EcoSphere Closed Aquatic Ecosystem, Pod

I received one of these as a gift about three years ago. I am a hard core believer in "research what you must care for" as once you take a living thing in and state "I shall care for it" you are responsible for a life. Or several, in this case. Rather quickly, I learned that these shrimp are "Halocaridina rubra" AKA "Opae Ula" AKA "Hawaiian Red Shrimp". They are found in small wild pools in the lava rock all over Hawaii. Rather disturbingly, their habitat has been reduced by roughly 90%! Yet people still continue to collect them from the wild. As of now, I have yet to hear a confirmation that the Ecosphere company is, in fact, captive breeding these creatures. If they are, in fact, wild catching these, even from a pool on their own property that they help to maintain, this may have a rather strenuous impact on what is left of the population of these shrimp, given the number of these spheres and "BYOES" they ship out annually.

The sad fact is that the only people truly giving a representation on the current quantity of these available in the wild are the people who are catching them in order to sell to the general public--and of course, it is in their best interest to state that they are plentiful in the wild, as their livelihood depends on it. Granted, this is pure extrapolation, but I think it is, at the very least, a point worthy of consideration before you purchase one of these kits.

These shrimp are slow breeders with small clutch sizes, and a rather high "infant mortality" so to speak. In short, they are a species which much be protected when possible, and encouraged to breed-be it in captivity or in the wild, in the hopes of creating a sustainable population that our children and our children's children will be able to enjoy.

Keep in mind when purchasing an ecosphere that, regardless of all other facts, the very limited environment dramatically discourages breeding and prevents perpetuation of a species that is currently undetermined in status.

Now, skipping the biology and ecology lesson, and on to the ecosphere itself.... As I studied the limited literature and information available on these shrimp, I learned that although there is the odd ecosphere which reaches just that right balance of diatoms, algae, bacteria, shrimp, etc., the vast majority are nutrient starved, and the ecology inside of them, at the microscopic level, becomes damaged and even destroyed. Then you are left with a couple of shrimp that are incredibly hardy, attempting to live in water that is high in ammonia, nitrites, and/or nitrates, with little to no oxygen for breathing, and eating forms of algae that are in fact, not at all nutritious for them. Because these insignificant seeming little creatures have adapted to such an incredible fluctuation of natural habitat in the wild, they are able to withstand starvation for months and even years.

Look at it this way: The average Opae Ula shrimp life span is roughly ten years, with some living upward of 20. Ecosphere happily informs you in the informative brochure that if you take care of them well (ie: set them in the appropriate light and temperature) they will average a whole 2-3 years! So.....1/3rd of their expected lifespan......

Not so good, in all honesty.

The instructions then go on to explain that on occasion customers excitedly announce their shrimp going 8-20+ years. Which really, that's fantastic! But this is the exception, not the rule.

These shrimp are, slowly but surely, starving inside of these closed systems. If the correct bacteria and algae do not grow (and often they do not) then these poor little creatures will shrink a small bit each time they moult their exoskeleton. According to several sources I have read, they will, in fact, consume themselves at a very slow and painful rate.

Again, not to say that some spheres will not survive 20 years plus ND prove this wrong, but, sadly, the vast majority of spheres are going to slowly decline, taking the living denizens inside down with it.

All of this said, I received my little ecosphere, containing four opae ula shrimp, and I chose to believe that I would balance the lighting and the temperature perfectly, since I honestly couldn't figure out how to get the shrimp out. Fast forward two years, and my first shrimp dies. What a wake up call. I felt terrible. All the shrimp were on the small side when I received them, as I had been hoping for closer to the ten year mark from these fellas. I immediately got online once more and researched all that I could. This time I learned how to remove the plug, and so I did. The three remaining shrimp were decanted carefully into a 2.5 gallon cube aquarium that was carefully balanced to match the specific gravity of the water inside the sphere, with a small airstone and an LED light. I will state that when I tested the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate of the water inside of the previously sealed sphere, I was absolutely appalled. I have zebra danios that couldn't have lasted an hour in that water.

In any even, I started off with only the water from the ecosphere, and daily added about half an ounce of the newly mixed sea water, in an attempt to not shock these delicate little creatures. Now that everyone is happily adjusted, I can monitor the amount of food available, do roughly one 50% water change a year, and care for these fascinating little animals interactively, rather than passively. I can respond to their needs and keep a close eye on the quality of their water, and thus, their life. Low and behold, my three shrimp have become roughly ten shrimp in less than a year (exact counts are tough, as they now have many hiding places and I am never sure that some aren't tucked away and hiding! Far more natural and comforting to them than complete exposure as they are subjected to in the spheres!). In fact, I am almost certain that those little reddish jiggy looking things that I noticed in the tank yesterday are, (I hope), more larvae.

Please, I encourage potential owners of ecospheres to research these shrimp and learn what you can before you purchase. If you still choose to purchase them, fine! But please, do make an informed decision.

