Customer Reviews

Tetra Water Wonders Aquarium Kit

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this tank at PetSmart about a week ago, and so far I'm impressed. The kit includes the Whisper 3i in-tank filter, a couple of bio filter replacement cartridges, tubing, pump, LED light, and two plastic plants that can be attached on a grid like system that runs along the bottom of the tank (there are 8 possible positions). It doesn't come with water treatment, gravel, or food, but it does have a convenient storage shelf that pulls out from the bottom for these items.

Before this tank, I had my Betta in a small Marina cube, which only held a half Liter of water. Two weeks later, I decided to upgrade to this kit. After a day of adjustment, my fish really began to enjoy his new home and has since built a bubble nest. The LED can swivel from side to side and adjust up or down, so I like to angle it towards the filter in the back corner. This allows enough light to illuminate the tank nicely, but avoids exposing my Betta to direct bright light when I have it on. The light itself it great. Using LEDs means very little electricity usage, as well as almost no heat output. The switch is located on the side, so it's easily turned on and off. My only complaint is that the light tends to slide down to a certain point when you raise it all the way up. Not a big deal, but something to note.

The filter has kept the water nice and clear so far. It's easily attached anywhere on the tank via two suction cups on the back end. The top lid of the tank has two small holes on either side for the hose, as well as a large hole for easy grabbing. The two holes are great if you'd like to add a small water heater along with your filter. The Whisper 3i does create a fairly noticeable current in a tank this small, something my Betta did not enjoy at first as they prefer still water. After some adjustment of the plants in the tank and raising it a little higher above water level, the current was reduced enough to not really bother him. I've also placed a small hut in the tank where he can hide and get out of the current if he chooses to do so (which I recommend). I would also recommend placing the plants near or around the filter intake, so your fish won't be tempted to swim around it and get pulled by the pump. A Betta is far to large to get stuck, but it can damage his fins if he's pulled to hard.

The plastic plants are very nice looking, but were somewhat on the hard side. I would keep an eye and make sure your fish doesn't injure his fins grazing against them. So far, mine hasn't had any issues, but it's something to take note of, especially for Bettas.

Overall, for the money you won't find a better tank for a small fish or Betta.

UPDATE: 8/10/2010

After about 4 months of owning this tank, the filter pump finally gave out. It's a shame, because it did work very well. While not a big deal if your housing a Betta, this may become problem for other types of fish that aren't labyrinth fish. Tetra does warranty the filter for 1 year after purchase, but you have to send $5.00 for return postage. The whole filter unit can be purchased for $9.95 new at PetSmart, so it really seems kinda pointless, especially if it will continue to crap out after a few months.

I bought this locally, and right out of the box, it didn't have the plant grid for the plants that it comes with. Which of course makes the plants all float up the second you try to do anything inside the tank. The filter however is awesome, it has adjustable flow, which is wonderful for a betta or any other fish that prefers little water movement. Keeps my water totally free of ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites. Condensation on the hood is a CONSTANT eye sore. While the setup has it's downfalls, it's still better by far than any other desktop with the dreaded lone undergravel filter and no lighting, often devoid of a hood altogether. I like that it has a cord cutout for if you want to add a heater or an airstone. The built in drawer is also very handy, but I don't recommend keeping water test strips in it, due to the humidity affecting them. It's good for stashing food and dechlorinator though.

I had my male beta in a 1.5 for about 6 months. He was pretty happy here. Tetra has a great system in place to email you reminders on how to care for your new tank. I was told to change the water 50% every week. They even send you reminders on when to change the filter. It helped me a lot, as I tend to be a bit scatterbrained.

The only complaints I have (and the reason for 3 stars) is that the air pump that came with the tank lost a lot of it's umph after about 3 months and the water was trickling out of the filter. I had to replace it with a better one. Also, the LED lights are very dim. When I put my fish in his new home, he was scared to death of the light, having been in a much dimmer home for a while.

This is a good starter tank for anyone thinking about getting into fish. The small size means water changes are fairly easy (one gallon of distilled water is easy to pick up weekly) and it was reasonably quiet and easy to fit in a small space.

I had always wanted a small, but attractive, aquarium for my desk. I came across this one on Amazon and thought, this is it! It works great with African Dwarf Frogs, I bought two and there is plenty of room for them and their plants. The initial investment ran me about $40 total which included food, a small net, the plant, rocks, water conditioner, etc. I did find mine at Petsmart, but there are more colors/sizes and a lot of sale prices through Amazon that were comparable. I loved the light because its made of LEDs and does not get hot. I'm rather paranoid about hot light bulbs and plastic.

