Aquavista 500 Wall Mounted Aquarium with Tropical Water Background

First, I would like to say that if you are considering buying this product, you should read this. I was very mislead by the youtube videos, and all the product reviews on this product. I have had this product for over 6 months. Let me explain to you, my story.

1. Purchased Product, Received Product fairly quick. Missing Mint Cloth, Screws & Hardware, also the entire lightning balast system /including bulb.

No problem? Just exchange it right? Wrong. 2nd Product Received with the same accessories missing plus a plastic part on the aquiarum cover/lid was broke off. And instead of the aquarium saying Aquavista (under where the frame goes, it said "china" embedded in the plastic.)

Hmm.. I think to myself.. This can't happen a third time can it? Why, Yes it can! It came from china. Same missing accessories: Screws & Hardware, cloth, lightning ballast system + bulb. Wow, Right off the bat someone would rate this a 1 star.. Not me, I'm willing to give it a shot!

I call Amazon, they told me to contact Aquavista. Aquavista Customer Service Support was very nice, they sent me Lightning Ballast + bulb that i had to install / + free filters.

After setting up this aquarium, i had bought my own pebbles / Rocks. ( this will become a nightmare as small rocks will fall in the filteration area and become stuck). I followed the manual, waited to put fish in tank.

I have had a horrible time with this tank, I have to clean this tank at least once every week otherwise the tank becomes filthy and fish start dying. I have had horrible, horrible experiences with this tank. Here's one to mention. One morning, GloTetra Disappeared. Hmm.. Where he go? Called aquavista. They told me to check behind the aquarium background. (was really fun trying to take this off after setting aquarium up.) Long story short, in the bottom right side of tank, theres a small hole (between black filter cover and background in corner of tank) where little fishies can get through. SO, Mr. Fish was stuck behind the tank. Long story short, becasue i had to bend background alittle to get fish on other side, small rocks fell between the plastic and background to where the picture would not fit the way it should. Had to take the entire tank apart, fake aquarium plants, small ship, fish, rocks.. everything. This was truely a nightmare. This didn't happen once, but three times. Once with a albino frog (didn't have to take the tank apart because he was easier to get) and also a neon tetra who is decaying in the bottom of the tank under the black filter. Oh yes, this causes disease and all fish will die, Except my Pleco + Frog. I have bought a water testing kit before all of this happened, and the ammoneia levels were extremely high. (50-100% water changes + cleaning of all objects/rocks) per week. To top things off? If you accidently overfill the aquarium with water (there is a meter) water will drip on your floor. But one time dripped on the right side instead of the left side. This caused the LCD touchpad + Screen to short out. Aquavista customer server was extremely nice, and sent me another one for me to replace. I paid $ 140 160 for this product and felt that I extremely over paid for cheap china plastic and poor quality. Poor Filtration in a 5.5 Gal = Death to all fish (cept pleco+frog or other high immune system species)

I would not have gotten this product if I would have known all of this could happen. It's truely a beautiful tank when it is lit up and turned on. Then the beautiful moment is ruined by fish who sink to the bottom of your tank lifeless and dead. Go to your local pet store to buy an aquarium worth spending this much money on.

We purchased this tank second hand. Although we have had many fish tanks in the past, we had never seen one like this. It is beautiful. Very unique. The kids love it. It catches everyone's attention. Called customer service for information about the unit. They were very helpful even though we did not buy it directly from them.

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Looks really nice, It's definitely the vocal point of the room. The only draw back is that it's a little noisy when the filter is running.

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CaribSea Eco-Complete 20-Pound Planted Aquarium, Black

I like Eco complete for various reasons.

1) Dark almost black appearance. If you want that look this is the substrate for you. It wont fade like the painted gravel.

2) CECbasically it absorbs nutrients and your plants take the nutrients from the rocks (in a nutshell)

3) no cleaning of the rocksopen the bag, pour it in your tank, no rinsing, no mess....plug and play

4) fish safeI am a cory cat fish nut, and I hear people say it will cut their barbels... that is an urban legend. this is my 3rd tank I am using this on, all of my cories have long nice healthy barbels.

5) Easy to plant, grab my tongs/tweezers and push plant into place.

6) Cheapcheaper than Aqua soil or fluval or whatever. 20 pounds of clown puke (colored gravel) is the same price.

7) I can push my plant tabs in the substrate with ease. I do the home made osmocote plus (which I bought from amazon)

8)Stableit won't break down like aquasoil will, wont raise ph, ammonia etc....

With the money I save I can buy some plants or some fish.

I use Eco-Complete in my 10 gallon freshwater tank. I have java ferns, wisteria, foxtail, anubias nana, and dwarf baby tears who have all taken off since being planted in this substrate. The dark color makes your tropical fish's colors really stand out. Would recommend this substrate to anyone who wants to start a planted tank. 20 pounds is enough for a 10 gallon. The fact that you don't have to wash this substrate is good too.

