Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I deleted my original review because after a little over a month of owning this, I wish I just had a regular fish tank...OR that over at Back to the Roots they included information about fish in vs fishless cycling of tanks and more information overall. And there are a few problems with the design. Here's my experience with this tank so far. I started out with white cloud minnows in the tank. We had to get cold water fish unless we wanted to add a heater (another thing they don't tell you) because I live in San Francisco, and our house is usually 62-65 degrees inside. I changed out 20% of the water every other day while the tank was cycling because I was (rightly) concerned about the fish. These minnows are hardy, but fish in cycling can still damage their gills or kill them. They survived but after a couple of weeks I took them back and bought a betta instead because the minnows really should be in a bigger tank. So now I have a betta. And I love him. Unfortunately, the tank doesn't really live up to their self- cleaning claims. "Dump some sludge eradicator in the tank every couple of weeks or get a snail" they say. Having done both of those things, there's still a build up of "stuff" in the gravel at the bottom of the tank. I've just resigned myself to the fact that I might have to clean out the tank regularly, which would be fine if it wasn't a colossal pain in the butt because of the top, or throw this out and get a regular tank that's easier to clean (with or without a filter). Also, the plants sprouted really quickly and grew fast for about two weeks. After that, growth significantly slowed down. They are getting sunlight but obviously, this tank can't be directly in the sun because of the fish. I don't think we'll be able to eat anything that grows out of it because it will probably stay small and am doubting that it takes enough waste out of the tank. Problems with the design- - the pump! It really should not be housed in the top of the tank. It vibrates violently which is not good for any fish, plus it's really loud. I bought more airline tubing and moved the pump outside the tank - the entire top part of the tank. It completely warped within a week. They say it doesn't affect the functionality of the tank but the plant holder doesn't sit on the tray correctly. - the pump doesn't seem to take enough waste out of the tank. If there's waste floating about in the water, a lot of it gets pushed up to the top of the tank, but some of it doesn't and once it settles on the gravel, it's there to stay. Unless you clean the tank. I wish they would include a way to add a heater should you need one (bettas like warm water, around 78 degrees), and more information about cycling the tank including a fishless cycle option, however I do realize that most tanks don't come with this information. At this point, I'm not sure what I'll do with this tank. I'm obviously having issues with it that some others aren't having. I really really like the idea of this tank and I know aquaponics works, but I'm not sure this tank is really practical. Tip- If you want to take the top off without getting water everywhere, first take the plant tray off, then shove paper towels in the holes in the bottom tray and dump that water in the sink. FYI- if you want to see pictures of other tanks, check instagram, #aquafarm.