10 Gallon Fish Tank

Showing posts with label fish tank accessories. Show all posts

Marina Betta Kit LED Light

This light is billed as fully submersible, so I put it on the gravel of my betta tank, shining upwards to illuminate an ornament in the tank. After only 90 DAYS, the light has quit.

I thought LEDs were supposed to last "forever!" Obviously, this one is an exception to that rule.

I'm glad it was cheap, so I didn't lose much money. I'll look elsewhere for a replacement.

I bought this light as an experiment because I had to know how well it would light up the Marina Betta Kit. I was hoping that it would illuminate the entire bowl effectively lighting up my betta so that I could see his colors better. It did not accomplish that task in the slightest.

The placement and design of the LED only allows light to shine down and backwards effectively lighting up only the back 1/4 of the bowl. The only time the fish gets any light is when it is directly under it. Furthermore the light seems to create a reflection off the back wall which agitates my betta as it is constantly trying to fight his own reflection.

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I've owned both the Marina Zen cube and now the Half-moon betta "kit" aquariums. I would suggest the half-moon is a lot better, since bigger and there is a lot more room for the fish to swim. Unlike the cube one, which is just way to small (they're very pretty, but my betta could barely swim in that thing! very unhealthy).

This light really ads up a lot to the beauty of the aquarium and the fish. I've put transparent blue glass rocks at the bottom, and the light would reflect on it making beautiful blue reflections. It's very pretty. It made my aquarium look like a piece of art, and my fish seems to like it.

I LOVE it!!

I only wish there was a switch button. There is none. You have to unplug it to turn it off. But I might have a work around, since I'm considering getting a timer to automatically have the light turned on and off at the right time of the day.

On a side note, this lamp will not light up nearly as well if you have the cube version of the aquarium, because of it's design (the light only lighten up the back of the aquarium). I really recommend getting the half-moon version of the aquarium for the same price, not only is it bigger (and better for the fish, plus you get enough room to have some live plants in that thing -very pretty, and the betta will love it), but the light will look a lot nicer.

However, I do think this item is way overpriced for what it is. And at the local pet store, it was even more expensive! I find this quite ridiculous when I think of it, after all it's really just a cheap LED light (probably worth like 50 cents) and a small transfomer (probably made in china for a dollar). But it makes the aquarium look so much nicer.

Read Best Reviews of Marina Betta Kit LED Light Here

This light puts out about the same illumination as a half burnt matchstick. I glued this in the lid for my one gallon beta tank, and I can barely tell it is even on. Don't waste your money on this, but having said that, I still haven't located a suitable waterproof replacement yet.

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Works great for my Marina Betta Tank, and my fishy loves having the light, he likes swimming under it and looking directly into it, like a goober. I do recommend this if you are going to use the Marina Betta Tank. It pops in right where the tank has the holder for it, and it does add nice ambiance.

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Kent Marine AKMRC2 Reef Carbon for Aquarium Filter, 2-Pound

Kent Carbon is the best at removing pesky organic pollutants, stains, and entrained toxic gases from all of my marine and freshwater aquariums and/or ponds. When it comes to satisfying my tropical fish, Kent Carbon always does the job.

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Jardin Soft Flexible Rubber Hose Air Curtain Bubble for Aquarium, 48-Inch Length, Black

but don't use it often because I also have a smaller air stone and my fish prefer that because all the bubbles created by the bubble wand creates too much movement for them. I only use it for circulation of waste when cleaning my tank along with a vacuum. ( My way of cleaning my tank but it works for me. ) It does look nice if you have fish that like the circulation it creates. Very flexible and it sinks on its own without suction cups but I don't know if its supposed to come with an end cap but mine didn't. Luckily I had extras lying around, other than that it's a very nice product.

Quiet One Lifegard Fountain Pump, 220-Gallon Per Hour

When I unpacked the pump the gray manifold on the front was not attached to it. I noticed that the two tabs that hold the pump to the manifold (the gray part of the pump in the picture) were damaged by whoever assembled the item they had just slammed the two pieces together and the tabs broke off. I needed the pump for a project so used some duct tape around the perimeter of the manifold to hold the two pieces together. That seemed to work.

