Buy Floating Glass Aquarium Thermometer with Suction Cup Now
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Floating Glass Aquarium Thermometer with Suction Cup
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Glo T5 HO Electronic Ballast for T5 HO Fluorescent Bulbs, Fits 2 x 54 Watt T5 HO Bulbs
I retrofitted an old coralife fixture I had and the bulbs just barely fit. The two 56 watt T5 bulbs lit the tank beautifully, though, while it worked.
I will try to get a replacement and hopefully it will work better...I have a 90gal saltwater reef tank loaded with a mix of soft and hard corals.
This was the best deal I could find on T5 HO ballast, so I ordered 3 sets.
Its been 6 months now with them running for 8-12hrs a day with no problems.
Very easy to install
Good quality
Fast shipping
Low price
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very good product, installation was very easy, I have been using for about a year I have had zero zero problems good products i recommend this seller and productI purchased this about a year ago to make a home made aquarium light for my 75 gallon planted tank. The first unit I received emitted a loud 60 Hz buzzing noise from day one but did light up the lamp. I contacted Hagen who assured me that was not normal, and so I had the item replaced via Amazon as a defective unit. The replacement process was painless and the second unit did not share the same issue. The unit is quiet and doesn't produce a ton of heat. I eventually wanted to route my cords off one end of my aquarium rather than both and so I cut and extended two of the leads. I don't advise trying this if you are not comfortable doing so, or have to ask how but it worked for me. While I don't have a PAR meter it didn't cause any perceivable loss in light, nor did it result in any flickering or noise. The power button requires some effort to flip as it is under a plastic bulb, but as I use a light timer this isn't really an issue for me. Here is a video of the planted tank these lights power: Can't rate item, it is not the correct item for the Lite I have. The Ballast is to large to fit in my lite even though the manufacturer/company shows this product as the product that fit my Light ficture. It was returned.Saturday, September 13, 2014
Aquatic Creations Artificial Live Rock 3 Aquarium Ornament
Friday, August 15, 2014
Laguna PowerFlo External Biological Pond Filter, 1000-Gallon, 20-Inch
As far as the actual performance of this bio filter...I have to say I'm unimpressed. The cost of it is low compared to others that I considered which is why I gave it a 2 instead of a 1.
What I like?
The price
Easy enough to clean. Bottom plug removes in order to drain. Lift-out compartments can be quickly hosed off.
Some other bio filters are set up for easy flushing and cleaning, but cost considerably more.
What I don't like?
It's sort of flimsy (we laid some flat concrete pads behind the landscaping in order to level filter box and
give it some stability)
I don't like the filtering media provided (it keeps disappearing through the output hoses). Will replace
with better option.
Lid doesn't fit snugly enough.
If you aren't careful in making sure that the two output flows are removing water from the filter at a rate
equal to (or greater than) water coming in, the excess water will just spill out from under lid...and drain your pond.
The already mentioned problem with finding output hosing to fit. I ended up having to spend $40 for 4.5' of output
hosing.
I feel that the engineering of the filter input/output and compartments is not optimal. If I don't
clean it out at least once a week, too much dead algae and other gunk settles in the bottom. I generally only
clean out our other biological filter (BioFalls) no more than 2-3 times a year. In order to keep the good
bacteria operating at peak, the media needs water/oxygen circulating over it constantly. If water circulates
too fast, the bacteria doesn't have enough time to do its stuff. But in the case of this bio filter, it
appears to me that there is too much lower area in the box where the water doesn't circulate or move the
water. As a result, the dead algae (from the UV sterilizer) and other small debris just settles in bottom
and slowly decays.We have used this model of pond filter for several years and had to replace it recently due to minor part breakage. The price is reasonable and the function is fine. I would like a stronger bottom plug design and water supply connector.
