biOrb Halo 30 Aquarium with MCR Lighting - 8 Gallon, Grey

The media could not be loaded.  We REALLY love this and get lots of compliments, both in person and in photos! Fish seem to love it! We are now up to 6 guppies and they swim around it like crazy. Filled with plants and decorations it looks really cool. We used the bacteria packet it came with and after one month of use with three minnows and two ghost shrimp (for part of the time, see below), the water tested very well and only needed slight adjusting to add the next phase fish (guppies).The only reasons I down mark 1 star is:1) biOrb decorations are EXTREMELY expensive for what you get. They fit the space well and look good from a distance, but close up it is easy to tell they are fake, moulded plastic or polyester, and they don't seem as delicate as they should for such a small space. They haven't speared any of our fish (yet) but don't seem very comfortable to swim around.2) the aerator contains a motor and air intake that sits outside the Orb and must be raised above the tank itself (in case of power loss) and it is pretty loud. Not like a jet engine, but more like a constant low hum in your space that is almost as annoying as a very loud noise.3) the filter does a great job of keeping the tank clean, but either it (or the bacteria?) killed our two ghost shrimp. We were able to fish out a couple of chunks, but the good news is, the filter and bacteria did a great job and most of the parts were sucked away.NOTE: do not use shrimp in this tank. For whatever reason, they don't work.If I had to do over, I would have tried harder to get real plants and created my own rock centerpiece out of real rocks. But, with a few modifications, it should be an enjoyable experience for you, plus it looks great in just about any setting.

Coolest fish tank ever! Everyone lives my penthouse fish tank! Makes theirs look like a trailer park!

I recently bought this tank because I wanted to begin a freshwater aquarium in my apartment. I am currently using this 4 gallon tank to house one betta fish and two amano shrimp. This is an absolutely gorgeous aquarium and is mesmerizing to watch, but also requires a lot of maintenance. This is the most beautiful small aquarium that I've seen, but I'm not sure if the added maintenance and the more expensive accessories make the purchase worth it.Pros:Most beautiful 4 gallon tankIncludes ceramic mediaIncludes water conditioner and biological booster to get startedDistortion makes fish look largerMagnetic lidBeautiful LED lightsRemote control for lightsSilent airpumpEasy to follow instructions and setupCons:Filter current is too harsh for bettaFilter changes release gross things into waterCumbersome to clean due to small hole on topMagnetic lid cannot close correctly if you have a submersible water heater or anything that requires an outletCan only use large pebbles on top of the ceramic mediaCannot plant tank without hindering undergravel filterExpensive accessoriesThis tank includes ceramic media that you must use to ensure that the undergravel filtration works as intended. Do not use small gravel on top of the ceramic media as it might get stuck in the filtration system (I unfortunately learned this after the fact). Additionally, the ceramic media that this comes with is very jagged and may potentially scratch your betta, and too little of it comes with the tank so you must buy an additional pack. The ceramic media is essential to your tank working the correct way as it allows good bacteria to flourish to help break down the waste of your fish. With that said, say goodbye to the idea of planting this aquarium as the ceramic media does not root plants very well.The air pump is housed on rubber feet so it is virtually silent, unlike the complaints I've read about the Biorb classic. Unless the air pump is knocked over on its side (which never happens from the vibrations), it is minimal and very quiet.The acrylic distorts the fish, but in a sense this is a good thing because it also magnifies the contents of the tank. The fish therefore can look extremely large and it's dazzling to see the contents of the tank in all of its glory.To replace the filter, you need to disassemble your entire aquascape and the gunk that it releases unfortunately requires you to do an almost full water change.There is a hole at the top of the tank that is big enough to fit even large hands, however it is difficult to maneuver around to set up your aquascape or do proper cleaning.The biorb accessories are extremely expensive and you need to make sure to buy plastic plants that will be compatible with the biorb. For example, I got a bunch of silk plants with a solid, flat base and they looked absolutely ridiculous in the biorb unless buried in gravel. The middle sculptures for your centerpiece will cost you a pretty penny, and are at least $20-200.The lights are absolutely dazzling. You have so many different LED options to accentuate your aquascape, however I mostly use the white and purple because the contents of my aquarium look best in those colors. It comes with a RFID remote that is also dimmable which is pretty nice. I turn on the white light during the daytime because my Biorb is housed in a darker area of my home and turn off the lights at night to help my betta get on a regular sleep schedule.This is a small detail, but the lid has a magnet so it is satisfying to close it. If you buy any in-aqaurium accessories that require a plug (such as a heater), the lid will instead become very awkward as you will need to close it onto a cord.For a betta fish, the current of the aquarium is too strong. You would have to baffle the bubble tube, but then the filtration would not work as well. I countered this issue by buying a floating betta long so that my fish could have a reverie away from the current. I am slightly worried that the strong current will stress out my male betta as he won't be able to build any of his bubble nests.If you want to save a LOT of money, you can reuse the filters by rinsing it off with old tank water, just make sure not to rinse it under the tap as it can potentially kill off beneficial bacteria within the tank. If you're replacing the filter completely, instead cut off half of the old sponge and place it in with half of the new one so that you don't completely deplete the tank of the good bacteria housed within the sponge. Using a completely new sponge can change the chemistry of your nanotank and potentially harm your fish. Make sure that you also buy some activated carbon and zeolite blends to refill the charcoal at the bottom of the filter every 4 weeks; the mixture itself will help neutralize the ammonia.As an avid Amazon shopper, I rely heavily on reviews to research before purchasing items. I purchased this item with my own money. I want to help others make more informed purchasing decisions by providing reviews that accurately describe the product and my experiences with it. I have no relationships with this seller, nor am I compensated on how people vote: if you learned anything helpful about this product from my review, please click the yes button, and if you did not learn anything new, please click the no button. Your vote will help me pinpoint what types of reviews people think are most useful. Please feel free to give me any feedback or ask any question so that I could provide more information to better assist you.

