Magic Globe Aquarium, 5-Gallon

I have never had an aquarium before and have no experience with fish (other than eating;). My wife and I thought we would try an aquarium because our 2 year old is always fascinated with the fish in aquariums. So this review is being written after 2 days of use, and I will update further with more detail. I am assuming that most people buying this tank are probably new to aquariums as I am.

If you just want to see my overall impression, skip to the last paragraph.

First, in an of itself it is a nice simple, non messy water feature for the house. Setup is pretty simple and easy, and it does look really nice with the water completely filling the globe. The running water is soundless, and the pump is very quiet, only slightly noticeable when the house is silent, so bedroom use is fine in that regard.

Second, Fish. According to the guy at petco, because the aquarium doesn't have a heater, he suggested only three varieties of fish. Unfortunately not are that colorful, but are nice enough I guess, we went with smaller fish so we could get more in the 5 Gallon capacity tank. So we now have four fish and a new plastic plant, as I wasn't to thrilled with the big pink flower that was included in the tank. I don't know if fish are frightened when moving into a new environment, but so far they have been hanging out at the bottom of the tank, hard to see. Magnification of the globe that is amazing and when they do swim up it is easy to see them from across the room.

Last, Concerns: May be groundless, but I will update as I go through discovery.

Feeding: Instructions say to feed only what they can eat in five minutes. how much is that? If finished before 5 minutes, does that mean I didn't feed them enough?

When one of the fish (knock on wood hasn't happened yet) dies, if not near the opening how hard will it be to get out?

Cleaning seems pretty straight forward but I haven't had to do it yet, so I don't know how good or bad that process will be.

Overall: I gave it 5 stars. As of right now (day 2) I love it (if that changes I will update). It was very easy to set up, It is a really nice water feature for inside the house. Fun aquarium.

Update: I am now two weeks in. So far so good, still enjoying it, I moved the plastic plant to center in middle of water return, and it changed the current in the tank, the fish are now swimming more often in center and top of tank, more visibly. Cleaning has been pretty easy using the included tools so far. Again everything is still new so I will update as more serious service is due (filter changes,etc).

I got this for my office for some goldfish we had. The first one came and we set it up no problem and it kept leaking and leaking. We thought we had done something wrong in the setup but we finally realized that it had a hairline crack in the base that was leaking. We sent it back and got the new one in less than 12 hours! Amazon is so fast! The second one is flawless and we love to look at it it is silent you cant hear a pump or a motor or the water, so it is nice for the office. The only reason we give it four stars is because how do you feed the fish? Getting the food in there is nearly impossible.

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Read a lot about this aquarium and finally got one for my son Kevin (5 years old). It came with an instructional DVD in English/Spanish so had no problem setting it up in about 45 minutes.

When Kevin saw his new tank he was so drilled he had all his cousins and friends to come over and shared the joy together. I have put the little rainbow toys instead of real fish into the tank and they look really nice in the dark with colorful LED lights.

I would say it is a beginner fish tank and not for serious fish hobbyist but its a fun item and is definitely will be on the top of my Christmas give away gift list this year.

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We were excited to set this tank up and and marvel at it's design. However, within a month of owning it the real problems started to emerge.

1. The filter provided by the company is TERRIBLE. Your water will be dirty within days. We had to go to a pet supply store and buy 'activated charcoal' to put inside the filter bag. Much better results, water is crystal clear.

2. As crazy as it seems, we had two Glofish tetras JUMP out of the strainer and dye on our carpet. When I contacted Aquatica customer service asking for a cap to place on the strainer, they rudely advised me that fish jumping out was highly unlikely and we should just place a 'cup coaster' over the opening.

Well, I'm out $12 for fish and now I have to jimmy-rig their product? Thanks a lot, customer service!

I would advise anyone seeking a small tank to stick with products that are tried and true. This one seems interesting but it's more trouble than it's worth.

Did I mention their customer service is terrible?

UPDATE** Another Glofish jumped out of the tank strainer! Make sure whatever you use to block the exit is heavy enough that a fish can't get through!

Now I am out almost $20 for dead fish :(

2nd UPDATE** ANOTHER Glofish jumped out today and died. I really hate this Magic Globe. I have lost 4 fish now!! DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT if you want your fish to stay inside the tank.

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Not happy, this was not a good purchase. It's very difficult to get the water in the globe, if you pour to fast it starts leaking. Then when I finally got the globe ½ way filled, the part of the base where the cord attaches started to leak. The bad news is I work long hours so I didn't send it back within 30 days. I hope I can still send it back.

Not a good purchase!!!

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