This tank is perfect for keeping a betta fish. It's roomy enough to decorate nicely so your fish is comfortable and has stuff to do. I was hesitant, as I've only had larger tanks before and worried that this would be too small, but it's just right for my betta fish.

I was worried that the filter might be too strong, based on some reviews here, but my betta has done absolutely fine with the filter on, and the filter does an amazing job at keeping the water clear. I'm able to do a full water change once a month, and the water is STILL crystal clear within that time frame. (But I wouldn't recommend going over a month without giving it a full cleaning, because the gravel traps old food and bacteria. Just an fyi for someone considering this as their first fish tank.)

I really love the LED light at the top of the tank, it looks beautiful at night. The storage space at the bottom is handy as well. I keep extra filter packs, de-chlorinator, and some emergency fish meds in there, just in case.

I'd definitely recommend this to someone looking into getting a betta fish. Many people want these intelligent fish as decorations, which I discourage because they tend to keep the poor things in tiny half gallon bowls. This tank is the right size for a betta to live happily and is visually stunning for the owner as well. It's a win/win!

My son wanted to adopt one of his nursery school goldfish at the end of the school year, so I set off to buy a small aquarium set that was inexpensive and easy. Found this at Target and was very happy. Overall, it was easy to set up - the built in light is cute, but we don't use it often. Having a hood is essential, and we've had no issues with condensation - maybe because we live in a not-overly-humid environment? (New England).

We use the drawer to store spare filters. The online site has been helpful -but avoid the forums. People there are real die-hards, and I've been accused of abusing our fish by keeping it in a small tank with fake plants. We had no problems with the pegs for the plants - great system.

Keep in mind it does not include gravel, or a check valve for the filter tubing and of course food is not included. It also does not include a little fish net, the little sponge on a stick to clean the tank, or a gravel vacuum. I had no idea I needed all of these things (except food of course) for a little tank. But all of those things at your local fish store will run about $10.

A cute set I would highly recommend for 1-2 small fish.

I had this about 10 months ago(the 1.5gal version) I kept my first betta, a small female crowntail, in this tank. She's since been moved to a 20Long

It does have a few pros:

The LED light is actually pretty nice, and easy to adjust. It does a decent job growing some of the more hardy aquarium plants. I had java moss and an amazon sword that thrived in this tiny tank!

The tetra wisper filter initially works well, and is very easy to clean. The input and output are both very gentle making them ideal for a betta.

The tank is just large enough to be heated with a small heater, which is highly reccomended for tropical betta fish.(the tank does not include a heater. This is common for commercially available tank kits, so I won't mark it as a con)

However, there are some cons:

The air pump on the wisper filter, may stop working properly(it seems this is a common problem). After just two months, all mine would do is cause water to sort of bubble in the top of the filter, with no output. You may end up having to buy a new air pump, and they tend to be a bit pricy.

The tank is just really small. There isn't a whole lot you can do with it. It takes a bit more effort to keep up the water quality than you would have with a larger tank. It's also a tad smaller than I would reccomend as a minimum for bettas, but with proper care it can work. There's also the fact that there are not a lot of fish that would be compatible with this tank. Most fish small and tough enough to fit in this tank are schooling fish and this tank really isn't large enough to support a group of fish.

The lid doesn't fit really well. It just sorta sits on the top and can come off with even a slight bump. It's not likely to defend your fish from cats!

Overall, this isn't a terrible tank, but for me it just didn't work as a permanent home for my little fish. If you're really set on this one, I'd reccomend going with the 3 gallon version, since there's a little more room for error with the water quality.

I bought this tank for my office. The product is as described. Please be aware, the tank will only allow 2-3 fish AND requires a 25% water change every 7-10 days. If you are looking for an office tank or a child's room, this would be perfect.

I really like this tank a lot. I upgraded my betta to this tank, from a simple filterless fish bowl and in the process some hidden "floaters" got transfered as well. The little filter had the water sparkling by the next morning. It's also very quite! A couple of times I even went to make sure it was still working because I couldn't hear anything. I would definitely recommend this.

if u want i nice little tank for short money its nice i bought it for my beta and he seems to like it u might wanna order extra bag of rocks for bottom though.