IS THE SHAPE OF MY TANK BAD?

[MARIA]

hey, i was just wondering, i have a 44 gallon 5 sided octagon corner tank and i never see or hear about anyone on these forums having one. everyone always sais they have a long tank or a bow front. was i stupid? did i buy a bad tank. i have 20 lbs of LR and a few damsels and chromis and a mandarine fish. it looks nice in the corner of my dining room but am i restricting myself from anything cool by having a tank this shape?

[Pineapple House]

Your tank is not bad at all. Most people don't use those tanks because of the swimming issues. In a octogon, there is not much room for the fish to swim around in, than lets say a rectangle tank. While those tanks don't have much room for the fish to swim, they also have an akward shape to them, where most lighting cannot fit. They are still perfectly good tanks :-)

Also, please dont use the term "crap." I would apreiciate if you use the term bad instead :-). Thanks.

PH =)

[HoopsGuru]

Not to go off-topic, but 20lbs. is not a whole lot of liverock to support the pod eating habits of a mandarinfish. Are you providing any other source of food (on occasion, a select few will eat frozen) or plans on a refugium or something to keep this fish from starving?

[FireEater]

Maria,
I also have a hex tank. It is 58g and I love the shape of it. I have 110lbs of lr in it. The reef starts near the front and goes to the back and up the wall. There is plenty of room from and back for fish to swim.
I agree with Pineapple House on the swimming issue, but set up right, your fish should have plenty of room to swim.
Just remember, people have reefs ranging from 10g on up. Just get the right fish and set up and you will be pleased.
I have just set up a refugium next to my tank and we love it.

[FireEater]

Up close....

[Irisservice]

Nice tanks!!

[phistio]

http://www.reefcentral.com/images/welcome.gif

to ReefLounge MARIA

i think your tank is fine...people often go with long tanks for ease...and most often for the amount of surface area for gas exchange.

one important issue of your tank is lighting...taller tanks (such as your) sometimes do not allow the full spectrum of lighting reach all the way to the bottom of your tank. but there are several ways to compensate this...

first off, make sure you have sufficient lighting (at least 4-6 watts per gallon)

but ideally, IMO, i would consider a metal halide pendant...it would be a sure fire way to know the light was reaching the bottom...

but you might get away with a custom lighting system for cheaper...how big (height) is your canopy...i'm thinking you could go with 4 PC ballasts each with a 50/50 that would make two a frames placed right next to each other so form a side view it would look like l^^l

just a thought...

[ssgibby]

you can also use pendant lighting.

[DolfanChet]

I have a 44 gallon pentagon that is lighted by a 150 watt DE HQI and a 65 watt actinic PC. I am upgrading to a 125, but I really like this tank in the corner of my living room. Very limited on rock stacking and room underneath though. Oh, I highly recommend this lighting for a tank that size also. I use the PFO pendant, magnetic ballast and Ushio 10K bulb. Very nice color IMO!