5 gallon kit?

[Gideyon]

After we moved to a new home, we just don't have a place for a tank. So we were thinking of a 5 gallon.  They're too small for a sponge (to my liking at least).  So I was wondering, are there any 5 gallon kits that have a low flow filter (for a betta)?   

Also, one reason we've been hesitant to have tanks are kids who could potentially throw things. So I also considered acrylic.   Are there ways to get the scratches off, or once it's scratched, it's there for good?  If the latter, I need a glass 5 gallon. 

I can find tanks, but not reliable kits. Or if someone knows of a good HOB for a small tank and low flow, maybe I can put something together. 

[Tlindsey]

On 2/2/2024 at 7:50 AM, Gideyon said:

After we moved to a new home, we just don't have a place for a tank. So we were thinking of a 5 gallon.  They're too small for a sponge (to my liking at least).  So I was wondering, are there any 5 gallon kits that have a low flow filter (for a betta)?   

Also, one reason we've been hesitant to have tanks are kids who could potentially throw things. So I also considered acrylic.   Are there ways to get the scratches off, or once it's scratched, it's there for good?  If the latter, I need a glass 5 gallon. 

I can find tanks, but not reliable kits. Or if someone knows of a good HOB for a small tank and low flow, maybe I can put something together. 

@Gideyon There are sponge filters for a 5 gallon. If glass gets  scratched the scratch will be permanent. 

[Whitecloud09]

On 2/2/2024 at 7:50 AM, Gideyon said:

After we moved to a new home, we just don't have a place for a tank. So we were thinking of a 5 gallon.  They're too small for a sponge (to my liking at least).  So I was wondering, are there any 5 gallon kits that have a low flow filter (for a betta)?   

Also, one reason we've been hesitant to have tanks are kids who could potentially throw things. So I also considered acrylic.   Are there ways to get the scratches off, or once it's scratched, it's there for good?  If the latter, I need a glass 5 gallon. 

I can find tanks, but not reliable kits. Or if someone knows of a good HOB for a small tank and low flow, maybe I can put something together. 

Yes u could get the Topfin 5 gallon all in one kit. It doesn’t come with a heater but u can find one on Amazon for super cheap! (Read the reviews though 😉) @Gideyon

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Its more spendy but worth it IMO. I have an Aquatop 7 gallon cube for my betta and I love it. I got this sponge filter: 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XZ831WR/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

which works great and is compact. I use this light:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B093GZKYM9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Both Hygger products. 

Edited February 2 by xXInkedPhoenixX

[Whitecloud09]

On 2/2/2024 at 9:44 AM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

Its more spendy but worth it IMO. I have an Aquatop 7 gallon cube for my betta and I love it. I got this sponge filter: 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XZ831WR/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

which works great and is compact. I use this light:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B093GZKYM9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Both Hygger products. 

@xXInkedPhoenixX I love that dragon! Nice tank! 

[Supermassive]

The Marina 5 gallon kit I have has an adjustable HOB. You can turn it all the way down to a trickle. Its not very customizable though.

[Whitecloud09]

On 2/2/2024 at 10:22 AM, Supermassive said:

The Marina 5 gallon kit I have has an adjustable HOB. You can turn it all the way down to a trickle. Its not very customizable though.

Yes I agree. Mine is turned really low and is to strong at the moment but it is because I put WAY To much water in it when filling the filter back up. @Supermassive

[Tony s]

Big boxes carry an in tank, low flow hang on back filter just for bettas. we used them on our first betta tanks. suction cups to tank

[Whitecloud09]

On 2/2/2024 at 10:24 AM, Tony s said:

Big boxes carry an in tank, low flow hang on back filter just for bettas. we used them on our first betta tanks. suction cups to tank

Wow. Never heard of that. Interesting….I might look into that…

[Tony s]

our first ever tanks were round 3-gallon, plastic tanks from Wm...  we used them in that. never had a fish in my life before that, now have 245 gallons in 14 tanks all over the house. the things we do for our kids,,,,

[Gideyon]

Amazon searching led me to the Marineland 5g portrait.  When researching it, one thing people said was to put holes in the tube to keep water from stagnating in the filter. Which can happen at low flow. 