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I purchased this substrate from Amazon because I had heard good reviews about it from the YouTube fish tank community. I set it up in my 55 gallon aquarium with a DIY black background, and boy do the plants look stunning! The black really brings out the color in my fish and the green/red in my plants. It has a large amount of nutrients in it, and I suppose you could use the substrate alone without fertilizers or CO2. I just use a $9.00 250m bottle of Flourish, an aquatic plant fertilizer that I bought at Petsmart. It lasts for 2 years for the size of my aquarium, so it's a worthy investment.

My only complaint about this product is that it is kind of misleading when it says that it has beneficial bacteria in it to cycle your tank. Please don't take it like it will instantly cycle your tank. It comes packed in water which is cycled, and smells very foul when you cut open the bag. ALSO, make sure that when you open the bag that you open it up over your aquarium or over a tub/outside, as it is almost like vacuumed sealed and it will splash. I made that mistake and it spilled all over my floor. No big deal, though. Anyway, you need to let your aquarium cycle completely just like you would with any other aquarium.

The substrate itself consists of very small sand particles and small sized granules. The package says that the small particles sift down to the bottom of the tank naturally to allow for optimum root growth and CO2/Nutrient supply, which is mostly true. Some of the particles still are on the top layer of the substrate, but overall the statement is true.

The bag also says that you do not need to wash this substrate before filling your aquarium up. I have found this to be completely true. Because it comes packed in water, there is really no residual dust on the granules. You may have a little cloudiness for 2 hours to a day depending on the amount of filtration/size of the tank, but it's again no big deal. Only 3 days after setting up my tank the water was crystal clear.

Overall I would give this substrate a 4/5. Would buy again, but not at the normal price it is listed for (30 bucks). I'd buy it from my LFS which sells it for 17 per 20 lbs.

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Eco-Complete is one of my favorite substrates for freshwater aquariums. It is extremely easy to work with: no rinsing required! I just lay it down in an empty tank, and slowly add water. The faint cloudiness will dissipate within a matter of hours. Compared to similar substrates that you need to rinse first, this saves a tremendous amount of time and water.

This substrate does not have any appreciable amounts of nutrients "built in" to it but that is not a bad thing! Eventually, all the nutrients from those substrates that include it will be depleted what really counts is the "CEC" (cation exchange coefficient). In a nutshell, this refers to the ability of the substrate to grab on to nutrients in the water and hold them until the plants remove it. Eco-complete has a rather high CEC and is very effective at containing the nutrients found in the water column so the plants can make the most of it.

This substrate is fine enough for very delicate roots to work their way through, but coarse enough to hold them in place. However, it is a touch on the light side so one must be careful when rearranging plants/decor so as not to stir it up too much.

All in all, I have great results growing freshwater plants in this substrate, both with no fertilizers at all and also with dosing the Estimative Index for nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium and micro nutrients.

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I really enjoy using eco-complete in my tank. No rinsing needed! Just dump it in and in a few minutes the water is clear and ready to go. It is easy to plant in and nothing uproots and floats away. The dark color really helps to show off the plants and fish. Will be using this in all future tanks.

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Como Foam White Lotus Green Base Ornament Decor for Aquarium

I bought two of these and was so excited when I opened the package. These are as big as a dinner plate and look real! They look elegant floating on my pond and are providing some much needed shade and decor. These are made out of a foam material and are so much more realistic than the plastic kind. I'm very happy with my purchase and am going to be ordering several more.

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Zilla 11505 20-Inch Desert 50 UVB T5 Fluorescent Bulb, 12-Watt

Delivery was quick and, importantly, well packed.!

Bulbs themselves from Zilla are a little fragile and don't seem to last long in the zilla fixture. If did not have existing fixture would consider a different one where bulbs might be so fragile (larger diameter).

Cant go wrong with these bulbs. They were cheap, they came fast and they fit in my Zilla Light fixture nicely. They give off 50 microwatts each!

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OSI Smooth Bark Tree Stump Aquatic Ornament Medium

I just bought this ornament for my 20 gallon fish tank stated as MEDIUM and is much smaller than expected.

It's just a little bigger than my fist.

Pretty disappointed by its size

I have two planted petco 6.6 gallon bookshelf aquariums with ferns and mosses, one with cherry shrimp and the other with blue shrimp. I wanted to add some driftwood because of the nice effect it gives the tanks but was afraid it might change the ph and affect my shrimp. I decided to try something artificial but something replicating the real thing. I stumbled upon these tree stumps, ordered the medium and small and they are so real looking and beautiful. Definitely a great addition to my aquariums. People think they are wood and I just play along and keep my little secret. Great little stumps!

I also replaced the fluorescent light fixtures that came with the tanks "too hot" with beamswork 400 led light, perfect!!!

