I decided to buy this after I saw the price and several good reviews.I have had this aquarium for a few weeks, now I can personally say my Betta has never been happier in his new home. He swims around more, instead of sitting on the leaf of one of the plants in it, like he did in his old 1 gallon bowl. I personally like the sleekness of the design. It looks great in my room. It having a single cord to power both the light and the filter is a great feature. The Instructions are in English and Spanish and very easy to read with detailed pictures. The only two replacement parts for it are the Glass bowl and the power cord. The filter is, I believe, the Tetra Whisper 3i filter. The only difference I see is that it is powered by a very quiet impeller that attaches to the bottom of the filter instead of an annoying air pump. The filter cartridges (Use the Tetra 3i filter cartridges) are suppose to last about a month each and it comes with one filter cartridge. The Waterfall is also relaxing, oxygenates the water and removes chlorine and the fishy smell. The waterfall looks just as it does in the picture, by the way. I thought it would be more of a drizzle, but I was wrong. I'll list everything out for you:
CONS:
-Glass bowl had some imperfectionsslightly warped (But not very noticeable) lip and 2 weird air bubble-looking things I found. At first I thought it was an air bubble inside that just stuck to the side of the bowl, but it actually was just imperfections in the glass. At least the glass bowl is replaceable.
The flat bottom of the glass bowl is only about 4-5 inches in diametermakes it harder to put some types of plants or ornaments in. you could put in more gravel, but you'll have to keep ornaments and plants toward the centerno big deal, really.
-The hinge on the light hood is a little loose and wobbly. It doesn't rattle, But I wouldn't be surprised if it is the first part that brakes. Nothing a little duct-tape and super glue won't fix. The rest of the plastic parts seem sturdy, otherwise.
PROS:
-Sleek
-QuietYou can only hear a faint hum when you are within 3-4 feet when it is dead-silent in the room.
-8 bright white LED lights give a nice "moon light" effect at night.
-Soothing Waterfall that also oxygenates the waterseriously, I had 2 Aponogeton plant bulbs in my old tank for 2 weeks and they haven't even started to sprout. 2 days after I put them in this bowl, they started growing, 3 days later, they were already 3 inches tall.
-Water stays crystal clear for months at a time.
-Easily change filter cartridges.
-Perfect for showing off exotic small fish. I wouldn't put more than 3 or 4 small fish in it, though.
-glass globe magnifies things when you look through it at the right angle.
-you can fill water up to the lip without worrying about the waterfall making it overflow.
-I think the current of the waterfall makes the fish more active. My Betta, Finwick, was always kind of lazy in his old bowl, he would swim around sometimes, but usually just hung out on a leaf on one of the fake plants that was in it. In this bowl/aquarium (I honestly don't know whether to call this a bowl or an aquarium) he is almost always swimming around, otherwise he is hanging out on his favorite leaf.
SUGGESTIONS:
-If you plan on putting a Betta or any other type of fish that is use to having little or no current, Try filling up the bowl to the lip. This will keep the current coming from the waterfall low and it also looks good. Not better or worse, but good
-If you find that your filter cartridge (Tetra Whisper Bio-Bag Cartridge small, 2-Pack) needs to be replaced, but you don't have any replacement cartridges on you at the moment: unplug the power cord; remove the "spent" filter cartridge; rinse it in the sink with the Cotton meshy side facing up, this will remove some of the gunk that prevents the water from flowing easily through it. The carbon bits that are in it will probably be spent so it won't remove chlorine or the fishy smell, but it is a good temporary fix that will keep large particles from floating around in the tank.. Stock up on filter cartridges to prevent this from ever needing to be done. I can only find them in packs of 2 on Amazon, but they are nice and cheap.
OVERALL: I am VERY pleased with my purchase and am now a fan of Tetra products. This is definitely a well-built/designed aquarium. I definitely recommend it to anybody and everybody. I will make a review video when I have to replace the first filter cartridge.
Oh and you don't have to worry about your fish being sucked into the impeller. It has a guard on it and even if it did, the water will still be crystal clear when you notice your fish is gone.
Also, the sculpture in the center of my aquarium is the Marina 12205 Betta Kit Marble Sculpture.
I was a little leery of this fish bowl at first, after all, neatly designed things such as this usually end up being junk. However, I was very surprised when it arrived and I got it all set up. It is well made and seems to be good quality. I like the one electrical plug design, which was a selling feature for me. The filter and the LED lighting both work off of the same plug. The base is sturdy and has built in hand grips for easy moving. The filter housing and assembly snap off easily and go back on easily for cleanings, however, the carbon filter pad makes cleanings far less frequent. It also has the option to add a heater in it, for those looking to put tropical fish in it.
Overall the design and functionality is really good. I'm very happy with my purchase and my betta seems to be very happy in his new home. The only thing I will mention is that the glass bowl is thin, so cleaning it requires some extra attention and handling. However, overall, you will be very happy with this item.
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This bowl sits in my office on my desk. Everyone comments on how beautiful it looks. The waterfall is very soothing. A classy display on the whole for a very good price. The size is excellent for my desk.
My Betta fish seems very happy in it and has actually grown from the increase in the size of his environment. He was a bit afraid of the running water at first, but has adjusted nicely.
If I could change it at all, I would like to be able to turn off the waterfall, but still be able to keep the lights on. Since they are wired together, they are either both on or both off.
I would also like to see a thicker glass. It is not as heavy as the usual one gallon glass bowls. But, for the money, this is a fabulous buy. No regrets.
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When I ordered this set up I was very excited to receive it. I read all the reviews and took in everything that people commented on. When I got the bowl I noticed that it was in fact very thin and had a small bubble, this didn't bother me as it was expected. I made the mistake of not washing off the filter cartridge before I plugged in the tank and the water turned murky, once I took it out and washed it everything was fine. The waterfall is nice but it does splash water all over the place, I have the tank sitting on my dresser and had to put a cloth mat underneath it so it didn't warp my dresser. I don't think my fish really likes the waterfall either, he's always hiding from it so I only turn it on when I get home from work. This may differ from one fish to another. The first time I changed the water in the bowl I broke it. This was my mistake because I knew that the bowl was thin and I picked it up by the lip. Always pick up the bowl by the bottom and poor the water out or use a siphon to suck the water out. I was so bummed because I really like the set up so I immediately ordered another one because I couldn't find any replacement bowls online. Once I got the new set up I realized as I was reading the instructions that the replacement parts are listed on the instructions! OOPS!! Overall I give this aquarium three stars because I have had quite a few things go wrong but the look of the tank makes up for everything.
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The globe glass has already broken three times, each time I have fixed with glass sealant. I don't even move or remove the glass. Weekly maintenance was through a siphon. When the globe cracked, I had to rescue the fish very quickly in another bowl, all the water was on the floor. It was a disaster. I even bought another globe from home goods, but only this thickness of the globe can be purchased, otherwise the filter clip doesn't fit. Go with something with a better shape for peace of mind
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I wanted a tank that was space efficiant and looked better than a regular square tank. This one is acrylic and has no seams i ordered the 20 gallon from Petco online since shipping was free. Beautiful view with fish in it. You will need to be mindful it doesn't have a top it's one unit so your ornaments and rocks will have to between i believe 5-6 inches wide. It comes with a hood but only downfall is no light. Petsmart has them and it was a 12" light. Overall very happy with this tank and fits nicely in the corner on an end table so i didn't have to buy special furniture for it to be on.