In all honesty, I have to seriously wonder about the honesty of any company that simply states that they are giving you "ocean shrimp" and does not provide you with a latin species name to look up information and a natural history on the organism. Particularly when it is a company that claims to be encouraging an awareness of ecology, who is selling a species that is so vulnerable in the wild as these little fellows. If they were truly a company encouraging the thoughtful preservation of our ecology, it seems to me as though they would be attempting to inform new owners of as many facts as possible about their new pets; not hide what they are to prevent you from purchasing them cheaper elsewhere. (or whatever reason they have for not telling you exactly what kind of shrimp they are).

I wish potential owners the best of luck with their fascinating new aquatic denizens, regardless of how you choose to get your hands on them and welcome them into your home, and I sincerely hope you give these thoughts some consideration.

Cheers, and happy shrimping!

The EcoSphere got here today. It was very well packed, little chance of it breaking in transit. I noticed that the shrimp were not moving when I got it, but after about an hour they were swimming around energetically. I realized the water was just cold from shipping, after warming up they were fine and happy. =) All in all, it's really cool and a good conversation piece. I'm pleased with the purchase.

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This item arrived within 3 days without special shipping, and over the weekend. It was packaged securely and the contents appeared to have traveled well.

When we opened the box-WOW-what a surprise. The pictures are amazing and accurate but do not do it justice at all. Quality, quality, quality. I purchased the small pod (oval) and it contained a good layer of white stones, shells, 3 pink and 1 grey shrimp. I recommend reading the booklet, it contains alot of information. It literally takes 2 minutes and gives a complete overview, especially regarding the lighting and cleaning. My family is very excited to have this and have been watching it all day. It requires no care for a ton of enjoyment.

This has been way beyond my expectations for an unusual and unexpected gift for our house. I will provide an update as time goes by but for now, feel extremely satisfied with this purchase.

UPDATED ON 9/15/2012 (4 WEEKS) The shrimp are still alive and moving around. The algae has maintained its same size and no build-up. Again, just read the booklet and there is no maintenance required for such an unusual gift. Everyone that visits our house from youth to adult is amazed and continues to watch it. Something that I noticed is that our pod has more gravel and a variety of shells more so than the pictures show.

I would highly recommend this purchase for anyone-quality product with tons of enjoyment and no maintenance.

UPDATED ON 2/22/2013 (6 MONTHS) All the shrimp are still alive and moving around. The algae has maintained its same size. About a week ago, I noticed a few smaller than pea size spots on the glass. I read the booklet regarding the spots and got the small booklet with the magnet. You just put the open exposed magnet GENTLY at the bottom to find and attach the inner magnet. I say GENTLY because you might not see it before it shoots up to your magnet and might injure a shrimp. I had about 5 spots and gently rubbed them out. It took maybe a minute. Again, just read the booklet for proper care then there is literally no maintenance required.

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This is a very interesting thing to have sitting on your desk--mine came with four small shrimp that I found actively swimming around in my unit the second I unpacked it. The idea that these things will live on their own in this sealed containment unit for YEARS is truly fascinating.

The merchant takes a lot of care in shipping this item; since there are live creatures swimming around in this thing, it has to be shipped via one-day shipping, which costs about $20. But trust me when I say that it is totally worth the extra cost.

Looks like the customer support for this is pretty extensive, though I have not had to contact them myself (doesn't look like I'll have to any time soon.)

I'm more than happy to contribute to the small list of reviewers that have all given it the full 5-stars. You will not regret it either if you give it a chance, I think. Especially if you're an Earth Science Major like I am.

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We have had our EcoSphere for over a year, and it may be one of the best gifts I've ever purchased. I gave the EcoSphere to my husband because he can be so hard to shop for. I was ecstatic when it came and he absolutely loved it. The sphere itself is minimalist and beautiful. It looks exactly like the photo pictured. The shrimp are active and lively, and still alive and kicking after more than a year. With the right amount of sunlight and at the right temperature, the EcoSphere stays perfectly balanced. I have never had to maintain it at all. The instructions do say that sometimes the sphere will get dirty or be overgrown with algae if it's in too much sunlight, however, it comes with a magnet on the outside, and one on the inside of the sphere to clean the interior of the glass. After all this time, we will still pull it out to impress guests. It's definitely a conversation piece. The instructions also had a warranty for the sphere if the shrimp died, where you could send the sphere back for replacement. However, I don't foresee this being an issue. If you think someone you know would like this, or if you're thinking of getting it for yourself, I would highly recommend the purchase. In fact, I wish we would have splurged for a larger sphere.

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TOM Aquarium Maintenance Gravel Siphon, Nozzle 24-Inch by 1-Inch Hose 5-Feet Length

Having owned several maintenance siphons and/or other cleaning aparatuses this is the one I keep coming back to as it works the best w/minimal fuss and trouble. Just be sure to get a larger size than you think as it will work better.

It failed after a few months. The flexible handle that you start the siphon with loses it's vacuum after several uses. I would recommend something else.