Buy Laguna PowerFlo External Biological Pond Filter, 1000-Gallon, 20-Inch Now
I am very pleased with this product. My 1,000 gallon pond was a murky green before i installed this filter. in less than two days it is crystal clear. I hooked it up to a laguna clear flo 900 gph pond pump. I think that was important as this particular pump was capable of handling larger particles. The only reason I did not give it five stars is that the water outflow nozzle is larger than a 1.25 inch and smaller than a 1.5 inch. I had to buy and fit a specialty hose so I could run an outflow line and not use the unit as a waterfall. I have a separate pump and hose for the waterfall. Also, it comes with the filter pad and the lava rock, but it would not have taken much to also include the plastic biological media which goes in the third stage. I had to buy that separately also. overall, the filter works very well, I would definitely recommend.Read Best Reviews of Laguna PowerFlo External Biological Pond Filter, 1000-Gallon, 20-Inch Here
I have had this for a few months now. I must say, it does work with a little help with beneficial bacteria. I have this running on the Laguna 600 pump, it's feeding into the external filter. The bacteria can grow on its own, or you can buy products to start the biological process. I would not use this with anything larger than 1000 gallons. It is a bit smaller, with a little added bio-media added such as ceramic rings, a few lava rocks, plastic scrub pads, and a few small air conditioner filter pads (not included) this things works great to grow bacteria. Only mods I would suggest, adding a air pump with air stones in the media, so the bacteria will grow. I have done this by drilling a hole and adding a air pump to media. Also the parts made are a little cheaply made but do the job.Want Laguna PowerFlo External Biological Pond Filter, 1000-Gallon, 20-Inch Discount?
Petco Rustic Cube Aquarium Ornament
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Fluval Peat Granules, 500 Gram/17.6 Ounce
The only thing that I wasn't to happy about was that It does not specify how much to use.
I Do WARN you if your not careful IT WILL DROP your pH way to fast and could kill your fish. I would recommend to start off with a small amount and gradually increase that amount til you get to your desired pH & Hardness Level. If you don't have anything to test your water, get something (I recommend API products) you will need it. Finally this does not come prepackage or in mesh bag. You will need to purchase some.I use this to bring down the Ph in my tank without shocking the fish. This media brought my ph down to a 6.5 from an 8.2. I use 3 teaspoons in a small mesh bag (you can get these at any party supply store.)in with my other media filter on my AquaClear filter 50gal filter for a 46gal tank. You could also use the toe of an old pair of ladies stockings/ pantyhose to keep the peat in the filter and not the tank.
Buy Fluval Peat Granules, 500 Gram/17.6 Ounce Now
This is cleaner and easier to work with than garden peat moss. I also feel it is safer as it is pure and meant for the aquarium. The box may seem small, but you don't need much and last a long time. I put some in a knee high pantyhose tied a knot and put it in the tank. By doing it this way all the pieces stay inside of the pantyhose and doesn't float around the tank. At first it floats, but I pushed it behind the filter stem under the water. In a couple of days the peat moss is wet enough to sink. I noticed the water becomes very soft, but it hasn't lowed the PH. The water does get a dirty, tea stained look and if you are directly above the tank you can smell a little bit of the dirt, but all the fish seem to love it. Fish like the neon tetras that would normally hide behind my plants and rock now come out to the front of the tank.Read Best Reviews of Fluval Peat Granules, 500 Gram/17.6 Ounce Here
People seem to want to rate this based on what it does to their water, however performance is going to depend on the chemical makeup of your tap or filtered water. The more buffers are in your water the less effect this will have on PH. Ultimately, if your water is very poor quality you may have to purchase R/O water at a pet store or buy your own R/O filtration system.This product is good clean Peat. You get exactly what is advertised. It can be used in any filtration system that has space for it. You may need to purchase something to put it in if your filters do not have a place for it.I had tried a number of other products like API's water softener pillow to lower the hardness of my tank and never had much success. The hardness of my tank was incredibly hard (both kh and gh) and the ph always hovered in the basic range despite attempting to put more drift wood in to lower it. I finally tried these peat granuals (I got one of the mesh bags and put about half of this box in that bag and into my canister filter). Within perhaps a week or two, it had brought both hardnesses and ph down to ideal readings for my tropical community tank. I am not overly averse to using chemicals to treat a tank if it's what works best, but this just had that Occam's Razor feel that it was 1) Natural, 2) Relatively cheap and 3) Incredibly effective! This has certainly found a permanent place in my filter!
