Ultra Narrow Bookshelf Tank

[DanPlanted]

I'm just thinking here, but I have a windowsill that's only a couple of inches wide. My aquarium obsessed brain sees this as a potential place for a long but super narrow tank. I was thinking like 4" by 4'. Has anyone done something similar to this? Is it even worth venturing into?

How absurd am I for actually wanting to make this a reality?

 

[Art]

Hi @DanPlanted, while I celebrate your creativity, I don’t think this is feasible for many practical reasons. However, you never know until you try.

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

I agree with Art. I'd also worry about the sheer amount of sunlight, too!

 

[Kwyet]

It seems like a potential disaster to me, sorry!

 

[*Ci*]

So at 12”tall that would hold 10g. Taller that that might be a bit tippy, unless you could think of a way to anchor it (some kind of custom bracket, maybe).
One of my tanks is in a window - when it had a piece of textured but transparent yellow glass as a backdrop, I did run into excess algae (the glass looked awesome, though), but now with a black background behind it, it’s fine. Could depend on the window direction - mine is west facing. North might be less problematic.
Your scaping would only be one item deep - one plant, one rock, one stick, so the design would be an interesting challenge with a 2-dimensional effect. Having focal point fish like a betta might offset the simplicity. A large school of nano’s could work as well.
You could mount a shelf right on top of your window sill, with supporting brackets, as well, to make room for a slightly deeper width tank.

Another thought is if, for some reason, the tank doesn’t work out in front of a window, you could mount it on a wall with heavy duty floating shelf brackets and have it be a living piece of artwork - even put a picture frame around it! I believe there are some commercial tanks available like this.

I would absolutely try this idea - maybe even make it a Scapecruch challenge!

 

[Koan]

Your scaping would only be one item deep - one plant, one rock, one stick, so the design would be an interesting challenge with a 2-dimensional effect.

plants and shrimps! That is if you make a cover for it , any livestock will jump or crawl out otherwise. Especially a betta

I think this sounds like fun this is the kind of thing I always think about too, when walking through Target or someplace and seeing their crazy glass vases



This one is actually 4" by 4 ft



If you want to go taller, or use different glass, it's super easy to build exactly what you want

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

Reminds me of this:

 

[Koan]

More pics of that one! Arrows live-scroll to the right




And another one

 

[techman81]

I read through the comments on that tank, expecting it was custom made, but the OP said it came from Amazon. They said search 4ft long vase.

 

[Koan]

It's here comes in 12", 24", 36" and 48"

 

[techman81]

It's here comes in 12", 24", 36" and 48"

View attachment 15383

Might not be a bad idea to ad a little aquarium sealant in all the seams.

 

[*Ci*]

Might not be a bad idea to ad a little aquarium sealant in all the seams.

Haha, it does look a little sketchy, doesn’t it?

 

[Koan]

I believe the first guy says it's been running 3 years without a hitch it is a vase after all

And not a lot of water pressure in 3 gallons!

 

[VJM]

I have used the Target vases at my office and grew hairgrass in they very successfully. Potting soil in the bottom, capped with sand, and put them in the window for light. They did develop a bit of blue green algae after a few months, but hydrogen peroxide treatment and manual removal kept it in check. I’m now intrigued with that long container. An iwagumi in it might look stunning.