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Received this today and the piece that goes into the gravel is broke....only half of it was even in the box.....had to have been shipped this way. Otherwise, everything else looks good. Contacted TOM aquarium about sending me the replacement part because I really did not want to send the whole thing back to Amazon if they could just send me the part I needed. They are sending one out to me. :) Hopefully it will not be broken. We shall see.

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The bottom piece was broken, just like the others have said. The rest of it seems to be made well, except that once piece is made of that easily crackable plastic. Even if it came in once piece, I don't think it would last long. I don't think you could use this without that piece either as the uptake tube is very skinny, maybe one inch round. On a positive notice, this thing is very large. Would clean a tall tank well with lots of reach.

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Took some time getting the hang of it but you will after one use get use to how it works. I am a rookie all the way with fish tanks so if I can do it anyone can figure it out! It's not complicated just have to get use to how to work it. It's hard because I think the plastic has to be worked a little the first few uses then it seemed to get easier! Cleaned the tank very well and very quickly! I would buy this again if need to!

Cobalt Aquatics Neo-Therm 50-Watt with Plastic LED

I purchased the 50 watt Cobalt Aquatics Neo Therm heater for a 7.5 gallon acrylic cube aquarium. I like the styling of the Neo Therm and it appears to be very well constructed.

Setting the heater up is very easy to do, and its high tech look blends in nicely in my aquarium.

As for digital heaters, I also own a few Fluval E series heaters which are well made and do an excellent job of heating my aquariums.

However, the Fluval E series has suffered from quality control issues (I had an E 300 fail at 10 months while another is still working after nearly two years).

Because of its digital microprocessor, the E series also has difficulty operating properly when not in a steady flow of water.

This must be considered to be a design flaw, since this heater should be capable of operating when mounted either vertically or horizontally.

Yet, when this author placed my Fluval E series heaters vertically they would not function properly.

However, when I placed them horizontally and directly in the flow of my filter's output tube, they've performed perfectly.

As for this design flaw, in a number of instances E series owners have posted on fishkeeper message boards, in regard to how they were forced to return their heaters because they could not get them to function properly.

As previously stated, I found a similar problem with my E series heaters which was remedied once the heaters were placed horizontally, and in the flow of a filter's output tube.

It is the complex microprocessor circuitry in the Fluval E series heaters that can prevent the heaters from functioning properly when they are placed vertically instead of horizontally.

The microprocessor in the E series simply determines that there is not enough water flow around the heater, and prevents the heater coil from turning on.

This has left many an E series owner completely exasperated.

Thus far, this has not been the case with my Neo Therm, which is working flawlessly and in the vertical position.

It is also interesting to note that in its instruction manual, Cobalt says not to place the Neo Therm horizontally (or upside down).

The other concern in regard to the Neo Therm involves the use of epoxy in which to seal the heater.

In fact, another purchaser of a Neo Therm heater who also left commentary, mentions the design flaw of the Marineland Stealthpro heaters which were also sealed with epoxy.

The problem with the Marineland heaters involved the chassis of the heater bursting when the heater would be removed from an aquarium, if it had not been unplugged first.

This author experienced this first hand when I forgot to unplug my Marineland Stealthpro 150, and the chassis of the heater split and began spewing smoke. However, I must also state that the Marineland 150 had worked flawlessly

for nearly a year before this incident occured.

However, I have heard of other Marineland owners who've stated that the chassis of the their heaters actually split while the heaters were still emersed in water.

So there is a serious design flaw with the Stealthpro series of heaters, which is why they were recalled by Marineland.

As a general rule, it is always a good idea to unplug a heater from an electrical outlet before you remove it from your aquarium.

However, sometimes a fishkeeper can forget to do so, which is why it is so crucial for the automatic shut off safety feature in an aquarium heater to function properly.

Hopefully, this will not be a problem with the Cobalt Aquatics Neo Therm.

Based on my early observations, the Neo Therm appears to be a very well constructed and cleverly designed aquarium heater which has the type of high-tech sleek aesthetic that looks great in a rimless aquarium.

If this unit can avoid the pitfalls of the Fluval E series and Marineland Stealthpro series, it should develop a loyal following.

Moreover, if the fishkeeping hobby ever needed an improved product, it is in regard to aquarium heaters, which for the most part leave much to be desired.

Hopefully, Cobalt has answered this need with its Neo Therm series. The company at present offers four versions of this heater ranging from 25 watts to 100 watts, which is good for smaller aquaria.

However, they have stated that they are developing more powerful versions of the Neo Therm for larger aquariums.

These heaters are not inexpensive, however, if they turn out to be reliable and can last for more than a year or two, Neo Therm will have a winner on its hands.

I will update this review after I have used the Neo Therm for a while to see if my early impressions still remain.

so far (2 months of use) this has been tough, reliable and accurate in the temperature that it heats to. no real complaints, but am reserving the 5th star until more time has passed

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This heater is thin, but wider than most round heaters. The heater is small enough that I don't have to worry about any small fish getting stuck behind.