Sunday, June 22, 2014
biOrb Ceramic Media - 2 lb. Bag
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I had bought some of this product years ago and use it in my canister filter for my freshwater aquarium. It hasn't broken down so I continue to use it. I love the look of it as it looks like saltwater live rock (but is a lot lighter kinda like lava rock). Biologically it probably works about as good as ceramic noodles or similar. I add bacteria every once in awhile to keep up the growth levels.Exactly what needed for my Bio orb. I like it, my fish like it, everyone is happy! Stones are large, but they look nice.The baby biorb does not include enough ceramic media. on a different note, i look of the product and i reccomend this not only for biorb products but other tanks as wellTuesday, June 3, 2014
TOM Stellar Air Pump S-20 - 20gal to 30gal tank
All air pumps make noise, but the volume from this seems plenty reasonable. I hid mine in a wicker basket under my tank and that seems to almost completely mask any noise. This pump did not come with any other accessories like a t fitting to split the air into multiple hoses, or a check valve to make sure water doesn't back flow into the pump. I already had these so it wasn't an issue for me.
Many people don't know but the rubber diaphragms eventually always wear out in any air pump. So, we will see how long these last, they do list the part number on the packaging for replacing them when they wear out. But, I suspect with shipping that they will cost as much as a new pump since the pump is so inexpensive and eligible for prime shipping.
My goal is to get at least a year of use out of this pump before the diaphragms need replacing. In my mind that's a reasonable amount of time for a pump in this price range. If it dies before a year is out I'll come back and update this post, if there are no updates then it means my pump lasted at least a year!For an inexpensive air pump this one does a good job. It is fairly quiet, though I have had better. Puts out plenty of air through my 2" bubble disk.
Buy TOM Stellar Air Pump S-20 - 20gal to 30gal tank Now
I was looking for a replacment to my Tetra Whisper (Tetra 77851 Whisper Air Pump, 10-Gallon) reading a review that this product (TOM Stellar Air Pump S-20 20gal) is the most quiet among the many the reviewer has experienced. By far, this pump vibrated on top of my tank despite putting a damper under its feet. The sound is just too annoying. I then tried a Rena (Rena 702A Model 50 Air Pump by Mars but they're both so noisy I went back to ordering the Tetra Whisper. For the time and effort to return these 2 items, it was better for me to throw them out to garbage.Read Best Reviews of TOM Stellar Air Pump S-20 - 20gal to 30gal tank Here
Monday, May 19, 2014
Marina Thermometer Suction Cup, Small, 2-Pack
Monday, April 28, 2014
Fluval 20g-CO2 Diffuser - 0.7 Ounces
This clever design maximizes the CO2's exposure to the water on two surface planes. It's a very simple process but it works effectively. And my aquaforest plants do quite well with it.
I think the previous reviewer didnt quite understand how CO2 and water intermix. Tiny bubbles under pressure are not the only way for water to absorb CO2
I obtain my tank's CO2 from a reactor using simple sugar and yeast. It does not supply the high pressure found in CO2 cannisters, and therefore requires a diffuser like this that doesnt need much pressure. This diffuser is ideal for such CO2 sources. I can easily recommend it.Given that I purchased this item to replace a real ceramic diffuser that broke on me, once I received this in the mail I quickly learned that this product is an over glamourized cup with a hole in it. The picture and description is misleading and a 29 cents cup would do a better job.
This product does not allow for any water flow to interact with the CO2 that collects in the (upside down) cup so the CO2 levels in the tank are seen to drop after about 2 days of operation.
For the newbees...don't bother, get a real ceramic diffuser and you will enjoy the results better than this clumbersome device.
