Marineland Contour 3 Aquarium Kit 3 Gallons, Rounded Glass Corners, Includes LED Lighting

I noticed, when researching tanks I wanted to buy, that the 3 and the 5 gallon reviews and Q&As are totally mixed together, so I want to state right out that this is a review of the 5 gallon tank. This is a beautiful tank. I was looking for a glass tank after totally destroying more than one acrylic hex tank trying to get algae off the sides of the glass. While you have to be careful handling it when you set it up, glass is SO much easier to clean. Being a glass worker, I have to say I'm really impressed with the curved edges on this tank. It isn't an easy or inexpensive thing to do. I actually questioned whether this was real glass or plastic because of it. But it is real glass and it is curved without distortions that might happen when you bend glass. It gives it a lovely, graceful and expensive look. I like a naturally planted tank and was concerned about the amount of light I'd get from the LED strip. It looks like it will be fine for low light aquarium plants, like ferns and anubias. I will update this if the plants don't thrive. Even if they don't, attaching an additional light strip to this tank will be very easy and will not detract from the beauty of the tank. The light strip contains both clear lights and blue lights. When the clear lights are on, the blue lights are also on. It really enhances the colors in the tank. You can run the blue lights independently of the clear lights for a nighttime effect. This isn't important if you have a freshwater tank, but would be very important if you have a saltwater tank. I did overestimate the amount of gravel needed for this tank because the tank is divided differently than other tanks I've had and I thought I'd need more. When I clean the tank, I'll pull some gravel out of it. I'm a little torn about that because I have Dwarf African Frogs in there and they swim to the top to gulp air. My excess gravel shortens that distance for them to swim. There have been a ton of questions asking about the dimensions of the tank. The answers are all over the board. So here are the real dimensions: The overall dimensions of the tank, including the back area where the filtration is but without the stand or the light bar are: 9 5/8" square by 14" tall. The stand adds an additional 1 1/4" in height. The light bar adds yet another 3 7/8" in height. With everything attached, the height is 19 3/8". The glass is 3/16" thick and is not tempered (since people were asking. BTW, the only thing tempering does is keeps the glass from breaking into large pieces when it breaks. It does NOT make glass less breakable.) The filtration box is 2 1/4" deep. This reduces the dimensions where your fish will swim to 9 5/8" wide by 7 3/8" deep. Having said that, it really doesn't fell that small, for some reason. It should feel narrow, like a show tank, but it doesn't. Maybe it's because the back is black and gives the illusion of depth. I don't know.I wanted to put a betta in this tank, so I was concerned with water flow from the pump since bettas don't really like a lot of current to swim against. The instructions said to start the pump at its maximum setting, which I did. Wow!!!! WAY too much current. If you have any really fat fish that you want to put on an exercise program, put them in this tank with the pump set at max!!! I turned it way down to minimum. There is current, but not much and the betta is very happy and swimming around happily. Now I need to see if it's enough to keep the tank clean! I might have to gradually increase the flow to find that ideal meeting ground between clean tank and happy betta. I will update this if I need to increase the flow because a lot of people want to keep bettas in this tank. Also, there is a sliding glass canopy over the glass part of the tank. Since I have a betta, I am keeping it slid backwards about an inch so that fresh air can get in. I am a little afraid that if I keep it slid closed, the betta won't be able to get quality air to breathe when it goes to the surface to take a breath. I'm really happy I have that option without having to mess with the look of the tank.One thing that people have been saying in answered questions and in reviews is that they have been putting heaters in the filtration area. The instructions clearly state not to do this. The filtration area is plastic. NOT a good idea to put a heater in there. I got the heater that was recommended with the tank, the Tetra 26447 Submersible Aquarium Heater, 50-Watt. It's black and, when put into the tank against the black background, horizontally the way Marineland illustrates in their directions, it is virtually invisible. There is a notch between the main tank and the filtration area for the cord to sit in flat. The literature with the heater says it keeps the temperature at 78 degrees. There is no place to adjust this. Checking the water a day later, the water is exactly 78 degrees. I like my water a little warmer, but 78 will keep them happy, so I'm not going to change it.Finally, the filtration system. There is a carrier that holds a filter cartridge, labeled as a "Z" cartridge and a black bio sponge. The "z" cartridge looks exactly the same as their Hex 5 cartridge. (This is a good thing since I had just purchased 15 new Hex 5 cartridges!) If you want or need more filtration, there is enough room to put another type of filtration medium in there. The back area is very tight. I am a small woman with small hands (stop laughing now). It's tight even for me. For big guys, you're going to have problems if you want to reach down in there. It shouldn't be a problem because the filter carrier is pulled up for changing without needing to put your hands in there, but I just wanted to warn you. Eventually, you will want to break the tank down for thorough cleaning and you'd better have the long sponges ready because you sure aren't going to have your hands in there. I almost took a star off because of this, but I like the tank so much, and this is not a major thing, so I'm not going to do it. An additional inch would have been helpful, though.All in all, I am really happy with this tank. It has SO much going for it. I'm glad I didn't get the 3 gallon tank because some of the things that are different, such as a transformer for the lights vs no transformer, larger pump, etc. I highly recommend your getting it if you are looking for a beautiful tank with a small footprint.UPDATE: I just downgraded this by a star. I've had this tank for a month and the filter pump is failing. It's pushing out very little current, no matter what setting I put it on. I called what they call "customer service" this morning. NOT a pleasant experience. A person answered and I told him that I had the 5 gallon Marineland Contour Glass Aquarium kit for 3 weeks and that the filter pump was failing. He proceeded to tell me that there was no filter pump. I was looking at the instruction pamphlet that came with the tank and it was clearly labeled "filter pump". He asked what kind of filter it took. I told him it took a z cartridge, but it wasn't the filter that had failed..it was the pump. He kept on arguing with me that there wasn't a filter pump. I asked him if he was at all familiar with the unit I was talking about. He then told me that he had no idea what model I had. So I again told him what tank I had. He asked again how many gallons it was. He asked again how long I had it. I have a problem with a customer service agent who is given all that information at the beginning of the call and it was never listened to. And then, he sat there and argued with me that there wasn't a pump when he didn't even know what tank I had!!! I finally told him that what failed was the part that moved the water that was plugged into the wall. I didn't care WHAT he called it. Then he asked how many gallons the tank was again. AAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!! He asked my name and he immediately found my order on his computer. It would have been so simple if he had done that in the first place..then he would have had ALL his questions answered in front of him. But then, he wouldn't have had a chance to argue with me. Any way, he told me that they'd ship out a new pump in about 4 days. I asked him if he thought the fish would last in a tank with no flow for a week. He said they'd be fine if I changed 20% of the water every other day. Gee thanks. I asked if he could expedite the shipping and he said no. So, I thought I'd pass this along to you so you'd be prepared if you need to call about your tank. Take a tranquilizer before you call.UPDATE #2: I received a phone call from Marineland this morning. They were very apologetic and wanted to make it right. They listened to everything and said they would be speaking with that representative. They are sending me some filters as an apology, even though I told them it wasn't necessary. I'm happy to see they still care.