The material is made of "unbreakable" plastic. While this sounds great, we all know what happened to the recalled Marineland Stealth heaters made of similar black plastic. I'll keep my fingers crossed on this one.

Unlike the typical round tube heaters with two suction cups at top and bottom, this heater has a single slide holder with two cups to keep it in place. The heater simply glides in and out of the holder with almost no resistance to make maintenance easier.

As for the controls, there is a single button on top that rotates the temperature setting one way, in a round-robin fashion. The settings jump by 2 degrees, so you'll have to settle for 74 or 76 if what you really wanted was 75. The temperature keeps steady.

The only downside is that this heater lacks a second set of holder for the bottom of the heater. In my case, I mount the heater sideways at the bottom near the filter intake or outflow to maximize the efficiency with circulation. Some might need this with more aggressive fish population where the heater can be knocked down if hit on the bottom of the heater.

I would also recommend looking at the Fluval E 50-Watt Electronic Heater and HMA 50: Finnex 50 Watt w/ Electronic Controller Aquarium Titanium Heater (5-10 Gallons). They have both been around longer and proven to work at lower price as of date.

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PondCare Algaefix Algae Control

I purchased this product for a small pond that was very algae-ridden. It cleared the algae to some extent, but it returned before the next dose was due. When researching pond care, one is advised to change up to 1/3 of the water on a regular basis, yet this product warns against letting any of the treated water out (contain all outflow). It also is identified as a cause of cancer and you must avoid contact with skin and eyes (yet it's safe for fish?)

As this wasn't solving my problem, and my fish all died, I purchased a UV lightmine is in a statueyou can also get them for placement in the water line or skimmer. Overnight my pond was crystal clear. I have to do nothing to control the algaeyou can see to the bottom 4 ft down. This is a much better treatment for algae.

I used Aquascape SAB Extreme String Algae Control for years, which worked, but after reading the reviews for Algaefix I decided to try it. I am so happy I did! It took two applications to get rid of it completely. It has been a month with out stringy stuff all over my pond. I noticed yesterday that it is starting to come back, so I will just use another application. It did not hurt my fish, or my water lilies either.

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Algaefix is great stuff! I've had several ponds over the years and algaefix is the best product I've used. It's an all-purpose product which means I don't spend lots of dollars on many different chemicals.

Just algaefix. I love the stuff!

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We've a had a water feature in our yard for five years and during that time we've tried absolutely everything and nothing worked. last year my husband turned the entire river and pond bright blue trying to use an algae shade product. So far this year, we have no living algae, it dies and drops to the bottom where the filter removes it. We're buying more!

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My girlfriend recommended this product to me. She has a stream with pool with fish and found the product to be very effective and safe for fish and other critters. I have two small fountains and a water-trough lilly pond and have used this stuff successfully for all three.

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Elite Thermostatic Heater

The heater worked fine for 3 days. Then overnight it got stuck on and the temperature in my 29g tank was 95F. The $10 heater cost me $400 in coral and a new beautiful flame angel I had for about 3 weeks. I had the heater in the suction cup holders and it had not been bumped or damaged. This is a horrible product and should not be on the market to kill other people's livestock. I had just bought $150 in new coral, also. DON'T BUY THIS THERMOMETER!!!! BTW it is a crock of poo that Amazon makes us put a star on the product no matter how bad it is.

The heater is really good for my 39gal tank and actually I think it would be capable of heating a larger tank cause it can get my tank to 90 degrees no problem probably can go higher. I keep my tank at 80 though. The only bad thing is I have to fill my tank to the top to cover the water line of the heater and I like to leave my tank 2 inches of room. Also the glass is frail so be extra careful with it. Lastly the cord is short and I have to use extension cord to plug it in. Hope this info helps!

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I bought two of these heaters, both after about a month and a half broke. There is something wrong with the thermostat in them, they both heated up red hot and the glass busted. I've never seen heaters do this before. Don't waste your money on these!

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This Aquarium Water Heater does heat the water BUT its temperture probe location is 1/2" from the top of the unit. When you start with a clean Aquarium, for two days it works, then its sensor probe is no longer in the water (evaporation) but instead in the air above the water! How does it know what temperature the water is??? In order for you to make it work correctly you have to keep the water all the way to the top of the Aquarium ALL of the time, fill it every day.

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This was a great value compared to what they cost in store. The only thing I don't like about it is it need a lid to cover the adjuster for the temp control. Kids and cats kept adjusting the temp.

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Fish & Aquatic Supplies Bio - Wheel Assembly For Penguin 300/330

The wheel is great, but I can't find the bracket to hold it in place, thus making it useless. Have read that the power filter (Penguin 300) that this goes to is discontinued.

Aquarian Betta Fish Pellet Food, 1-Ounce

i bought this for my betta fish because of the price and reviews. I figured there was no harm and fish food is fish food. Wrong. I used this for about three days. even after three days of not eating anything the betta refused to eat it and i ended up going out and buying the pellets again. It might be because my betta is a female and all men know they can be fussy eaters when someones watching but your fish just may love the stuff.

