanks. We had a big exhibit at the public aquarium I worked at after college. That thing was IMPOsSIBLe to clean. 20’ tall 3’ radius

 

[jhorrocks]

I was really thinking about a trip of lookdowns LoL

 

[Hemmdog]

I was really thinking about a trip of lookdowns LoL

Do it! I would if I had a tank like that !

 

[VR28man]

Interesting thread. Just out of curiosity, will fish constantly swim around racetrack style in a round tank?

 

[Andrewalex11]

Round tanks are a real pain in my opinion but I could just have a bad taste in my mouth from when I used to be an aquarium technician.

(1) A short circular aquarium would look really weird so for the most part you have to factor in you’re dealing with a tall tank situation which opens up a door for even more challenges.

(2) When trying to make life easier with using some magnificent magnetic tools to make maintenance easier on these tanks you run into a new issue of curvature. Even if you wanted to use hand tools to scrape off that coralline you probably couldn’t depending on the height of the tank because the most effecient (and safe was without scratching glass) to move your scraper is laterally.

EDIT: I’d also like to note that I hate acrylic tanks and how easily they scratch up over time. It makes it extra annoying since you have to be so careful to move laterally only when you’re cleaning otherwise overtime your tank might look like the window on a New York City subway.

If you’re new to the hobby I’d avoid round tanks not because it’s too hard, but I feel like in order to be successful you have to be very creative with your equipment, drainage, and aqua-scape. It’s doable for a newbie but a more seasoned aquarist will probably have a much more interesting and successful way of tackeling the tricky dynamics of a round tank. Also you don’t want to have your first tank be so annoying that you give up on the hobby right away.

I definitely do have some positives to say about round tanks.

(1) They looks good wherever, up against a wall or in the middle of the room which is neat and gives a unique endless swimming feel to your tank that you can’t get with a non-radial shape.

(2) real estate on your aqua scape has the potential to be viewed 360. Most of us with rectangular tanks put all of our best stuff facing forward. So more corals if you’re going with a reef!

 

[jhorrocks]

Interesting thread. Just out of curiosity, will fish constantly swim around racetrack style in a round tank?

Some of the fish do... tangs and even the puffer. The foxface tends to swim all over the place.

 

[User1]

Space is probably the main culprit. Both visible (viewing) and placement (location). Then there is animal / coral space. Fish do need swim lanes and round tanks reduce that a bit due to space constraints. So unless it is designed from the ground up around the fish, corals, and space; which takes a lot more time and energy, people go with the more traditional easy to setup square / rectangle boxes of water...

 

[jhorrocks]

Round tanks are a real pain in my opinion but I could just have a bad taste in my mouth from when I used to be an aquarium technician.

(1) A short circular aquarium would look really weird so for the most part you have to factor in you’re dealing with a tall tank situation which opens up a door for even more challenges.

(2) When trying to make life easier with using some magnificent magnetic tools to make maintenance easier on these tanks you run into a new issue of curvature. Even if you wanted to use hand tools to scrape off that coralline you probably couldn’t depending on the height of the tank because the most effecient (and safe was without scratching glass) to move your scraper is laterally.

If you’re new to the hobby I’d avoid round tanks not because it’s too hard, but I feel like in order to be successful you have to be very creative with your equipment, drainage, and aqua-scape. It’s doable for a newbie but a more seasoned aquarist will probably have a much more interesting and successful way of tackeling the tricky dynamics of a round tank. Also you don’t want to have your first tank be so annoying that you give up on the hobby right away.

I definitely do have some positives to say about round tanks.

(1) They looks good wherever, up against a wall or in the middle of the room which is neat and gives a unique endless swimming feel to your tank that you can’t get with a non-radial shape.

(2) I feel like you can get a lot better use of your lighting system over a round tank considering that light spreads in a more radial way rather than a box. This could save you some $$$

(3) You could use that $$$ you saved to buy MORE corals because the real estate on your aqua scape has the potential to be viewed 360. Most of us with rectangular tanks put all of our best stuff facing forward.

Yes I agree to everything you are saying... if the tank was only 20” tall it would make things much more manageable.

I would love it in the center of a room for sure. I love my coral insert, I could only imagine if it was a reef.