Aqueon Evolve 4 LED Aquarium Kit, 4 gallons

This arrived from Petco (who also sells through Amazon) within 3 days of ordering.

Pluses:

+ LED lamp with both day and night settings and separate power cord. A benefit so that the light can be hooked up to its own timer.

+ a plastic cover that covers the tank, and a separate cover for the filter area

+ quiet water pump included

Negatives:

the included water pump at its lowest setting still creates a whirlwind of turbulence in the tank. Definitely not working out for my Betta fish. This really isn't a negative fish or coral that do require water movement so YMMV.

The accessories to my tank include a 7" tetra heater which nicely fits inside bank of the tank filter compartment and Eco-Complete substrate. Its not clear if the lumens on the LED is sufficient for plants with moderate demands but time will tell. I am considering either modifying the current water pump or replacing it with a lower flow unit.

This is a great small tank package for all the reasons listed above.

UPDATE Jan 19, 2012***

After much fiddling with the water pump intake and directing the return head to the heater, I have managed to find a calm water flow setting which seems to not upset my Betta. Since my last post, i have placed some marimo moss balls and dwarf hair grass in the tank. The LED seems to be bright enough to sustain plant life which is a good sign. Overall, i am very pleased with this tank.

I would first like to say that I have been keeping fish of all sorts for approximately eight years. I am knowledgeable in their habitats, housing requirements, and the sorts.

Despite other reviews I have seen for this product, it is actually not that bad. Especially for those that either have limited space or are just looking for that "Nano" aquarium.

Some may be skeptical about the lighting for this aquarium as well. As some may know, plants and live corals rely on a sufficient amount of light and light spectrums in order to properly live and grow. And even though LEDs are bright, expensive, and produce nice effects, not all are well suited for the job needed. I can assure you however, that the LEDs included for this kit are intense enough to allow my two live corals (whisker coral and candy cane coral) to continue to do very well. The only main issue, which other have indeed pointed out is the water flow rate coming from the output nozzle. There are two things you can do to adjust this flow and how it affects the water in your tank. One way is adjusting the flow rate via a little slider, located underneath the water pump motor, to a rate that you desire. I currently have mine set to a little under the max. Another way you can control the flow is adjusting the output nozzle itself. With this aquarium, you have the freedom to direct which direction the water flows out. Depending on what fish you have or the setup of your tank you can easily fix this to better suit your needs. I have aimed a little upwards to cause some nice surface tension which not only causes some disturbance on the top of the water, but also helps oxygenate the tank.

In conclusion I feel that this is definitively a great tank for new or experienced aquarium hobbyists. The sump on the back of the tank is a great barrier between what makes your tank run and what you actually want to see. And the LEDs are intense enough to support life that requires a certain amount of light. If you have any questions about my review or about your tank let me know.

I was also going to include a product review video, but due to the limits of video uploads onto Amazon, I have uploaded the video to YouTube. Since I am not allowed to post a link to the video, if you are indeed interested in a video review please search for AquariumHookup and you will find my product reviews.

Cheers -

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The tank looks real nice, the filter is built in and you can get a small heater in the back no problem. Fits perfectly in our ikea desk hole. The pump is full of dumb though. Way to strong like putting your fish in an endless toilet. Easy to fix though just drill a couple holes through the pump hose.

Initial Tank

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What can I say, I am a fish addict? I originally had a little 2.5 gallon tank I picked up for $13 new on my desk at work, but it was so small it was difficult to put any filtration into let alone a decent heater.

The nice thing about this little tank is that it has the filter built in and it is SILENT. The only time it ever makes any noise is if a bubble or piece of sand finds its way into the filter. If you turn it on and it makes noise, you just need to rotate the pump a little bit so it isn't rubbing against the side.

The water flow IS a little bit strong, but that can be VERY easily fixed by placing the pump on the lowest setting and putting a small $0.99 filter bag over the outlet. With the filter bag, I can easily keep a little dwarf puffer without much fuss. If you decide to keep a salt water tank (not recommended, but possible) the high flow can be a very good thing.

The light is decent and attractive to look at. I have some chain swords and a marimo growing fairly well in the tank.

The only note that I can give is that the filter is sensitive to sand. If you plan on putting sand in the tank, put a filter bag over the vents of the pump to keep sand out of it.

This is a great little tank. All of my coworkers love it and come check out my fish from time to time.

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This tank is a beautiful design and very simple. I love the look and it's a good price. After about 8 months with the tank, and setting it up a couple different times, I've found a few things I like and don't like.

PROS:

-Love the elegant design. Seamless edges and rimless top look great.

-The back compartment has space for a small heater, so the display part of the tank looks very clean with no filters, wires, pumps, etc. Just holes for filter intake, and a small valve for output. You can pivot the valve and direct the flow of water in any direction.

-Daylight and moonlight settings. The light is on a separate power cable, so it can go on a timer.

-There's a little bit of space in the filter media compartment to add other media. I have a piece of sponge right behind the intake holes, and a bag of bio media underneath of the media compartment.

CONS:

-The pump is too strong for a small tank, especially since I bought this as a betta tank. You can turn the pump to a low setting, but even then it creates too much current. I cut a few holes in the filter hose that help reduce the output flow a bit.

-The light has become significantly less bright than it used to be, and a few of the LED nodes are on the fritz and are flickering. I've replaced it with another clip-on LED light. I love the light and the design, but it seems to be giving out and I'm not sure how to fix it.

-The false back is not sealed on the bottom. There is a small gap on the bottom that allows water to flow between the filter compartment and the tank. This became a problem when I had some rooted plants in the tank, because the roots grew through this gap and into the filter compartment. It creates a big problem for filtration, because the water is bypassing the filter media and just being pulled from the bottom of the tank. I even added foam and bio media to the filter media compartment, but water in the media compartment is just stagnant. Beware of this if you use a fine substrate like sand, because it might get pulled in by the filter pump. I drilled some holes in the bottom of the media compartment hoping that it would help water get down to the pump, but it doesn't make much of a difference. I regret not sealing the bottom with silicone before filling it.

-The filter pump has suction cups on the bottom to prevent if from rattling and being noisy. With the suction cups on, my pump is totally quiet. The problem is, when you want to remove the pump, you have to pull really hard to get it out, and it might just pop off of the suction cups. I took my suction cups off and wrapped the pump with foam to keep it from rattling.

Overall:

I love the tank, but I really wish I had sealed the bottom of the false back before filling it with water and fish. I've seen people do videos of their Evolve 4 where this didn't seem to be a problem, so either mine is an older model, or it's slightly defective. I love the look of it, and I would get another if I get another nano tank, now that I know what kinds of modifications need to be made.

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