I am using the pump in a medium sized concrete fountain that is about 3' high. The pump hums so loudly that you can hear it over the sound of water running down the fountain. I have much larger pumps going in larger water features that are completely silent.

All in all I paid a little more for this pump hoping it would be quieter. What I got was a buzzing, broken pump. :(

Two stars for prompt delivery and the ability to drive water 3' up.

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Marineland LED Aquarium Light

Ive bought these units twice now and they both have shorted out within a couple months. Works great then they short out in a short period of time ,the seal isnt tight and moisture must get into it to short out the leds. Disappointed.

After already once replacing some cheap starters and bulbs in my standard top over a 55 gal. tank, I got fed up and did a search for an alternative that wouldn't cost an arm and a leg. I spotted these LED units, reasonably priced. I bought 2 of them, and positioned them in place of the 18" fluorescent fixtures. They are very low profile, so they don't hide the filters, air and misc. on the back of the tank as well, but other than that, they sit very nicely on top of the tank, provide adequate (LED) lighting, and have a 'moonlight' setting which looks great at night. I'm pleased and would recommend these. Note, I have these over a freshwater tank, so I'm not supporting saltwater marine life. However, I do have some plants gathered from some local lakes that seem to be thriving under these lights.

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HDE LCD Fish Tank Thermometer

I saw this thermometer going for $1.00 plus about $2.50 shipping on a popular bidding website. I didn't really trust it to be a real thermometer at that price. So, I looked it up on Amazon.com. For the less than $6.00 including shipping, I decide to pay a couple of bucks more from Amazon and try it. It came in the mail this afternoon.

When I pulled the thermometer out of the package it was set to Celsius. I switched it over to Fahrenheit and it began reading about 82º in my house. I know the air temperature is around 76º. I waited for five minutes as it drifted further and further down but it never got down to what I believe the temperature actually is. It settled in around 78º. I figured a 2º variance isn't bad. Then, I put it in the fish tank. It immediately dropped down to what I believe the temperature of the tank is, according to the cheap floating thermometer I have in the tank. Given that it's designed to read water temperature, that was good enough for me.

I put it on the tank I plan to use it on and I'm looking at it now. The suction cups are powerful, one for the probe and one to attach the thermometer to the tank. I like the digital read out because it's much easier to read than the colored water in the analog thermometers. I can glance at it from a distance and know the temperature of the tank. Not such a big deal right now in summer. But, it'll be great to know in the winter. I now trust that it's fairly accurateaccurate enough anyway.

There's an on-/off switch on it. I'm not sure that's necessary. These type of devices should run a long time on the watch battery it runs on. The battery is replaceable. Turning it off is difficult. The switch recesses and has to be pressed way in and held in to shut it off. At first I thought the switch was broken. But, I used a pen and held it in and it went off. Turning it on was much easier. There's no risk of turning it off accidentally.

I'll report back if/when it breaks. I think with things like this if they work out of the box, they'll work for a while. There are no moving parts. So, I think this is a great deal. It's got to be as accurate as the $3-$4 floating devices you buy at the Local Fish Store. And, if you want, you can hide the display completely, camouflage the probe and make it virtually invisible.

**update**It's been over six months since I bought the first of these. I now have four on four different tanks. They have been rock solid reliable and the temperature reading seems to be accurate matching the set point on my heaters. I am extremely happy with these thermometers.

