Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

So far I really like this - I got the deluxe version. I've had it about two and a half weeks. My betta is much happier in it than the tiny box the pet store recommended I get (see the pic of the sad original tank). I added my own rocks, a heater, five nano luffy balls, 2 amano shrimp (my local stores carries these instead of ghost shrimp), and a moon snail that immediately died, probably from transport shock after being mailed to me in the winter. You're going to have to get a version of this stuff if you want your tank to work. Btw, after doing all this work to set up your tank, don't cheap out and get a cheap heater - apparently they will sometimes cook your fish out of nowhere. See my other comments for a well-reviewed heater that fits this tank. Also, you should set up this tank and let it run for at least ten days before adding a fish. The materials don't make that clear, but it will give your fish the best chance of success. Seriously, don't add your fish the first day. It was super tempting to do that, but I resisted. You can too! Pros: - The included seeds grow really fast. After soaking the radish & wheatgrass seeds for 6 hours and putting them in the grow stones, they sprouted the very next morning. The roots had expanded into the water tray after five days. Lately the plants grow about an inch a day. The My husband jokes that he can see the plants growing if he looks at them very long. - The water stays MUCH clearer than the non-filtered tiny box I had before. There is still maintenance, and my tank is not 100% cycled yet, but as far as small tanks go, this one should be fairly low maintenance. So far the plants just suck up a lot of water & I have to top it off every three days. I add half a cap of D-Klor to 2 cups of water, pour the new water over the plants, and it cycles into the tank to top it off. - The grow rocks are pretty cool. I didn't know what they would be, but they're basically like light gray pumice. They stay damp all the time by sucking up water through all the tiny holes, I guess. I assume this is what provides the water to the seeds before they grow roots down to the circulating water. - The tank is not huge. I like the aesthetic of it, and I like that it's big enough for my betta and also doesn't take up a ton of room. Cons: - This really isn't a complete kit. It's more like a half kit, which is fine, but they should make that clear. You need A HEATER, a thermometer, more rocks, some plants, a snail, some cleaner shrimp, a tester kit to make sure your water chemistry is right, etc. You need this stuff or your tank will not last long. They should make this REALLY clear since a lot of beginners buy this tank. - There isn't enough gravel to do more than just barely cover the plastic at the bottom of the tank. If you want to put in any plants or decorations, the included amount of gravel will not anchor them. They should just not include any gravel, or double up the amount they include. I added my own rocks to the bottom. - They really should include a heater. I don't know of a fish other than a betta that would work in this tank and not need a heater. I had to do quite a bit of trial and error to find a well-reviewed heater that would fit both the tank and the cord exit hole (for instance, the Eheim heater's cord is too thick to fit through the cord hole). I wound up with the Hydro Theo 25W. The black heater and the black pump take away from the clean visual design of the tank, though. It would be nice to have the right back corner of the tank have a white partial column that could hide both the pump and a heater and still allow water to flow through the top and bottom of the column. It would make it look much cleaner, visually, and would be easy enough for the makers to build in. - It seems, disappointingly, that herbs don't grow well in here, even with bright light. The wheatgrass looks cool enough and I guess I could add it to a smoothie or something, so I'm not deducting a star, but it really is misleading to have the advertising photo on Amazon feature it growing basil. I bought this as a betta tank and not an herb garden, so I'm not deducting a star. - The included instructions are good for the first day's setup. However, they should be clearer for ongoing maintenance. I had to read comments and questions to figure some things out. - I bet that pump breaks fairly soon. I don't think there's any kit out there that comes with a quality pump, though, so I can't be too harsh about that. It vibrates just a bit against the side of the tank, just enough that I can hear it when the apartment is quiet. Based on some other comments, I cut off a piece of kitchen sponge & shoved it between the pump and the tank, and another piece of sponge between the white cord holder and the thank. It helped a TON and the tank is super quiet now.