Buy Fluval 20g-CO2 Diffuser - 0.7 Ounces Now
It's a cup reversed upside down to hold the gas stuck underwater and overflows to the higher cup once the below one becomes full to double the surface of CO2 interfacing with water.. In face you can even cascade more than two cups as you grow depending on you aquarium heightIt is ideal for yeast co2 users as no pressure at all is required while I have a co2 pressurized tank to I use a bubble diffuser at the bottom of the tank while hanging this fluval cup above it near the middle or top of the water to catch the un dissolved bubbles before reaching the surface and get wasted. In face I was quite surprised how much of co2 I can dissolve within couple of hours with this product that in face were getting wasted to the surface
Plants are enjoying ang growing like crazy and for the first time ever I will start trimming my plants soon
Read Best Reviews of Fluval 20g-CO2 Diffuser - 0.7 Ounces Here
Does not diffuse Co2 as stated. It more likes catches the Co2 and holds it under water until it releases out the sides and gets wasted.Want Fluval 20g-CO2 Diffuser - 0.7 Ounces Discount?
Bought this to try out for my DIY c02. I tried the ceramic diffuser and the DIY bottles don't produce enough pressure to use it effectively. This is essentially a bulky plastic cup that's upside down. The box claims it's ideal for nano aquariums...FALSE. it looks bulky in even a 10 gallon.The biggest downside of this plastic cup is the NOISE. once enough co2 is trapped under it will let out a big air bubble and that thing is loud. I'm now currently waiting on a nano glass diffuser i ordered off ebay for 5 dollars
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Hagen Laguna Pro Fish Net, 15-1/2-Inch by 18-1/2-Inch by 29-1/2 to 55-Inch Metal Handle
Buy Hagen Laguna Pro Fish Net, 15-1/2-Inch by 18-1/2-Inch by 29-1/2 to 55-Inch Metal Handle Now
We needed a net to move fish as we cleaned out our pond. Worked great. Size was large enough to catch koi as well as all the goldfish.Prime shipment was quite impressive, got it less than 24 hrs after I ordered.The net and its handle are made of good quality material. In my case, I only have small pond (300 gallon Rubbermaid tank) so the extension of the handle is somewhat a mute point for me. But I did test it and it worked fine. The net has been sewn together quite well and there is no ridges that may hurt the fish. I actually used the net to transfer my 7 X 12 in KOIs from old tank to the new one. Boy oh boy, they were not happy being lifted off the tank and they twisted and twirled a lot. But so far, there were no scratch marks on them at all.
I now use this same net to remove the leaves and pine cones that happened to fall in to my pond. It works pretty well. The small loop of string at the end of the handle is handy to hang it near by. The one thing that I am not quite used to it is that the net frame is not firmly lock to the handle. I mean it can still rotate around the handle. May be it has been designed to be like that.it's a net. it catches fish. tough and doesn't scratch acrylic if you're going to use it in a 200+ gallon tank to catch 2' + fish. the end.
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Finnex Ray2 Aquarium Day/Actinic LED Light, 48-Inch
Now, why 4 stars instead of 5? A few reasons, none of which are major issues. One of the LED bulbs blew almost immediately, only one out of the over 300 bulbs doesn't make much of a difference in the lighting. I would like this light to have either a 3 way switch or separate switches for the daylight/actinic. A minor issue to me, but for some maybe not, is that the legs that come with this do not fit on the sides of my tank. The gap in the clamp is too small, or the walls of my tank are too thick. I prefer to think the clamp opening is too small. I rest this light on a hood, so the clamp size doesn't matter much, but it would be nice to be able to see what I am doing during water changes when I have the hood off. Lastly I wish I could get a dual 10,000k. I wonder why you can get 50/50 10,000k/actinic, but the dual daylight is dual 7,000k. Still not a real big deal because the 50/50 lights up my tank just fine.
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It took a few months for my fish to come out of hiding. something about the extreme brightness? I don't know, but when I first turned it on, they all ran for cover. (african cichlids)Read Best Reviews of Finnex Ray2 Aquarium Day/Actinic LED Light, 48-Inch Here
I read the reviews and saw that a few people said they lights don't work. I took a chance and ordered itand wouldn't you know it the light did not work. I think Amazon should stop selling this lights until the
manufacturer can produce a better product.