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Item arrived quickly, packaged great if I was commenting on just the shipping they'd get 5 stars. The item is SMALL! Not as tall as a pair of scissors and certainly not medium sized in any sense. Not at all worth the money. I purchased this as well as an "xtra large" to put in a tall 55 gallon tank, the xlarge hasnt arrived yet, but if the medium is anything to go by, I'm going to have to figure out some other way to decorate my tank. Dont waste your money.

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I bought this for my large tank and it is a great way to add some hiding areas for smaller fish and create some realness to the environment. It cleans easily and arrived promptly from the supplier.

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Great looking plastic decoration. Many people have commented that it looks real. Easy to clean with a small toothbrush. The only thing I don't like is that the stump-like base of it was not flat so it's hard to stand up in sand (I have mine standing like a tree and have moss growing on the branches).

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Reef One Biorb Silk Plants

I've had goldfish and other fish for many years and one big problem has been cleaning a tank or BiOrb with artificial plants in it. These plants do not need to be attached to anything. They have nice heavy weighted bottoms that stay where you put them and are so easy to lift out and rinse off with each water change or cleaning. Don't bother buying any other artificial plants for your aquarium you can't beat these!

Saving these for when I get a bigger tank, but man they are so vibrant in color, I wish I had the space to add these to my tank, granted the texture is a bit clothy, I suppose for the intended purpose it needs to be.

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I have two african dwarf frogs and they love to hide. My three gallon tank is wider than it is tall; these frogs have to swim to the top to breathe. These plants are strong enough for them to rest on, so they can go to the top of the tank easier. They love having more places to hide as well! These plants are really pretty, and they don't float up at all (so low maintenance!)

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biOrb makes the absolute best faux plants for aquariums. They look so natural and real. This item was shipped to me very fast as well. I am very happy with this product!

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I have these plants in my ten gallon and my Betta, Flotsom loves them. They are soft and safe for Betta's fragile fins. The smaller Green one looks very realistic. The weighted base is extremely useful in keeping them rooted in the substrate. Love, Love, Love this product.

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Blonde Mermaid with Dolphin Fish Tank Decoration by Penn Plax

The mermaid is the perfect size for our tank (20 gallon)

The color is great and she is actually beautiful, whereas some others are not. Very happy with the purchase

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Jebo Aquarium Fish Tank Automatic Heaters 300w 100gal

I purchased this heater Oct 29, 2010. 14 months later it just stopped working. The temp indicator shows it is working but the temp dropped in my tank without warning costing me fish.

Heaters typically last 3-5 years without issue. I recommend you buy a different heater.

The first one leaked over night (these are submersible). I the morning it was full of water and had died causing the temps to drop. Amazon sent me a replacement.. it too started to leak but I pulled the top from the water enough to stop the leak but keep it heating. Then it wouldn't heat the aquarium over 77F no matter how high I turned it up. It's getting returned too. These are cheapos!

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Very good quality product. So far it has warmed up my 100gal fish tank. It is very good so far . Recommended!!

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The Jebo tank heater I bought works great. It was a lot less expensive than in stores and has maintained a consistent temp in my 90 gal. tank.

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Marina Fine Nylon Fish Net

This net works fantastic for my 2.5 Gallon Fish Bowl. I'm able to slowly get my quick Betta inside and transfer him out to clean the bowl.

The net is great quality and sturdy so you don't have to worry it breaking. This is a small net so it's best fit for small tanks, for me I have a fish bowl so this is perfect!

Pretty much does the job for me.

I was looking for something to clean the silt out of the bottom of my artificial fish pond. I needed a net with a very fine mesh and a relatively sturdy handle. This is just about perfect. It doesn't catch the finest particles when they've been stirred up, but it does grab them when they're piled at the bottom of the pond. I wish the handle were a little longer, but it's pretty sturdy at least. I'm thrilled I found this net for so cheap; I thought I was going to have to drop ten bucks or more for something that I would then have to modify to work properly.

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Great product & price. Able to save time chasing around our aquarium fish. Good material & craftsmanship, satisfied with product.

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Worth the price. A lot cheaper price then others. No reason to pay more. Just buy this one and you'll be happy.

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it is a net. it works. it has not broken with use over the last several weeks. The metal is strong enough to minimize bending while going after the 'fast' fish.

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Coralife 05492 Actinic Straight Pin Compact Fluorescent Lamp, 36-Watt

If you don't have to go to the big box store why do you.....I can buy 2 for the price of one and ships directly to my house

I have ordered this actinic light two times now and it has always been a great product! I won't hesitate to order this again!

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Purchased with Daylight as the local stores are so expensive... they seem to be fine and operate at optimal output.

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Decent lighting for the coral tank, and the bulb lasts a decent amount of time, but slowly planning a move to LEDs anyway.

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Just like the one sold in stores...way cheaper than what you'd end up paying in a store. Satisfied with purchase.

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