 

Any experience with that?   I guess worst case you can put a bubbler in there but the that introduces an air pump. 

 

On 2/2/2024 at 10:24 AM, Tony s said:

Big boxes carry an in tank, low flow hang on back filter just for bettas. we used them on our first betta tanks. suction cups to tank

What do you mean by big boxes? 

[Tony s]

On 2/2/2024 at 2:08 PM, Gideyon said:

Amazon searching led me to the Marineland 5g portrait.  When researching it, one thing people said was to put holes in the tube to keep water from stagnating in the filter. Which can happen at low flow. 

 

Any experience with that?   I guess worst case you can put a bubbler in there but the that introduces an air pump. 

 

What do you mean by big boxes? 

petsmart/petco

[Schuyler]

I have one of those plastic all in one bow front tanks from Petco (or maybe it was PetSmart I always mix them up).

The filter is really weak and stopped working all the time so I even up tossing it and using a small sponge.

[SugarBassJoe]

On 2/2/2024 at 11:08 AM, Gideyon said:

Amazon searching led me to the Marineland 5g portrait.  When researching it, one thing people said was to put holes in the tube to keep water from stagnating in the filter. Which can happen at low flow. 

 

Any experience with that?   I guess worst case you can put a bubbler in there but the that introduces an air pump. 

The marine land is nice, thick glass with a heavy lid. Its about the size of a standard 5G standing on its side, so its footprint is minimal, I don't know about the stagnant water in the back filter since i put an air pump in there from the start, you can always find those 10G tetra air pumps on amazon for around 5-6$, there is also enough room to hide your heater back there. There are some cons though, it being taller than wide its limited on side to side swimming space, the light it comes with is not great, i would recommend upgrading it to a finnex stingray clip on. The filter pump it comes with is still to powerful for my liking for a betta, even turned all the way down, it created a significant current flow, and with the tank being a taller tank it tended to create a downward spiral current in the tank. I cut a cube of sponge and cut a slot into it to place over it and that solved that problem, otherwise i would recommend finding a less powerful water pump, and of course there is no handle on the lid, so its not as easy to take it off if you need to, i use some stick on drawer knobs with a drop of superglue to use as handles for my custom lids, i've also noticed that you'll lose water in the back filter before seeing a the water level drop in the front, something to check on if you have a longer period between water changes. Other than that i do think its a great tank with a lot of potential if your willing to work on it a little.

[Tony s]

In response to the acrylic question. yes, they can be resurfaced, but it takes lots of sanding and polishing. then getting the right epoxy back on the surface

[Galabar]

I like the Lifegard and JBJ all-in-one aquariums:

https://www.amazon.com/Lifegard-Aquatics-Gallon-Crystal-Aquarium/dp/B09MDLF53B

https://www.amazon.com/Nano-Rimless-10-Gallon-All-in-One-Aquarium/dp/B0BLT6Y6DS

Edited February 2 by Galabar

[Lonkley]

I would strongly recommend a 10 gallon instead. They are only 4 inches longer and inch wider. 

In a perfect world I'd get the co-op tanks. But they are only sold in the store.

Failing that, I would just grab the aqueous that are continuously on sale and then be irritated the lid cost twice as much.

If avoid any kit, since it just comes with garbage. Especially those moulded lids with bad proprietary lighting.

If you like rimless the UNS are really nice and come in a ton of shapes and volumes for nano tanks

Edited February 3 by Lonkley

[Gideyon]

On 2/2/2024 at 7:46 PM, Lonkley said:

I would strongly recommend a 10 gallon instead. They are only 4 inches longer and inch wider. 

In a perfect world I'd get the co-op tanks. But they are only sold in the store.

Failing that, I would just grab the aqueous that are continuously on sale and then be irritated the lid cost twice as much.

If avoid any kit, since it just comes with garbage. Especially those moulded lids with bad proprietary lighting.