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Let me start this review by saying that I *really* want to like the Finnex Ray2 lights. They're pretty bright they reach all the way to the bottom of my simple 55gal, and have a nice 10k/actinic color mix. The beams are pretty narrow, so unless you're able to hoist these up a bit away from the tank (the included canopy legs aren't tall enough) you'll probably need two bars for full front and back coverage maybe more if your tank is wider (mine was 48" wide by 12" deep).The biggest problem I have with these is... well they're not built well. I picked up a 18" for my smaller 12g marine tank a while ago and that one also had the shock problem, but honestly I couldn't find another brand on Amazon that did LEDs with the same brightness that the Finnex's provided. So I threw the dice and picked up the 48". The 48" are far worse than my 18".
There is a rocker switch on the side to turn off the lights. Now, imagine that the lights are turned off and you touch the top of the light (the silver, aluminium part). The LEDs flicker on and stay on for as long as your finger is touching the light only at around 5-10% of the total brightness, but you also feel that "tingling" feeling in your fingers. I figured that maybe I just got a bum light and asked Amazon to replace it. The second one I got didn't turn on at all.
I wish I could provide some insight into coral growth and general tank health with these lights, but I haven't been able to keep one running long enough to find out.
Monday, March 17, 2014
Fluval 4 Plus Polyester Pads, 4-Pack
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I use these in my turtle tank and they work very well washable. Got them at a good price. Highly recommend.Read Best Reviews of Fluval 4 Plus Polyester Pads, 4-Pack Here
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Kyjen Dog Games Tennis Ball Refill Pack
EHEIM Everyday Fish Feeder Programmable Automatic Food Dispenser
I purchased this after a friend of mine had the same one on his tank for over 1.5 years. It has also worked beautifully for me too. The digital display is easy to set if you follow the instruction sheet.
I also like the fact that it has a manual feed button, so I can provide a feeding whenever I want to without disrupting the preset times.
I spent a lot of money on the cheaper units and after getting frustrated every time, I finally bought this one and couldn't be happier.I own 3 Eheim Everyday Fish Feeders. They are also called air feeders due to a fan used to feed air into the food containter when it activates, to help keep the food fresh. I run a home aquaponics system and so have various tanks to raise fingerlings before they go into my aquaponics tanks. This feeder is the only unit I use for these indoor tanks, though I use a professional US made super-feed feeder in my outdoor grow tank.
I highly recommend the Eheim brand and this particular feeder. I will comment on why I recommend this and then some special handling items.
First, as I mentioned I have three of these units. Two are run 24/7. These units are reliable, last between 1-2 weeks for feeding capacity (different sized fish supplied by each one), and built very well. The built well comes from the fact that one unit has fallen into the tank twice. Immediate recovery, turn off, then air drying of the internals was sufficient for the unit to operate as good as new. I have used these units for 8 months now without problem. They do come with a sticky backed velcro mount so that they are not prone to fall into the tank. I use those on the one that likes the water.
I have had problems with only one unit after about 20 days of first operation where it lost its programming, and upon replacing the batteries it operated for a few days and completely died. This occurred with use out of box, it was not dropped into the water :-) and it was used as recommended. I emailed Eheim, and was advised to return it to their factory or an authorized service center. I returned it to Eheim's Montreal office with a copy of the email and they sent a fixed unit back about 4 weeks later. So, this is why I also recommend the brand. Nothing is perfect, and when I got one lemon out of three -they fixed it.
On using these units:
* you must calibrate the feeder so that on an average run it feeds the amount you want -that is, weigh or measure the amount fed after 10 consecutive runs and then determine what the average is for each feed -it is a simple mechanical feed mechanism -this is why it is reliable -so it is not exact. Your fish are not exact either, they can eat a bit less sometimes.
