Can You Get Big Bow Fronted Tanks?

[Ian H]

I've recently got myself a nice bow fronted tank (5ft long, 2ft high, 1ft deep at shortest) and i'm already thinking of upgrading

what i really want though is a 6 or 7ft long, 2ft high and 2ft deep at shortest. Most i've seen is 6'x2'x1'

 

[shroob]

I think I'm the opposite of you, I have a bowfront tank but wouldn't want one again as I would rather have a regular shaped tank with as much depth as possible at the ends. I have a juwel vision 260, which is narrow for the water it holds at the ends, which I dont like really. It think it depends on the type of fish you keep, and if you like the 'stylish' look of a bow front.

With regards to larger tanks, I think I read somewhere that its hard to keep the 'bow' pane of glass in place with such alot of water, I think the problem was the front pane 'popping off' though I'm not sure if this was a one off, or the reason why you dont see larger bow fronted tanks. I'm sure it could be done though.

 

[Ian H]

yeah its the "stylish" aspect of it that i like, looks so much nicer than my old boring 3ft, although in all fairness that has a horrible metal hood and stand rather than the nice stylish beach effect hood and stand this one has.

I thought there would be too much pressure on it aswell, oh well looks like i may have to have a boring big tank

 

[Squidman]

I like how bow tanks look its just that stands seem to be difficult to find for them. I do think that there a large bow tanks that can be custom made or bought already as bow fronts.

 

[showjyr]

I have a 155gal bow made by AGA that measures 6x2x1.5 feet and it' seems huge. If it were to be 2 feet at the shortest point it would take a lot of the bow effect away from the tank.

It's the biggest manufactured bow front I'm aware of but i'm sure you could have a larger one built for a small fortune. AGA makes a stand that goes with it's 155 BF that looks pretty good but i bought mine from someone that had a stand custom built.

 

[CFC]

You can get bow fronts made in any size, if you've got the money.

The bigger the tank the thicker the glass needs to be and the thicker the glass is the longer it takes to bow the glass, bowing a sheet of 10 or 12mm thick glass takes the best part of a week of heating and slowly increasing the curve.

If you want to get a price for a large bow front tank then have a chat with Kieth at Windsor Aquatics (see forum sponsors toward the bottom of the main page) as they have built many large bow front tanks for public aquariums and private customers over the years.