Pisces Bullet Shaped Glass Aquarium, 5 Gallons, 53GPH – Nano Aquarium Kit, for Salt & Freshwater Fish Tanks, Touch Sensitive LED Light, All in One Tank with Filter

I purchased the 5 gallon Pisces all in one Nano aquarium, and I truly love it. I was a bit worried this would this would’ve been a LARGE tank after seeing the reviews and pictures people posted, but luckily I did my measurements and hoped for the best. It came in and it was a perfect size and thankfully all in one piece! This aquarium is chic, clean and modern. Very low vibration from filter but other than that you can’t barely hear anything! I love that everything goes in one compartment towards the back which gives a lot more room for my betta!

So far so good! New to aquariums but I chose this one over Fluval Edge due to the curved corners - liked the aesthetic. Be warned the filter flow is STRONG. If you have a fish like a Betta that doesn't like strong current, recommend you baffle the filter outflow with a sponge or something. Not hard - I did a DIY hack job using a pre-filter sponge I cut to the size and thickness I wanted and just fit that over the filter outflow. Works like a charm. If you use sand substrate i would also rec ommend using a pre filter sponge inside the filter housing to keep sand from clogging the filter. Mine started to choke at one point but I had a sponge filter on hand so I inserted it and no more problems. I like the light on top - it arcs over the clear glass lid and provides enough light for plants. It also has a moonlight/black light setting which will make white fish or glow fish or glow deco look amazing. Or, if your fish has some weird spots on his eyes like mine it can make his eyes glow in a really terrifying way. Oh, one more warning for Betta fish owners: due to the curved corners of the tank, the lid does not provide total coverage - the 2 curved corners have a space a little smaller than a quarter so if your fish can jump, this is a hazard! My fish actually jumped out once and I think it was through one of these spaces so plan accordingly. No worries - Frankie survived his adventure. But that's how he got his glowing eye spots and subsequent nickname of Franken-Fish. I'm still giving the tank 5 stars - its very pretty and while not necessary designed for Betta its still a very nice, quality tank where my fish is thriving.

Unfortunately this arrived with the glass of the tank shattered from improper packing by Amazon so it will be returned. But I decided to check the filter/pump mechanism. Some serious design problems. First, the water is drawn in and the first media it encounters is ceramic tubes. These are permanently housed in a chamber that cannot be removed so these will gunk-up really quickly and just stay that way. There is a shrimp and brine guard with a narrow sponge filter that clips into onto the outside of the inlet so this could capture some of the gunk before it encounters the ceramic tubes. But the real problem is the floss/ carbon filter has no water forced through it. When you place the filter in water to the proper depth the entire filter container fills with water equally across all chambers. The pump chamber which should only draw water after it has gone through the media/floss chamber simply draws unfiltered water that has entered through the inlet and flowed directly into the pump chamber. So, in short, the filter doesn't work because no water flows through it and then into the pump chamber. It's a "pretend" filter. Unbelievable. Save your money and spend it on a tank with a filter that actually works. The only thing that seems pretty good is the light which has a mixed white/blue setting and a all blue setting.

This tank is very underwhelming. The light is good and just about what you would expect from an all-in one nano kit. The filtration is atrocious. I’ve never seen a filter as bad as this one. My tank has been setup for a week and I have had to unclog the intake sponge on it almost every other day because I wake up to the pump drawing air. The pump itself also isn’t a typical internal pump like you would find on any other nano tank with built in filtration and it just seems over engineered for its purpose. Any other $10 pump on Amazon would have done the job just fine. I guess it is nice that the filter is optional if you want to use your own but then you have to find a way to mount the light and fit that between the glass top. The glass on the tank itself is good quality and the seals are perfect so it has that going for it. I also wish there was better power cord management on the back of the aquarium. Having the cords visible on the back really ruins the aesthetic of an otherwise sleek and clean design. I will say that it is nice that aqua top includes a spray bar attachment for the filter and intake sponges and that shows they listen to customers. I would probably go with a Fluval Spec V or an Imagitarium 6.8 gallon if I had a do over, though. Update: The pump was clogged internally and impossible to clean. I tried to replace it with a $10 universal pump off amazon and it wouldn’t fit. I tried to order a replacement but Aquatop was sold out. I had to go with a $50 hang on back canister instead. DO NOT BUY THIS TANK.

I’m not sure why this has a low-ish review. This is the first tank I got through mail that didn’t shatter, because the glass is so thick and high quality. Also, this is the first all-in-one tank that I didn’t struggle setting up at all. Fairly easy to set up and the water flow into the tank seems perfect for a betta! Not too weak, not too strong. I literally just set it up though and I’ll be adding my betta once the tank cycles. If my feelings on this tank and filter changes once I get everything officially set up, I’ll update my review. So far so good! Filter Tip: Instead of paying every few months for the filter cartridge, just take it all out and put in a sponge. I use Aquaclear foam (something like that) on Amazon. UPDATE: Okay yeah the intake and outtake flow is pretty strong in this tank so i had to cover them with sponges. I’m not really sure how to cover the outtake flow (or whatever you call it) but I have a temporary setup for it. I’m planning to weigh the sponge down with a more natural looking rock soon but even then, the huge sponge makes it look ridiculous/unaesthetic. I love everything about this tank except the flow of the filter.