* once you know how much to open the feeder, mark it with a permanent marker -you need to close it to refill, so this way you will know where to open it back to
* you can run the feeder up to 4 different times a day, and each time can have an optional second feed a minute after the first
* I grow tilapia, so I feed my fish only what they will completely eat in 2 minutes
* the unit is heavy on the side towards the water when it is full -when doing tank maintenance, remove it so it out of the way (obvious, but I did drop one unit twice)
* if your unit goes for a swim: take it out immediately, remove and discard the batteries, keep the battery door off and gently blow dry the unit. Dispose of wet food and clean out the food compartment. Once you are certain everything is DRY, then put fresh batteries in and reprogram the unit.
* when using the unit for the first time, allow a week (before you go on vacation) to ensure it is operating fine and feeding the way and amount you want -don't just set it up the night before you leave -this way you will see how long your feed lasts also
* the feeder does dispense less when it nears empty -but again, fish adapt
* I only use the unit with pellet food one feeder has a mix of 1/8" and 3/16" pellets, the second feeder has fingerling powder
Good luck!
Buy EHEIM Everyday Fish Feeder Programmable Automatic Food Dispenser Now
I use all eheim brand equipments for my fish tank because they are the best. So it was a no brainer to get an eheim feeder. However this thing is a complete disaster for small food/pellets used to feed little fish such as neon tetra etc.. The feeding sliding door is VERY cheap and badly design, it's loose and doesnt allow fine control. So you either dumps no food because the opening is too small or dump a tons of food messing up the water params.Even worse when I went on vacation i set the feeding door to a small size just to be safe since too much food will cause a mini cycle + ammonia spike, which is far worse than feeding lesser amount to the fish for a few days. But when i came back my tank is completely full of food, the cheap sliding door of this feeder gradually opened up on its own while in operation. Luckily I have a very heavily planted tank with a lot of fast grower stem plants that are able to absorb the excess nutrients, so a complete disaster was avoided.
The sad part is the feed itself looks to be reliable and solid, just eheim decided to skimp on the most important part of the feed the sliding door that controls the feeding amount.
Read Best Reviews of EHEIM Everyday Fish Feeder Programmable Automatic Food Dispenser Here
Works as advertised except there's a major problem......I use pelletized food and feed 12 pellets three times daily, the design of this feeder does not drop the same amount of food each time it cycles. Once adjusted, it can drop anywhere from 4-15 pellets per feeding. You have an opening, which you adjust to allow a certain amount of food to be dispense each cycle, but pellets can jam in the opening. If i open it further, way too many pellets come out. The only solution I came up with was to run it for three days into a pie plate until I averaged the proper number of pellets on a daily basis. I would really not recommend it for pelletized food.Want EHEIM Everyday Fish Feeder Programmable Automatic Food Dispenser Discount?
This is the best automatic aquarium feeder. Over the years I have owned many for multiple aquariums. I have used the feeder with flakes, pellets and both depending on my needs. I have never had any problems with clogging or food sticking.Saturday, December 28, 2013
Exotic Environments Japanese Garden Bridge Aquarium Ornament
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Like the other reviewer, mine came with shoddily painted red balls instead of gold. Luckily, I had a gold paint pen and was able to cover up the gaudy poster-paint red and added some sparkle all over the bridge. Waiting for it to cure for a week before putting it in my tank.Read Best Reviews of Exotic Environments Japanese Garden Bridge Aquarium Ornament Here
Fast delivery. Just as described. It looks very anciemt and realistic,just the size for my mini oriental rock garden. I would recomend it to a friend.Want Exotic Environments Japanese Garden Bridge Aquarium Ornament Discount?
The little knobs/balls on the ends are red, which I don't recall from the picture. Otherwise, it is the same as the picture.Sunday, December 8, 2013
Cobalt Aquatics Shrimp Pellets, 8-Pound
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Have over 300 fish and they keep me busy. Found it is much cheaper to buy fish food of all kinds in bulk. Saves alot of money in the long run.Read Best Reviews of Cobalt Aquatics Shrimp Pellets, 8-Pound Here
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Perfecto Manufacturing APF33300 Glass Canopy Aquarium, 30-Inch
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One of my neon tetra jumped out of the tank a few days before the cover arrived. Take no effort to place it on my 20L aquarium. The extended plastic can be used if you want to cover the tank completely. Plastic can be trimmed to fit the filter and wires. Made a mistake and glue the plastic handle that the lettering is reversed.Read Best Reviews of Perfecto Manufacturing APF33300 Glass Canopy Aquarium, 30-Inch Here
Very good. Getting the back strip attached was a little tricky. However, the flexible back plastic is 10 times better than the hard plastic black hoods that come as standard.Want Perfecto Manufacturing APF33300 Glass Canopy Aquarium, 30-Inch Discount?