After getting tired of squinting my eyes to see the temperature of my alcohol thermometer in my reef tank I decided to try a digital version. Like the other reviewer mentioned my digital LCD thermometer arrived in the mail with the power turned on. No big deal. I wish the suction cup holding the probe was black instead of clear like the other reviewer mentioned because a clear suction cup submerged under water appears white. No big deal for me either as I hid my thermometer probe & suction cup behind some live rocks. So far everything works great as I just turn my LCD thermometer on occasionally to check the temperature of my reef tank & then turn it off. Sometimes I just leave it on longer as I still maintain my alcohol thermometer on the other side of the aquarium that I can occasionally still read when it isn't covered by algae. Occasionally I noticed that the thermometer turns on by itself, but that is no big deal to me. Recommended as it generally works great & you can't beat the price considering most digital aquarium thermometers that I see in local stores costs so much more.

Update 4-2-13. I been leaving my LCD thermostat with the power on for the last month & had no problems with it so far. No problems with it turning off by itself. Been so reliable that I removed my standing thermometer.

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This thermometer shipped fast and works great! I was recently at a local pet store and the same thermometer was double the price. I would recommend buying it.

Read Best Reviews of HDE LCD Fish Tank Thermometer Here

I guess I got a defective one. It's stuck with a reading H (degree symbol) F. Tried powering off and on to no avail. Also, impossible to take battery out. Didn't work for me so I can't recommend it.

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The HDE aquarium thermometer fluctuates too much to be of any use. The temperature updates about every 30 seconds. Mine has varied from 64 degrees to 110 degrees (really?) within a matter of minutes. In this case, the old adage applies...you get what you pay for.

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Petco Asian Gazebo Aquatic Decor

This is a really nice peice, but needs to be bought in store for all fish with longer fins or sensitive skin, as it's made in a fashion that some have sharp edges on the inside. Make sure to feel all around inside the gazebo and the little rock formation (my halfmoon doubletail betta shoves his whole self in that little part!) and never put anything in a betta tank that doesn't pass the pantyhose test. If you run pantyhose all over it and they snag, so will a bettas fins. I was able to find one in my local Petco that was safe for my betta, although I did cut off the plastic plant attached...it was very cheesy looking and for just a few dollars I got a real live bamboo to put in with it.

Visually it is appealing, however within a couple of days one of the "bamboo" stalks was found floating on the top of the water.

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i was very satisfied with mine and so was my fish. i was also surprised with how big it was to, the gazebo itself is about 8 inches tall and the bamboo is a couple inches taller. i'd recommend for tanks 5gal and up.

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I bought this one in Petco and they told me to wash, rinse and later leave the gazebo on a bucket with warm water (for 15 min) before introducing to my aquarium. They told me to do that with every decoration, is a really beautiful piece. If you didn't clean the gazebo before introducing to your aquarium and the water is getting cloudy, get a Water Clarifier; that will help.

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Bought this from Petco dot com, came in three pieces: smashed.

Anyway it does not fit in my 9gal biube but does in my 10 gal with ease. The plastic bamboo parts are cheesy looking in rl.

It does not pass the panty hoose test so I couldn't put it with my betta anyways.

I give it three stars because my loaches like it. Other than that it is pretty enough but I dislike it's quality.

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Nature's Ocean Bio-Activ Live Aragonite Reef Sand 20 lb.

I've used this sand twice for a 12g reef tank, and then most recently, with a 34g reef upgrade. Both times I have not experienced any livestock deaths due to new tank syndrome (but granted first time around I let everything sit for about 3 days with cured live rock, and second time around I moved everything over from my existing tank).

For my second purchase there was some floating debris in the sand, which was a little annoying, but after running the pumps for a day, everything cleared up and I was able to remove all of the debris from the mechanical filters along with doing some manual scooping with a net. I guess this is expected from live/natural sand.

Overall, highly recommend this product, especially if you're new to saltwater and hesitant about stocking your new tank with fish and other animals too quickly... takes the waiting out of the equation if you're eager to get everything up and running.

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Aquatic Life 72-Watt Light Aquarium Light, 48-Inch, White/Blue/Purple

First off, I should note that the unit I received from Amazon was broken. Both the internal and external packing looked fine, but when unboxed the light, three of the LED "sockets" on one of the ends were broken off the entire plastic housing for the LED was cracked off the base plate. The LEDs in question still worked, they were just pointed askew.