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New Life Spectrum Extra Large Fish 2240g

This is some GOOD stuff people! I feed this mainly to my arrowana and flowerhorn, but my other larger fish like to steal it from my aro (flowerhorn has it's own tank). With all my other silver arrowanas, through improper diet they developed drop eye, got sick, and just wasn't as healthy as they should be. A year to a year and a half ago I got a new silver arrowana. I fed him NLS since he was a few inches till now at around 20+ inches. He has no drop eye and still loves his NLS pellets! Before that I used to feed live food (they died early and looked crappy/raggedy), then moved to hikari carnivore sticks. With the carnivore sticks it wasn't much better than the live feeders as they started to have health problems, still developed drop eye, and after a while really didn't appreciate the food that much. The NLS is awesome and he attacks the food with the gusto that he did since day one (he hits it like he is hitting live prey!). He is active and not lazy like the ones I raised on hikari and/or live foods, and just one happy aro! The flowerhorn fed on NLS is a BEAST with beautiful vibrant colors, a really feisty personality, and a HUGE head! I wish they made a larger floating pellet. The NLS megafish formula is 10mm but sinking which would give the arrowana's tankmates an easier time to steal his pellets. I like the size and would use the megafish formula but is is more expensive for less product even in bulk...Get some NLS it it's the BEST out there.

AquaTop Aquarium Fish Net 7" - Flexible FN7M- Medium Hole Mesh

I am sure the net is a good net, my issue is how it's presented. They call it a 7" net. The package states, "net dimensions 9.8x8". I am confused. I wanted a net that would fit in a 9" hole, so I bought the 7". The net holder (metal square) is 10 1/2 x 8. Why is it called a 7"!

A sturdy net. I bought this to have a flexible ended net to skim the bottom of a small pond. Also has survived the kid's abuse.

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Perfecto Manufacturing APFR01062 36-Inch Marineland Plastic Glass Canopy Back Strip for Aquarium, M

This item is actually only 35 inches wide when received, so if you need 35 inches or less, this will do you. If not, you're out of luck like I was.

It's really a very simple item but it's exactly want I'd been looking for. Arrived on time. All's well. K

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Perfect fit for my 38 gallon aquarium also very easy to cut for cords, outlet and intake tubes for canister filter. 5 stars

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the material is super flimsy and it didn't support the glass for the top of my aquarium.. how is this even possible.

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Current USA AquaChef Aquarium Fish Feeder

So like most people suggest, I did let the device run for a week before I went on vacation. I filled the reservoir with flakes, pellets, and bits of algae wafers. It was very easy to set the schedule for 8am and 8am feedings (it support 4 feeding times per day). And then I tested it with the manual button which is still very handy. I left for 3 weeks and all my fish were still happy and healthy. I would advise running the feeder for a week so you can determine how much food your fish need to consume per day and, therefore, how long one filled reservoir will last for you.

I went on vaction and my fish were still alive when I got back. Great little device even if you're not on vacation. I forget to feed the fish all the time, but with this feeder, I know they are being fed.

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you have to make sure you add the number of turns per feeding when you set it up. It was not clear in the instructions about that...

Works great now!

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a year old and still works great. read the intructions carefully. programming is very particular. but once it was programmed, it has worked well.

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The clamps for mounting the unit did not open wide enough to fit my tank. I have a 125 gallon tank with a wide top flange. The mfg. should specify the max opening of the unit. It also does not release large flake food in a consistant manner.

Max Chill Aquarium Chiller

I use this chiller on my Ryunkin goldfish tank. The temperature used to get to 77 deg which is too hot for goldfish, this unit brought it down to a cool 71 degrees. The unit is so quiet, I was really suprised, the only annoying thing is if your using a controller it makes a beep everytime it starts up, I'm going to go inside of it and disable it. The front cover comes off pretty easily to change the filter but it exposes all the 120v wires and compressor in it is so if you have small kids and they pull it off it could be dangerous (just a thought). One more thing this unit uses 1/2 inch hose fittings and most of the pumps rated at the flow for this unit use 3/4 inch fittings, I used some pipe tape on the half inch hose and stuck it in the center of the outlet of the pump and it holds well. If your using this for coldwater fish this unit will run ALOT, unit runs 35 minutes per hour on my 25 gallon tank, i'm wondering if I should have ordered a bigger one. We'll see how long it lasts.

we got an axoltl and this works great to maintain the lower water temps for it to have a happy life..would recomend..our is in a 20 gallon tank

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Bought this "chiller" for my son's birthday he has a salt-water 50 gallon tank. He is raving over this product and his fish tank is gorgeous and healthy now.

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I purchased this for my 65 gallon tank that was running too hot due to pumps and lighting.

It works well and keeps the tank at the desired temperature. It does run the compressor most of the time. It is most certainly NOT silent (as another review stated), it is about as loud as a small refrigerator would be.

Hook up is very easy. I used the 5/8 inch fittings.