I spent hours upon hours looking for a lid for my 20 gallon long fish tank that didn't have any spaces open for my blue lobster to escape. I had even ordered a marineland lid that didn't even come close to what I needed. This lid is absolutely perfect, it covers the whole tank. It looks ten times nicer than the reptile lid that I attempted to use before this and it was about the same price (which to me, wasn't that expensive). Great price, great product, great fit. I would recommend this item if you are looking for a full covered lid for a 20 gallon long tank.Monday, November 25, 2013
Oceanic 82052 BioCube Aquarium, 29-Gallon
I have kept fish tanks, both fresh and salt water, for many years with essentially no problems. With this tank...where to start...first, the glass had a number of scratches and is also very easy to further scratch (probably had over a dozen tanks over the years and never had a single scratch). The midnight LEDS were not working within a week. To be fair the customer service at Oceanic were very fast and efficient and sent me a new transformer within a week which fixed the problem...until last week...when there was a bang and a smell of burning and no more nighttime LEDs. As many others appear to have experienced, the fans make an annoying loud squealing noise when initially switched on..this last for about 10 minutes. Other annoying problems such as the back tab to gain access to the filter system is almost impossible to open by hand. You also need to keep an extremely close eye on the water level indicator on the side of the tank, if it gets too low then lots of microbubbles will fill your tank, stressing fish and corals. This has been a big source of concern for me when travelling for longer than a week. Plus it means that you can't use automated fish feeders because as well as being very tricky to install, you get major water loss resulting in the bubble issue.
Finally, what actually got me to finally get around to expressing my unhappiness for this product with this review was the following. I head read reviews about fish 'jumping' into the filter system. I had looked at this carefully when I set the tank up and concluded that either this simply wasn't possible, that the design must have been changed or that people were overfilling their tanks. Well, I noticed that one of my firefishes had gone missing a couple of days ago which was strange as he appeared healthy and happy. Tonight I was changing the filter (whilst grappling to get in the compartment) and lo and behold there was my firefish lying on the bioballs cover. Thankfully, I keep the bioball levels a little lower than normal and he was still getting wet, although he does not look to be in good shape (he is currently hiding or maybe even back amongst the bioballs). Fingers crossed he will survive. So, it took a year to happen but, yes, fish can jump in the filter compartment. Unbelievable!
On the positive side, it does look nice, however for the very high cost there is an expectation of quality, and this falls very very short. Overall I have been extremely disappointed in the tank and it has been a constant source of annoyance.
p.s. Don't even consider the Oceanic protein skimmer, its is useless at drawing gunk and means you then have to move the filter to lie on the bioballs, totally idiotic.
Buy Oceanic 82052 BioCube Aquarium, 29-Gallon Now
Please, please please do not buy this product! I bought this tank about six months ago, and am into it about four hundred dollars with the stand. During the first week of ownership, several fish managed to get into the back chambers. I contacted the manufacturer, and was sent a divider to put up as a barrier to the back. A couple of months ago one of the lights went out, again I contacted the manfucturer and was sent a new set of bulbs and ballast. This morning I woke up to find gallons of water had poured out of the tank. A large fish had managed to get into the chamber that contains the water pump. While thrashing around in the back, the fish unhooked the tube to the pump, which basically created a fountain. Water entered the hood lights, as well as ran down the sides of the tank. The lighting system has been destroyed and water leaked into my heat ducts and onto my newly refinished hardwood floor downstairs. Fortunately I was home when all of this took place. If not, I would have a tank of dead fish and ruined floors. This tank is going into the garbage. It is the worst product I have ever bought!Read Best Reviews of Oceanic 82052 BioCube Aquarium, 29-Gallon Here
This is the worst product you can buy. I bought a 29G biocube and after couple of months it started to leak. I tried to communicate to manufacturer and received no response for a while. You pay a lot of money for this piece of junk and they don't even test the sealing of the product. No real customer service and your warranty doesn't mean anything.Never going to buy any Oceanic product.
