I got this to house a male platy. The filter was VERY loud and produced such a strong current that he was having a hard time swimming around. Since this filter does not have any way to adjust the flow, I installed a small sponge filter and tried to unhook the filter that came with the tank. Well, the joke is on me because the lighting and filter system is on the same circuit, so you cannot unhook one and still have the other. I would not recommend this to anyone and wish I'd never gotten it.
Just bought this the other day to house my two little fancy guppies. This is my first aquarium purchase ever, so I had no idea what to look for/watch out for. It's a little cumbersome to set up with the LEDs and the filter; there are no markers for what plugs into what (though the directions tell you there are).
The water flow/current is an issue. When I feed my guppies, the food quickly gets whisked away by the current from the water coming into the tank. They find the food eventually, but there's a lot of water movement at the top of the tank due to the filter assembly pouring the filtered water back into the tank. Guppies are top of the tank dwellers, so they have a tough time up there since there's so much movement. I do see them hanging out behind where the water splashes out since there's less water movement back there. I need to find some way to adjust the flow; sadly, there's no built-in way to slow down the outpour of filtered water back into the tank. I'm thinking of shoving some kind of sponge in there to break up the current.
The filter isn't loud, but the splashing water is. I could hear it when I went to bed last night. Small house, but still, that's some loud water!
The plexiglass is fine, but know that it does scratch easily. When the tank is full, there is some bow to the sides, but it's very minimal. Knowing what I know now, I'd opt for glass next time.
It's a nice-looking tank, I will say that. The LEDs are nice (you have a "day" light and a "evening" light; unfortunately, YOU have to turn it off each night see next paragraph) and it's a nice simple, clean design. Nice size for a desk or kitchen table or counterop. Setup took about 20 mins. and I initally put the tank on the little plastic stand backwards. If the back parts don't all nicely notch together, you've likely got your plexiglass tank on backwards.
Light and filter are on the same power cord, so you can't put the aquarium on a timer since when the unit is off, light and filter are off. You also cannot power off the filter assembly via a button; you have to unplug it. Also, since the top (light hood) has the LEDs wired into it, you cannot remove the top entirely... you have to sort-of balance it on top of the filter box when you need to do something like change water or clean.
Also, the little clear aquarium cover doesn't snap in, it just sits in a notch on top of the LED light hood, so every time I go to take the light hood off for water changes, the clear aquarium cover falls off. Drives me nuts!
Even though it's been a few days, I can say I WOULD NOT recommend this tank if you're getting a fish like a Betta or a top-dwelling fish like a fancy guppy. The little missing touches are what makes this tank a little frustrating. For the price, it was OK, but but there are better options out there and I'm kickking myself for not doing more research on tanks.
Buy Marineland Classic Aquarium Kit, 4-Gallon Now
I used this tank for a reef tank with 2 clownfish. Some of the other reviews say that the flow is too strong for their tank however, for me it's perfect! It eliminates the need for a powerhead. Also I have a lot of experience with nano tanks so I recommend you knowing a few things before getting this. I myself changed the tank a lot with lighting by added more LED's. Also with the filter I like it. It is powerful and works well. I had enough room to put in bio from my other reef in the tank to skip the cycle and with the combined filter pad and a bio wheel keeps my tank clean. I do see the problems that others have faced, but with my experience iv been able to modify and combat those problems. So overall this is not for a beginner especially if you're doing a saltwater tank.
Read Best Reviews of Marineland Classic Aquarium Kit, 4-Gallon Here
i had this tank set up for one week. it is now in the garbage. assembly is a hassle. you can't simply take the lid off to clean the tank or do water changes or feed frogs because it is connected via the cluster of wiring. the wiring is a nightmare. you can't shut off just the lights or just the filter or put a light on a timer because they're on the same circuit. the tank is acrylic which means if you put any sort of ornamental rocks in the tank you're likely to scratch it. its also super thin and not very sturdy. if you manage to get the lid to sit on correctly (mine was warped) you will soon find that condensation drips from the lid to the outside of the sides of the tank. the water from the filter is also loud and annoying. i got a 5.5 gallon kit from petsmart for $30 on sale, and the only thing i didn't like was the light, and i swapped the bulb out for $10 and i love it. opt for that route, and avoid this trainwreck
Want Marineland Classic Aquarium Kit, 4-Gallon Discount?
With numerous aquaria throughout our home, we thought it would be fun for our son to have a starter setup in his bedroom. Having had good experiences in the past with Bio-Wheel designs and Marineland products, we opted for this entry level kit. Assembly was tricky due to a lack of color-coding on the various male/female electrical couplers. Through trial-and-error, we solved this step. The kibosh was turning on the filter. It sounded like our Rancillio coffee grinder. I turned it off, inspected the impeller, found it to be of the lowest quality. Cheap, bent, cavitating wildly. I expected the Bio-Wheel to make some splashing noise, but the impeller could be heard downstairs in our living room. And we expected our son to SLEEP with this aquarium in his bedroom? Transferred his fish to a quarantine tank, boxed this kit up and made it go away. Purchased a Fluval Spec, all is good in our world.
Save 35% Off
I usually never write reviews but based on how much this impressed me when I first turned it on and the fact that there are almost no reviews for this light anywhere on the net, I decided to write one. I have a 10 gallon reef tank and until now, never had good lighting for it. So, I have been researching a lot the past couple of months on different lighting because I am starting to add more and more corals to my setup. Man is this light bright and very beautiful. The strip of white LEDs with the strip of blue LEDs brings out a lot of color on my fish and corals...especially my star polyps.