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this chiler is by far the best 1/4 horsepower chiller in the market it today has no problem keeping res temp at 64 with over a 100 gallons of water in a 88 degree room

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Finnex Might Ray 21 LED Light, 18 White, 3 Blue

I have only had this product for a few days. From what I have seen so far this is an excellent product. The size is good. The construction seems solid. The lights are bright and crisp.

I purchased three of them to place side by side over a pico reef tank. It was very difficult to find a led product with the right spectrum and strength to support coral. I think this is a solid product and hope more products like it come out soon.

Updated Review latest at the bottom....

First Review: This is a nice little light in almost every way for a small tank. Ours is 2.7 gallons and has a few friendly guppies in it and some live plants. The form factor is really good, having a switch on it is great, the goose-neck is solid and stays where you put it. But we've had this thing for a few months now and had it on about 14 hours/day and it is noticeably less bright and a lot bluer than it was when we got it. Originally the "daylight" looked very white and the "moonlight" was very blue -cool. Now the daylight is almost as blue as the moonlight, with the day light brighter but not nearly as bright as it used to be. All the LEDs are still on. Not quite sure how this happens, or why .... Other than that, this is a great little light, and maybe we got a bad one....

Update: So, after another few month of ever lower light output we tossed it in the trash. Being a glutton for punishment I bought another cheap Chinese LED light a "Hossen: New 2013" off Amazon. It's very bright! But it's only been on a few minutes.... we'll see how it does.

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Gonna keep this short and sweet.

The price is right. It cannot be your only light on a nano reef but it makes a killer secondary/dusk light. I am running a Hagen AquaClear Power Filter 50 (200) on a FT1202RD-D65: Finnex 4 Gallon Aquarium, 6500k w/ moonlight LED & Filter RED and I picked this up for supplemental light. The tank is shimmering and it is making 2 lbs of live rock look like a fantasy world. I do not have a camera good enough to dignify this beauty. I nearly wept. Will impress chicks also ;)

You can also just run the 3 blue LEDs and that looks great too. I just got it but will update if anything goes wrong. Seller got it here fast. Peace.

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It doesn't stay on a 5.5g glass tank's rim. I needed to use tape to hold the cord to the rear of the tank.

IT is dim as well on that size tank.

I bought the Finnex LCL-60 and it is miles brighter, fits perfectly and is able to grow some soft corals.

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This is very bright light but keep in mind that the light is focused so it won't light up the whole tank. You may need to raise it up a little to cover most of the bottom of the tank but it looks great!

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Como Blue Starfish Shaped Aquarium Tank Bubble Release Air Stone

The hose connector was either defective or improperly joined to the airstone. Did not work. Would not recommend. Grandson disappointed :-(

I got one of these long time ago, Because it was cheaper than the other one I also bought I waited to use it. Bad move, It was the best of the two. That little thing put out some serious bubbles in my aquarium, besides being much cuter that the old one. I have looked for another one. finally found them again. I wont loose this site again. These things are great. And no shipping.

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JBJ Half Moon Biotope Nano 180 8 Gallon Aquarium

I purchased four of these for my betta fish. It's a great size tank. Very attractive but with most desk top filters the motors make a little too much noise. I live in a studio so I need it quiet. I had to go through the trouble of returning them all.

I upgraded to a 16 gallon Aqueon bow front tanks (purchased locally in town) with their included filter. So far it's been three weeks and the Aqueon filter is exceptionally quiet and the water is amazingly clear.

I would have given this product 5 stars if it were silent and effective and keeping the water crystal clear.

I've had this aquarium for a couple years. I purchased the matching stand along with it, I recommend it. I have 4 Glow Danios and 2 Glow Tetra. A group of red cherry shrimp (they've had babies), and several red ramshorn snails (not by choice). The aquarium is glass, which I prefer over acrylic.

In stock form, the filter was very quiet, I have this right next to my bed. I have Java Moss and Anacharis in the aquarium, so the filter would plug up pretty quick. When it was clean, the filter wasn't really that strong. I drilled the holes in the spray bar bigger, which helped a little bit. Instead of buying filters from JBJ, I ended up buying filter pad in bulk, and cutting my own (much cheaper).

The lighting is decent, but the filter sets up top in the back of the aquarium, so the back portion doesn't get much light. It uses an 11W bulb that appears to only be available from JBJ....

In modified form, this aquarium is top notch.

The ballast went out after a year or so. I found a replacement ballast (same size, higher wattage), and installed a Coralife 54069 Straight Pin Compact Fluorescent Lamp, 18-Watt, 10K (required a larger plug). It was a tight fit...but it fit. I would like to eventually install LEDs instead (custom board)--being able to select between white, blue, and UV (Glofish).

I've recently removed the stock filter, and installed a PX-360: Finnex All-in-one Compact Canister Filter. I placed the filter inside the stand, below the aquarium. The flow is much greater than stock (my fish were very happy), and it adds 0.6 gallons of water to the aquarium. With the stock filter gone, there are no longer any dark spots in the aquarium.