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We have now owned our Biocube 29 gallon for over 4 years. The initial plus is the compact size and tidy design. I would not rate the "all in one" as a real plus as almost any decent aquarium shop can set you up with a regular tank, filter, lights and hood for less money and probably better quality. However it won't necessarily look as "neat" for the same amount of money. I would stress that this is not my first or last salt water tank.Looks certainly rates five stars, neat in appearance, self contained.
Ease of use pretty easy to set up, but harder to clean than other tanks due to limited and difficult to open access doors. Removing the hood is not easy as the cables need to be disconnected or the whole assembly is awkward and heavy. While other tanks hoods are also not easy to remove you usually don't have to remove them to clean the tank, on the Biocube you are most likely going to have to. As for cleaning the glass a magnetic cleaner can't get around the curves so it is easier to do it with a (clean) scourer. The glass on our tank has not scratched at all in over 4 years. The stand has small opening for cables which makes wiring difficult.
Quality Poor, one star or less. Our tank leaked after four years. I just fixed it requiring cutting out the plastic filter box silicone and tank sealant on one rear edge and bottom of the other edge. Why did it leak? It was a manufacturing defect, the silicone was incorrectly applied on two seams missing the edge of the main glass entirely, it was amazing it took 4 years for the water to get past the plastic to glass seal on the outside that was not designed to be water tight. The sealant around the filter box was also beginning to leak but I doubt this would effect the efficiency of the system or pose any real problems. Fix time was about 3 hours, plus 48 hours for the sealant to cure. Hood fans also failed after running noisily for a short while, however they don't appear to be necessary, all they do is cause excessive water loss through evaporation. Like all systems with compact bulbs they do require replacement quite frequently, the ballast has also been replaced, and the parts are expensive.
Efficiency Everything seems to work well enough except the skimmer. It can't be used with the mechanical filter pad and is difficult to service, however we don't seem to need it even with live corals and quite a few fish. Tank lights get hot so you better have the tank in a fairly cool room.
Design Cube shape make the tank very good for a reef setup. This also helps with filtration as the live rock and sand (when cycled) act as a natural filter. However the water level is too high for the separation between the filter and main tank resulting in escaping fish. Most fish don't escape so if yours does you are better off taking it back and swapping it for another one that won't jump into your filter. (the fish that is)
Would I recommend it? Probably not, while it is not terrible there are certainly enough problems that other systems would be a better recommendation, especially for those new to salt water. The 29 gallon however is really small for a saltwater aquarium, especially a reef, and it does work. So if your requirement is a small saltwater reef and you no way want a bigger tank then this might be a good solution at least if you are lucky and get one that they manufactured properly.
Our tank right now We moved everything to a new 75 gallon reef tank (very easy to set up) when the tank leaked. Now it is fixed and filled again waiting to cycle and fill with who knows what fish, corals and invertebrates. We didn't scrap it so it really isn't a piece of junk despite what others might say, just not really that good either.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
JW Pet Company 22-Inch Aquarium Algae Scrubber
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Was not some kind of magic cleaning wand, but with a little bit of effort it cleaned my turtle tankRead Best Reviews of JW Pet Company 22-Inch Aquarium Algae Scrubber Here
My aquarium smiles when I use this to clean it! Before I had to reach down in my aquarium to scrub the walls. Now I just use this scrubber w/o effort and its done in under one minute.!Want JW Pet Company 22-Inch Aquarium Algae Scrubber Discount?
I have a 90 gallon tank with Cichlids and I don't enjoy when they attack my hand. So I appreciate the long handle works great.