Secondly, I picked up this unit in hopes that I might have found a replacement for my Finnex Ray2 Aquarium Day/Actinic LED Light, 48-Inch which had a bad habit of shocking me. Unfortunately, this unit produced far less light than the Finnex. If you'll notice, this unit only has 72 LEDs and as far as I could tell, they weren't the high-output LEDs either (the Finnex has around 380 HO LEDs). The color blend it produced was nice, but simply wasn't strong enough. On the plus side, where the Finnex's light is pretty concentrated, the lens domes on the Aquatic Life unit did allow for full coverage of my 12" wide tank (ie: light hit everywhere). Also, while I'm not sure what exactly caused the LEDs to break on my unit, the aluminum housing felt like a tank. The glass shield did feel a bit flimsy like glass you'd fine in a picture frame. It was also a bit loose fitting and rattled when moving the unit around.

All-in-all, I'd call the unit "ok" it'd probably do well enough in a fish-only tank with additional spot lighting. However, I don't believe it puts out enough light to sustain coral growth.

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Lee's 10-Inch Tube, w/Cleaning Claw

I have the Lee's gravel vac. Which I love. It comes with this tube on the end. I needed to replace my 10in. tube. I thought this was the same exact thing. Mine has the cleaning claw to protect the fish, but mine was removeable. This one is NOT removeable. It's is attached and that is a drawback as far as I am concerned. I do not always want that on the end, and I was disappointed to find when it came that I couldnt take the cleaning claw off. I assumed it woudl be detachable since mine was, but I guess I shouldn't have assumed.

Filter-Max III Prefilter

We have breeding albino catfish in a 15 gallon show tank. This works perfect to save the tiny babies from being sucked up the filter. It also saves the frequent Whisper Biobag filters changes. I wish we knew about this many years ago!

As far as its size. It is large-about 4" long and nearly 2" diameter. You can install it vertically or horizontally, which is convenient. It's easy to put on intake tube with several adaptor connections. I planted a few artificial plants around to hide the filter. So far so good!

I bought this to keep baby guppies and cherry shrimp from getting sucked up into the uptake of a fairly powerful canister filter. It has worked very well so far, but it is not quite perfect.

I wish the adapter did not have two 90 degree bends in it. This is not great for fluid dynamics, and it also just seems unnecessary why can't you just put the sponge straight on the tube?

Another problem with the adapter is that it leaves small holes around the edge of where the adapter covers the center of the sponge. A wee baby guppy or a baby shrimp could get sucked up in those holes. It would be nice if it fit better.

I have had to rub the sides of the sponge once in a while to loosen up the debris and let the water pass better. Its not a big deal, and not a flaw in the sponge, but something to be aware of. You dont want to make your filter pump work any harder than it has to.

Overall, its a perfectly good pre-filter, and I am planning on buying another one soon.

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This pre-filter is a must if you raise fry or shrimp. I use them on a Aquaclear 70 and they do excellent both as a pre-filter and a guard to keep the shrimp from becoming pate. My only fuss is that the other model has a very fine sponge that failed after a couple of months. This one, with the course sponge, is great.

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Bought this for my aquaclear 30 when my molly had babies to avoid them from being sucked up the filter. IT worked perfectly, and you can see the bio crud that it traps! Might actually help the filter increase efficency also.

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I was hesitant to buy this but after connecting it to my old school whisper filter it works great. I wish they sold sponge filter separately to replace this large sponge. I will buy again if i cannot find replacement sponge.

Aquarius Aq15000g Glofish Globe Bowl 1-1/2-Gallon Aquarium Kit

This is a great product for Bettas and small fish-Guppies etc..i deducted 1 star because the LED Lights do not always function properly. I have 3 Bowls and i am replacing the Lights...other wise they are very good for Glow Fish and Glow Plants, as well as Bettas...Itbwould be wise to purchase a spare set of LED Lights as they are inexpensive..

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