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I bought this tank for my bedroom, thinking the size would be small enough for my room but large enough to heat and cycle. I had a half moon betta. The current was much too strong for him, sending him all over the tank. The fish died an early death.

The tank is also too noisy for my comfort. It bothers me when I'm sleeping, and it's loud when I turn off the TV.

I'm planning to buy a Fluval internal nano filter. The flow rate/gph can be adjusted to be much slower than the JBJ Nano. I hope it's silent! Well, we'll see.

The tank is mostly well constructed, but I don't like that the light is partially blocked by the filtration unit. The matching stand particle board set off my chemical sensitivities. I bought a rectangular 10 gallon stand and but a stair tread or board across it. it would not fit otherwise.

I believe it really deserves 1.25 stars but I couldn't give it, so I gave it two.

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Unlike the other reviewer, I've found this tank to be very quiet. I am currently cycling it to be set up as a dwarf seahorse tank and I think it will work very well. The curved sides give beautiful clarity and the system seems to be well made. I'm looking forward to years of enjoyment from this tank.

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I've had this tank for almost two years and I agree with much of what everyone else said. The filtering system is not great it does not have much gph and it's a very simple filtering system with nozzles that spray over a filter pad covering biomedia. I have a 100mL Purigen bag in the filter tray (it fits nicely) as my driftwood continues to color my water even after this long period of time since set-up. Because the light is so close to the filter pad, I get a lot of green algae build up on the filter pad which is aggravating. I have already replaced the compact fluorescent light bulb once and also the plastic cover of the bulb because the splash off the filter pad shoots water up on the light cover, caking the cover with mineral build-up. My pump also died after about a year and I had to purchase that proprietary part. The filter arm connections have also gotten loose over time which means any debris in the filtering system builds up pressure and more than once I've had a connection come lose which shoots water out the back of the tank. During the next year I think I'll replace the filtering system entirely and get a better light. Bottom line the tank itself is a beautiful curved glass but the filtering system and light leaves a lot to be desired.

UPDATE: I finally decided to change out the filtering system based on an ideas on an online forum. I got a Eheim Classic 2211, which is a small, standing canister filter. It works wonderfully I don't use the spray bar and I do turndown the flow on outake side using the flow lever. Got rid of the old tank filtering system and filter bracket that ran across the top of the tank. It looks great now the light is unobstructed with no splashing of water on the light cover. No more algae gunk build up on the old filter! I put the media in the Eheim Classic in small mesh bags to facilitate cleaning of the canister filter when needed. Now I really like this tank this is way it should have been sold!

Reef One Biorb Service Kit

As someone else stated, the filter packs are a waste of money. If you only have fish in the tank, and not live plants, you need only purchase a jug of charcoal, and replace the filter media yourself (after rinsing, of course).

Further, if you have live plants in your biorb, you will need to replace the charcoal with a filter media such as SeaChem's purigen. At $18ish / 100ml, this is still far more economical than using the OEM filter packs, and you'll be using a filter media that will not rob the water of the nutrients the plants require to thrive.

As far as the sponge part of the filter, just rinse it out in old tank water. Simple, economical, and gives you a sense of accomplishment.

BTWthat overpriced bulb is a simple JC G4 bi-pin base, halogen 5w bulb. No need to pay the premium for the reef one packaging. For that matter, the jackhammer airpump can be replaced with a cheepo $7 model from wherever as well when it quits.

Hope this helps others, I've learned along the way that owning a biorb needs not be an expensive proposition!

Reef-One claims this filter needs to be changed every month, which is ridiculous. I think they lose a lot of potential customers this way. I rinse the filter out in old tank water during partial water changes, and replace the charcol they provide with a little charcol from a $5 jug purchased at PetSmart. I check my water quality (nitrite and nitrate) every 2 weeks and my tank is in perfect shape.

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Have to disagree with the other reviewer here ... I purchased a Baby biOrb recently for my new Betta, after having my first betta living in an airless bowl for a couple years. I simply got tired of cleaning a stinky bowl every week. As a result, I went shoppin for a new tank with a bubbler and filter system and found the Baby biOrb.

While I agree that the maintence costs are significant at $132/ year (if you need to change a filter every 4 weeks), the costs balance with ease of maintenance. Personally, my experience with cleaning the Baby biOrb was a snap with the optional suction hose. Took me fifteen minutes to clean the tank, drain the grimey water and add new water. Couldn't have been much easier. And, I am not sure how anyone could have a problem swapping filter cartriges unless they have motor skills issues.

I also built a noise dampening box for the air pump my only real complaint is that the "whisper quiet" pump sounds like a mini jackhammer after about five minutes.

Great product and looks awesome.

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Excellent product, fits my bioOrb aquarium. Buying the 6 pack is cheaper, including S & H, than going to the pet store. The closest pet store that carries this item, singly, is 50 miles away from where I live!

