Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

UPDATE 9/19/16: Ok, so I struggled a bit to get my basil sprouted. I made the mistaken assumption that if the majority of the growing medium sponge was wet, all of the sponge would be wet, because it's a sponge. Nope! Found out the hard way to ENSURE that the whole sponge is moistened. I simply pushed mine down into the basket until the water level was almost even with the top of the sponge (as the roots grow, I will eventually carefully move it so the sponge once again fills up the whole basket). Sure enough, within a few days my seeds went from black and hard to white-ish clear and now I've got 3 sprouted basils and 1 is about 1/4" tall! FYI, it also helps to ensure you haven't lost a bunch of water through evaporation. Make sure you're keeping the water topped off as well. UPDATE 9/7/16: 1 day later, the bubbles mat on the walls is all gone. =) Ok, so I love aquaponics. Like, I used to think hydroponics was cool until I learned about aquaponics. One of my dreams is to have at least semi-self-sufficiency with my tilapia/rabbit/chicken supported garden. I also love keeping fish and bettas (as pets), but I hate cleaning and changing out the water...so it's been over 10 years since I last had a fresh water fish aquarium or even a betta. Cue my nigh unbridled excitement at this aquarium. Disclaimer: I've only had this aquarium for 2 days, so my review will be based off that experience. I'll try to update it later, but if there's no update, just assume I'm crazy in love and too busy fawning over my new aquarium to update it. ** FOR YOUR INFORMATION, my excitement was halted (I really should have thought it through but I didn't) when I received the aquarium and it said to wait 3 weeks or until the basil is one inch tall (!!) before putting in any fish. I already bought my fish. D'oh! As far as I can see, this factoid isn't mentioned anywhere in the description. So you know, don't run out to buy your fish as soon as you buy this...or be forced to find temporary housing. And no, I don't recommend sticking your fish in the EcoQube anyway if you make this mistake. The solid, permanently attached acrylic lip on the top of the aquarium (about 1-2" all the way around the top) will make it very, very frustrating to have to clean it the good old-fashioned way. Save the headache, wait. Ok, onward! I bought my EcoQube from Aqua Design Innovations (not the Amazon listing! Although I imagine they sell the same kit), here's what's included (since it's not terribly clear): 1. Clear acrylic aquarium with filter and activated carbon bag (already inside the aquarium). 2. The hydroponic growing medium sponge (with basket) for ya basil with basil seeds. 3. LED color changing light (3 button control is on the power cord - don't worry, you can have both steady white light and colors at the same time) on an acrylic "slide" that lets you adjust the height of the light. 4. Power cord + adapter for all of the above. THAT'S IT, THAT'S ALL YOU GET. Yes, pictures are misleading. Yes, their website shows you getting a remote, sand, decor, and glass cover (that price is also higher than this one), no you don't get any of that here. Their website (getecoqube) has more info and setup videos if you need it. Alright, all that aside, here's my pros/cons/observations thus far: + Super easy to unbox and set up, minus the time it took to fill the 1.5 gallon tank with water, it probably only took me 10 minutes from opening the box to fully ready to go, seeds and all. - The inside of the aquarium had what appeared to be tiny bits of acrylic. So I rinsed it out. This is how I know you don't want to clean this manually, the rinsed water was a real chore to get back out. * The box itself is 8" long, 8" wide, and 9" tall. However, the filter et all in the back (the black part inside the aquarium), take up about 3" of depth on the majority of the back wall, so your usable space drops to about 8" long x 5" wide, not a lot! Keep this in mind when deciding on fish/plants/decor. + For about 10 minutes, my water was cloudy but it cleared up quickly (I did use filtered water from my refrigerator though). * Initially, all the inside walls were completely covered in little bubbles! I mean, it was like a mat of bubbles. After around 40 hours, they have largely cleared up and the bubbles are now mostly concentrated on the top 2 inches. I suspect they'll continue clearing up. * The light is bright. I don't suggest putting it in a bedroom if you're going to have the light on at night. * I'm obviously