If you like rimless the UNS are really nice and come in a ton of shapes and volumes for nano tanks

I already have a ten in storage. Going smaller because this will not be on the ground floor, so the less water on the floor in a potential leak/break. 

[Whitecloud09]

On 2/2/2024 at 8:59 PM, Gideyon said:

I already have a ten in storage. Going smaller because this will not be on the ground floor, so the less water on the floor in a potential leak/break. 

I like 5 gallon tanks. They are good and if I get a good quality one you will be just fine! Do u know what u might get ? @Gideyon? 

[Gideyon]

On 2/2/2024 at 9:14 PM, Bigdog99 said:

I like 5 gallon tanks. They are good and if I get a good quality one you will be just fine! Do u know what u might get ? @Gideyon? 

Leading heavily towards the Marineland portrait. Just worried it might be too high for a betta.   Maybe a plakat will be okay

[Whitecloud09]

Yes if the betta is healthy than I wouldn’t stress to much about the marineland potrait being to big. It is a nice tank! @Gideyon

On 2/2/2024 at 10:51 PM, Gideyon said:

Leading heavily towards the Marineland portrait. Just worried it might be too high for a betta.   Maybe a plakat will be okay

 

[Matt B]

I like this subject  and reading about all the different options out there! I recently put some pics together for a friend,  she was wanting to know what I was doing with this 6.8 Imagitarium cube. She has a 5 gal cube and loves it. Shrimp and plants, very basic. So the tank is great! I got it second hand, so this was a project... So keep that in mind.   The internal filtration system was junk, removed it, (not an easy task) ..The light was junk, replaced it.... lid was broken so I just use a piece of plastic from a rubbermaid container, nice and lightweight,  so when I  drop it on my foot, no problem. .  I really like a small simple cube!  This is how it's set up.....

[Herefishie]

I bought this tank on Amazon for my Betta. It has been going strong for over a year now. It doesn't come with a heater but the lid has a built-in LED light and the filter is not too strong for my betta. I don't buy the replacement filters like they want you to. I buy sheets of filter media from Cory's website and cut them to fit. Much cheaper. You can adjust the flow which is a big bonus considering it's a relatively inexpensive tank. 

[Gideyon]

Thanks for the recommendation. I did consider this as well but the acrylic scared me off with the easy potential for scratches.   I've had good experience with Aqueon HOBs, but this particular filter I'm not certain on. Seems like you got the anomaly that lasted a year 🙂

But the concept is nice.  And the horizontal space is good. 

My nudge back to Marineland is that I could possibly find a replacement water pump (which is usually the part that goes bad).  

 

On 2/7/2024 at 11:21 AM, Herefishie said:

I bought this tank on Amazon for my Betta. It has been going strong for over a year now. It doesn't come with a heater but the lid has a built-in LED light and the filter is not too strong for my betta. I don't buy the replacement filters like they want you to. I buy sheets of filter media from Cory's website and cut them to fit. Much cheaper. You can adjust the flow which is a big bonus considering it's a relatively inexpensive tank. 

 

[Gideyon]

Two things that are keeping me from pulling the trigger:

1) I wanted a lid that would have a "feeding hatch", so it'll be easier for kids to feed, and I could place an automatic feeder over the opening when traveling. But this glass lid obviously makes both difficult. 

2) I'm really worried about the flow. As much as I baffled my HOB for my 10g, though the top would be still, I felt like there was too much current underneath.   

So I got to thinking...  If I took out the water pump, but put a compact sponge filter inside with the outtake fitting into the outlet of the original pump, would it be strong enough to bring water through the intake of the wall?  I'll likely put floss sheets there.

Regarding the lid, I may have to just make my own which will look terrible. 

 

I've seen a 5 gallon tank with a nice flat hood with small filter attached. No idea where they got it from. They had it gifted. But the flow of the filter was perfect for a betta, and it was flat with a hatch. I guess knowing that exists out there somewhere, makes it hard to commit to the Portrait.