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It irks me to pay $10 a piece for these kits, when I know I can refill them with 50 cents worth of charcoal myself and rinse the sponge. However, after doing just that for a while, I have switched back to the kits. It's worth the money for the convenience, and Spot (my goldfish) gets slightly cleaner water, which makes her happy. The 6-packs are cost-effective, and after the second swap, I forget about the cost and appreciate the ease of changing them out.

On the other hand, the design and engineering of the filter pack is truly horrid (whether you use the kit or not), and the difficulty of getting the tabs to line up and lock in place makes every filter change a hassle. If you don't yet have a Biorb system, I would highly recommend you don't get one. You will be locked into a system of overpriced, yet poorly designed accessories. Too bad, because they are beautiful to look at.

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Exotic Environments Kissing Goldfish Heart Aquarium Ornament

This ornament is very cute and the bubbles come out of its mouth. However the airtube connection broke off, although you can usually connect it back on. It is also very light so you need to weigh it down with a plant. The plaster started to peel off with mine almost as soon as I got it, which scared me

the place where airtube connects to ornament crumbled off when put in water. I tried to repair it, but i dont do work in plaster. what a bummer.

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This was adorable however mine arrived broke. Could not put the air hose to make bubble because the area was cracked so it just sits as a decoration in my tank.

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I use this aquarium ornament for a Valentine ornament. It is sweet and small and I like the idea of it being multipurpose. I would recommend this product.

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this does not work very well the hose does not fit on it to well so it doesn't work as a bubble maker

Aqueon 06078 QuietFlow 55 Power Filter, 250GPH

I had an other brand, same specs. did not keep the tank clean. and was hard to clean the Aqueon workes very well,and easy to clean.

I have purchased 3 of these filters over the past year. Replaced cartridges with 1" thick foam. Filter moves a lot of water. Filters used under heavy load conditions-well fed koi and large fish. No noise problem as tanks kept full. Enhanced filtration by stuffing filter floss in open areas. Only complaint is that intake tube falls off easily. Plan to solve this by gluing tube in place.

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This filter works well, I personally find if your tank has enough water in it there is no water hitting water sound. When I do start hearing the water I know my tank needs a few gallons. That said my down side is the spinning propeller needed to be replaced after 5 months. I could wash it off and it would work, but it got really noisy. This is a 75 gal. tank but only has 7 small fish and I bought the Aqueon because the cascade 1000 was such a disappointment, so I have 2 filters on my tank. The point is it is not over worked. The frequent filter changes I solved with the Grab it dry dust and allergen clothes. they have no additives so wrapped around the filters helps the filters work MUCH better and they can be tossed in the washing machine and used over and over.

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I had this review up about 2 months ago and I was asked nicely to remove it by Mark Tiger and I did remove upon the promise of a full refund if the product was shipped back, well I shipped the filter back 2 weeks ago and I've tried in the last 2 weeks to get ahold of this guy, but the only way to get ahold of him is to write a review. So here it goes, this filter is not quiet like advertised, it flows water way too loud. The innards of the filter are quiet but the water hitting water is a huge issue when I'm trying to sleep. Not recommended, and the customer service for this company is terrible.

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The water on water noise is really loud. It interferes with watching tv. It's not a pleasant noise either, kind of like the annoying drip of 1000 faucets. The filter media doesn't fit snugly into the holders resulting in a lot of bypass.. I've got a fluval filter on another tank.. totally quiet. Also the fluval has separately replaceable carbon sections and reusable foam for filtration... much better.

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Perfecto Full Recessed Hoods 30in Black

• Fixture has a 90 day warranty against defects in materials and workmanship.
• Hood is 29.25" l x 11.25" w x 3" high.

The hood fit perfectly, included the light and looks great. I am glad I did not spend much more for it at a local pet store. Thank you!

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I had previously bought a Marineland LED hood for my 29 gallon aquarium, it looked pretty but had very flimsy hinges which broke after six months rendering the hood useless as it fell off every time I tried to raise it to do anything. Since I really needed a hood to keep my aquatic turtles in, I resigned to having to go back to a conventional fluorescent unit to replace the broken LED hood. I read the other reviews here for this unit and they are accurate. This hood is very well made, fit my tank perfectly. I was a little concerned with having to cut out the plastic in the back to fit my filter tubing, heater, etc. but after carefully measuring it was easy to do with almost no gap space, so not even a small crab would be able to get out now. I am very happy with this purchase. If Perfecto ever makes the same hood with an LED I will be their first customer.

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5 stars! This hood is exactly like the 29 gallon hood it replaced. That hood was the original one from that "save money. live better" store.

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It's nice. It does what it says it does. I especially like the no drip feature. I'm thinking of upgrading the lights and don't know how hard that would be if it's even possible.

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The other reviews I thought sounded planted, but they are actually true. This is a very nice feeling hood. It just feels well made! I definitely recommend it. It fits perfectly on top of my 29 gallon tank. The only thing I guess I can say that wasn't the best was the difficulty I had in removing the tabs on the back to make space for the filter, air hoses, etc. I ended up having to use tin snips to cut the plastic tabs out of the way. But if anything, maybe that's just a testament to its solid construction!