impatient, so just FYI, 2 days in and there's no activity yet from my basil seeds. My set up: * One male betta. Don't house multiple male bettas together or you're asking for trouble. Betta enthusiasts will tell you they need minimum 5 gallons of space. As this is 1.5 gallons, I really don't recommend getting him a "companion" at all in this aquarium as it will probably only stress him out to share his somewhat small space. Don't worry, they are solitary in the wild (except for when mating). You can get "cleaner" fish to assist in keeping the aquarium spotless (yes algae can and probably will still grow in this, but not like in a normal aquarium). Amano shrimps or nerite snails are probably the best choices. More than 4 of either would likely be overkill as even though they clean, they still make waste. Once my betta is established in the aquarium (and making messes), I'm probably going to start with 1, maybe 2, snails and add more as needed. * Rocks leftover from landscaping project. If you're going to use "found" rocks, do a few things first: test! - if a steel blade scratches and/or a cap-full of muratic acid on the rock bubbles, this rock is unsafe to use in an aquarium! If your rocks are safe, scrub them with hard bristle brush in hot water and then either boil them (very carefully, use the low and slow approach until they boil! Rocks can explode when boiled!) or pour boiling water all over them - preferably outside, for safety. I also recommend doing a final soaking post boiling - I did 24 hours - and a final rinse before putting them in your aquarium, just to be safe. You should also be adding the decor when you set up the aquarium and while you're waiting on the basil to grow, this way the aquarium can cycle with all objects in it to hopefully bring everything to neutral before adding the fish. * Found wood. Again, if you're using a "found" object, precautions need to be taken. Ensure to remove ALL bark. Once you've done that, scrub it clean again, boil it or pour boiling water over it, and then let it soak in water for 2-3 weeks (I recommend changing the water a couple times). Yes it's all necessary. It's all about the chemistry of the objects and not messing up your aquarium or killing your fish accidentally. * Riccia fluitans (also known as crystalwort). Bettas like shady aquariums with floating bits, and this is exactly what crystalwort does (crystalwort also loves light, which is great for this setup!). You can also go more advanced and secure it to wood/rocks/decor in the aquarium so it won't float. I won't get into how to do this (more so falls under the title of "aquascaping"), but you can google it (be careful, this is a rabbit hole if there ever was one - amazing things have been accomplished here). * Anubis plant - bettas like to rest on leaves and this plant is great for that, if your betta chooses to use it. This is a low to moderate light plant, and the crystalwort will help the anubis in this setup by blocking some of the light. * I also have a few marimo moss balls, so 1 or 2 will probably end up in here as well, space pending. Basil tips: * Seeds should sprout in 5-10 days. * (Bottom) heat will help it germinate faster. As will covering them to maintain high humidity until they germinate, then remove the cover. * If you sow more than one seed, once the plantlets have 3 pairs of leaves, (gently) destroy all but the strongest, most upright plant - this is also called thinning. * After it's 6" tall, pinching off the growing tips will encourage bushy, as opposed to straight up, growth. * Pinching off flower buds will get you more basil leaves. * Frequent harvesting will allow your basil to live longer. * If you're adding chemicals or conditioners to your water, I do NOT recommend consuming the basil. * Aqua Design Innovations doesn't encourage consuming the basil. I'm no expert, but, I'm going to be consuming my basil. That's what traditional aquaponics is all about, fish waste feeds the plants and you eat the plants. * When consuming, tear, don't chop the leaves. * Up to half the plant can be harvested at one time. * Plant can live for around 3 years. So this has probably been my longest review ever. Thank you if you're still with me! Do I recommend this? So far, absolutely yes! I'm so biased, and I probably should dock a star for it but I know I won't, but I do wish they would clear up some descriptions and pictures, it would have avoided some of my own confusion (and I wouldn't have a fish without a "home"). However, everything else so far has gone pretty...swimmingly. =)