I have a 5 gallon and now a 3 gallon. The 5 gallon I use for a pea puffer. The 3 gallon will eventually be used for a micro like a scarlet badis or Annie's goby. I really like the "sump" area in the back of the tank but it does need to be modified. I put another piece of filter material to minimize the gap space of the lower intake (swirl pattern). I did this to be nice to my shrimp/micro fish and to block large debris going straight into the fine filtration and clogging it up. I think this is even more important in the 3 gallon as it is located very close to the substrate. My only two big complaints are the pump and light. The light I replaced with a better model for plants that had a timer. The pump does not adjust on either my 5 or 3 gallon and is hurricane force. I angle the exhaust upward just to slow the flow. In the 3 gallon it is also partially blocked by the large piece of drift wood I put in. Even on the lowest setting it is blasting water out.

My snails are very happy, soon to be shrimp too.But oh my gosh you guys do not get this for a beta, it is way too small for a beta fish. Beta fish require at LEAST a 5 gallon and that's a very argumented at least. 10 gallon is recommended.This tank is amazing for snails and shrimp, and maybe some guppies, but honestly I think that's even pushing it.So if you love shrimps and snails like me, this is a perfect tank to home them in.

Update: Aug 27 2024I felt the need to update this review, as a lot has happened with this tank. It has brought me endless joy, and for that, I have revised my star rating from 3 to 4, based on the quality of the glass tank alone. No leaks, super clear and still unscratched, and I have converted this tank into a saltwater pico aquarium.I did end up ripping out the rear chamber, left it a freshwater for a long time, then installed a DIY cascading filter chamber in the back corner to take up as little space as possible with a new stronger light to support corals. Considering how giving this glass tank has been, how nice it has looked the whole time, I can forgive the filter issues - I rarely buy all in one kits anyway so the tank itself was the boon I'd hoped it would be. I have never regretted buying this tank even once, I've had a blast messing with it. It's a -great- tank for the beginner, but also for those interested in outfitting DIY builds.------------------------------------First off, this isn't a bad tank, but there are a couple of things that needed to be adjusted and added, and there's a little bit of misconception in the available tank space for the fish. I've had it for 5, nearly 6 months now and I feel I can give a decent review of it as someone with a lot of aquarium experience.I splurged on this tank as a reputable brand because I wanted a lovely desk tank that would be large enough for a betta and a snail or a few shrimp, depending on how things worked out. The light was not bright enough to really see well, but purchasing a new light wasn't a big deal, I knew what I wanted. The plastic top piece where the filter goes was bent and I couldn't get it to lay flat so I had to remove it and leave the back open.Contrary to some reviews, you can get the filter low enough for a betta, it just takes a few tries and a little patience. I didn't have to stuff or baffle the outflow with foam which I tried initially and didn't like the results, and once you realize just how tiny of a change can make a big difference in the flow, you can get something that works.The biggest problem for me and this tank is that the back partition that hides the filter contraption effectively takes up a half gallon of the available space for your critters. I measured and remeasured to make certain. The half gallon is sill there purely in the support it provides to help keep the tank balanced and seasoned, but otherwise it's a completely empty compartment with no other use that is kept from the available swim space. I was able to put the heater in the back, but that is somewhat moot as these small heaters take up no space and are not an eyesore. Even half a gallon makes a difference in small takes like this.Overall I think I'm disappointed. I've started to hear some grinding in the motor, very faint, but I'm sort of waiting at this point for it to go out and then I'll either break the tank down and rip out the separation to see about installing a different filter, or buy something else entirely. It looks gorgeous, but looks are only part of the battle. The picture shown includes the new light, which is fully adjustable and much more conducive to plant growth.