The media could not be loaded.  SECOND UPDATE: same thing happened to one of our Danios. This time the Danio was alive, and we had to empty the whole tank to get him out. He wasn’t in the box but instead out of it. The air pump was on for these fish, he wouldn’t have been able to swim through the tube against the current. I don’t know what’s happening. We really want to love this tank. We’ve now but the filter/foam piece in, used their rocks, and have the air pump on again. This is frustrating.UPDATE: we had the aquarium for about 1 week. While going to say goodnight to our fish we noticed him missing. The next morning I emptied all the water and took all the decor out only to find him under all the rocks and INSIDE the filter container. HOW?! I’m so upset. But for buying this tank, he likely would have still been alive. We don’t even understand how he got into the container. The only way in would have been the air tube. He still would have had to swim all the way down, and bypass the white stick in the middle of it. Such a disappointment, my four year old was in tears when we couldn’t find him. We’ve since cleaned it out and bought a few danios, but if we have a repeated mistake, the tank will go back.——I chose this specific aquarium for its “space” like design. To me, it resembled a rocket ship and my 4 year old has a space themed bedroom. It was the perfect addition and serves as an interactive “night light”.We’ve always owned bettas, most living on average 3 years. We’ve always used a 5 gallon bowl with no filter, heater, or air pump. We do complete bowl changes every 3-4 weeks. It works for us and our fish have always seemed happy.I was looking for something a little more interactive. This specific beta we’ve had for 1 year and adore. My intent was to use only the light and possibly the air pump depending on the noise level as it would be right beside my kiddo as he slept. We had no intent of using the filter due to the extra maintenance.(1) - I thought I had received a dud as the lights weren’t coming on when I had first set it up. At first I thought maybe I put the batteries into the remote wrong, I kept flicking the switch on and off, and nothing was happening. After about 30 minutes it was turning on. I have no idea why this was, but it’s now working perfectly.(2) - The amount of space you have to put your hand into is limited. It made arranging the decor a little tricky.(3) - I purchased the biOrb centre decoration that covers the filter/air tube. When looking they seems to range between $40.00 - $100.00 +(4) - Some described a warped look due to the acrylic bowl, I personally don’t see much of that. My fish and our decor appear normal size.(5) - Initially I had the air pump turned on and thought it really added something special to the aquarium, but I believe the current it was creating was to strong for our beta. I’ve since turned it off because I didn’t want to stress him out. The noise was a minimal “hum”.(6) we purchased it on sale at $129.00 and that seems fair for what you’re receiving. Initially I was looking at more expensive tanks and I feel like I really received a deal.Finally, if you’re a bowl fish owner like myself and are looking for something a little extra, this is a great option. My fish appears happy and my son has something beautiful to fall asleep to.

