MarineLand Contour Glass Aquarium Kit With Rail Light

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 waited a month before writing this review to test the product, and let me say, this tank is amazing! I bought the 3 gallon for my Betta. Yes, I do realize that it’s a bit small, but I am moving into a dorm and refused to settle for a bowl. Overall, it is the perfect size for what I need it for! I did some extensive research before purchasing and this tank has lived up to my expectations. The viewing is crystal clear, the lights are super bright (or calming, if using the nighttime setting), and filtration is essentially silent. I have had no issues with it. I went from a Biorb Tube to this, and even though it was a downgrade in size, this tank is so much better. The filters are way cheaper ($5 for a 3 pack vs. $13 for 1 Biorb filter) and the tank does not get dirty as quickly (it’s been a month and the tank is still crystal clear, vs my Biorb which would be filled with algae by week 3). I find that all you need to clean this tank is a turkey baster to suck up the droppings! A lot of other reviewers mentioned the filter being too strong… I didn’t experience that problem. I put it on the lowest setting and pointed the nozzle upwards and have had no issues.
However, there are a few ‘imperfections’ to the design of this tank. 1) The condensation issue- like other reviewers have mentioned, the glass lid collects condensation almost instantly. This isn’t the biggest issue, but I feel like it would just take a few small holes spread evenly across the lid to fix it, which is a flaw in design on Marineland’s part. 2) the black “cover” that goes over the back of the tank is a joke. It isn’t secure no matter what I try, and just flips around. Again, the design could be better. And 3) the overhead light. So the light is actually very nice and illuminates the tank beautifully but the lamp itself is very flimsy. When I unboxed it, it was twisted out of shape, so I had to bend it repeatedly to get it straight. Either the packaging or the material was to blame. Not complete deal-breakers, but problems that could be addressed to satisfy the customers.
Overall, it’s a very nice tank and definitely worth the investment. My little guy has been making bubble nests bigger than he has made in years!

Looks good but first the light did not work then after two hours the water pump failed tongue look nice though Quite disappointing and to top it all off the light field I went and bought a new light at a cost of £25 extra that was before the pump failed so all in all not a good product

This tank is well worth the money. Excellent quality and easy setup. Cannot even hear the pump running. Flow is a little too much for our Betta but bought a ornament to break up the flow and is perfect now.