Column Aquarium

[Sam the Ram]

Does anybody have any experience of a column aquarium - I'm thinking of buying one as they look fantastic.

One thought I have is how to heat the water at the bottom & top of the tank. Also how easy will it be to clean.

Any opinions or experiences please ?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I have seen those colum aquariums and as cool as they look, they are not good for fish and are very difficult to clean. I wouldn't advise you get one simply because of how unpractical they are for live fish.

 

[ncjharris]

Asthetically, I think they look very good - they are good for filling 'dead' space in a house.

I have no direct experience with them, but the three main probs I know of are

1) If it is very tall its a pain in the bum to maintain. Hard to clean, gravel vac and position decor, plants etc. If you have to do it on a ladder, all the more hassle.

2) you have to be very careful with stocking. The general 1" to one gallon goes out the window as you have less surface area than a rectangular tank. There is somewhere a calc. you can use to work out stocking based on the surface area of the water and the subsequent oxygen transfer rate.
In addition, if its not very wide, fish that like to 'dart' like tetras, barbs, will feel a little cramped.

3) if you use real plants you'll need powerful lighting. The deeper the tank the less 'useful' light that gets to the bottom and the harder it is for them to photosynthesise and then grow.

However, they can be good - I know angels like deeper tanks .

I am sure someone has one here and can give you a success story and the type of livestock that'll thrive.

GL and let us know if it works out and what does go in there!

 

[Allix]

whats a column tank, im guessing a tank thats tall and long right?

I can imagine it would be a pain in the anal fin to clean

 

[mlee0332]

no. They are the very, very, very tall tanks that are very slender. they might be the size of a 5g hex at the bottom, but be like 4 feet tall, something like that...

 

[Erised]

Actually, you can get them in many sizes. Restaurants sometimes have them in the middle of their shop ... and they're definatly not the size of a 5G at the bottom! More like, 75G at least.

If people don't complain about people using a hex or tall tank, they should allow column tanks as well. If it will actually be good though, really does depend on the size.

Do you happen to know the size in gallons as well as the surfase room you have, in lets say, square inches or so? That would make a lot of difference in if it's possible to stock it decently or not.

Cleaning it, will depend on the hight. You might need steps to stand on and a long hose to actually get to the bottom. Also, only get them if you're prepared to go into the water with your whole arm, because that's a guaranteed with a column tank. Heating, I wouldn't actually know! I'd think that if you heat in the middle, and have a good current + airpump, the water should stay equal temperature throught out the whole tank? ... no clue.

 

[Jen]

To me, a column tank mimics an architecual column - tall and skinny. I've seen some on ebay that are like 10 inches in diameter and 4 or 5 feet high. I have seen the round tanks too - 2 or 3 feet in diameter. They look awesome. So I think getting the right answer from us will depend on the kind of tank you are looking for.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

This is what i have always asociated with column tanks;

http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...ssPageName=WDVW

 

[daudy_dojo]

you could make it saltwater and get seahorses... best fish for it seeing as they NEED tall aquariums!!! maybe gold fish... whats the gallons???

your main and only 2 options are SW and seahorses!!! maybe even a few star fish!!! or you CAN get angels but i highly wouldnt advise that until i know they gallons... i used to help clean column tanks and they mainly held seahorses!!

 

[Bloo]

This is what i have always asociated with column tanks;

http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...ssPageName=WDVW

Mmm yeah me too - hence the understanding that the footprint is in the region of like 5 gallons if the entire tower only contains 40 gallons

Complete waste of money if you ask me.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

whats the gallons???

The one in the link i gave was apparently 40gallons.


EDIT: sorry bloozoo2 slow typer alert!

 

[daudy_dojo]

well whats the gallons of the one that he/she wants to get?!?! cause if they are looking at that one on ebay PFF nevermind my option you might as well put those lil robotic fish in there ...

 

[ncjharris]

Ah - found my calculator.


here

As you can see, its a bit, well, different, but putting some basic figures in to compare a 20G flat (22" x 18" x 12") and a 20G (12" x 18" x 22" )high with the same readings,

It comes out that you can hold half as many fish (inches) in the tall tank than the normal on.

 

[Torrean]

http/users.bluecarrots.com/dave.mann/pet...in/tankcalc.htm

calculator is at the top of chit chat