Its a 4 gallon Aquarium, thus virtually the only fish that it can reasonably accommodate is a Betta, no issues there as that was my intent.The issues:Firstly, the tank opening is far to small, and over all the biggest design flaw. It is very difficult to perform maintenance on if you have large hands. It being a Micro Aquarium, means that it will tend to need more maintenance to keep water parameters. I feel like I'm building a ship in a bottle, and I don't believe it needed such a small inlet to maintain the aesthetic. This is the number one issue, and the main reason why, if I went back in time I would have purchased a Penn-Plex AquaSphere over this model, as it has a much winder opening.Secondly, the Halo 15 specifically, does not include Day/Night Light cycle, despite it being plastered over most of their materials; you've got to dig around to find this. Not having a Day/Night Cycle is an egregious oversight, because fish need day and night like any other animal. Now you might be thinking, "want not add a timer", the problem with that is the MCR light has a digital override. So you can turn the Light switch ON/OFF, but it won't maintain it's state, the digital remote determines it's state, and once it's powered off, whether by remote, switch, or pulling the power source, it will be set off. Thus the MCR light actively prevents you from setting a Day or Night cycle on your aquarium. Effectively they have forced me to remember to turn the lights on/off for my fish everyday, which is something that I can do while feeding him, but there's a high possibility I'll forget to turn it off later.Thirdly, as I said previously, the 4 Gallon is typically only suited for a Betta, but the Sponge/Airstone combination is not. Specifically, the Air pump, which is far to powerful an agitator for a Four Gallon Betta Tank. Betta fish like calm water, particularly the long-finned variety, they can't handled being jostled, especially agitation at the top of the water, where Betta's prefer to be, with respect to their Labyrinth organ. This is less an ordeal, as you can invest in a miniature air valve to cut and section between your air hose to lower the air flow, but no such valve is included standard, nor does it allow precision, and obviously BioOrb did not opt to include a premium air pump with integral pressure control.Fourth, the Ceramic Media is to sharp, and not enough. As it is a micro tank, it needs significant Biofiltration, thus the Ceramic Media needs to blanket the tank prior to any capping substrate, which ought to be sparse. There isn't enough included, and what is included is sharp, which is bad for any fish, but again specifically long-finned Betta are going to be in danger of fin tears. The media of course can be replaced, and I have done so, again as above buying a third party solution, like soft porous round Ceramic Media.Fifthly, there is no included heater. Again, per BioOrbs own admission the 4 Gallon is mostly only suitable for a single Betta or nano fish/shrimp/galaxy Rasbora. Betta are tropical fish, and should have steamy 78-82 F water, and yet there is no integrated heater included. There's apparently a purchasable heater, that can be integrated, but I don't see any available for purchase any longer, it appears to most likely be discontinued. This means we need a third party heater, a heater that will look bulbous in a tank that magnifies appearance of size.Issues Three through Five can be worked around, thus they are not as critical, however there's no reason not to charge more, and include proper solutions to the above problems, as the market for these tanks tend to be for a premium user experience in the first place.Issue number Two (if you own a Halo 15) theoretically should be fixable with a third party solution, but amazingly, has been engineered to not be. Issue number one cannot be solved, and must be worked around.Aesthetically the tank is pleasing, but there are more options for aesthetically pleasing tanks, that one should consider that cover the Halo 15's intended purpose.