Marineland Portrait Glass LED Aquarium Kit, 5 Gallons, Hidden Filtration,Black

This is the first tank I’ve owned and so far I’m very happy with it. The first two days you could hear the filter. But by the 3rd day we can not hear it at all. It’s become so quiet that I check to even make sure it’s on. Which is amazing. There are only 3 things I wish could be improved. The first was mentioned in many comments, it’s hard to lift the lid as there no handle or anything. But it’s sleek so I’m not upset. I just added a little command hook to grab. The next is that the cover to the back filter on mine is warped so it does not lay flat. It’s curved upwards. Not the worst thing but I’m ocd so it bothers me a bit as that leaves gaps for dust to get in. And last, the light. It’s not “white” and blue. It’s BLUE and less blue. This is not a deal breaker as I can always get a different light. As a first time tank owner I think it’s a great start to learning how to keep a fish and plants happy. 😃

—— INITIAL IMPRESSIONSMine arrived perfectly. Which is more than I can say about the two attempts at purchasing a Fluval Spec from Amazon. The Marineland Portrait is well packaged.The curved glass looks fantastic. Think of it as one big shot glass. It makes the tank feel very high end. Although the glass is of lower quality than say a Fluval Spec V - it is still very clear and very thick comparatively.I have only two real criticism of this unit. My first is about the black plastic cover in the back, as others have said, feels flimsy. Marineland; if you are reading reviews, you should switch this out to a ticket matte ABS plastic.My second is the “clear silicone” on the back divider panel. This is nit-picky, but I think black would have been a better choice. Whenever I look into the tank, it stands out in the back corners.Overall though, this feels like a quality tank. I’ve had no issues with mine to date. I’m very happy with the product. It’s a great looking tank for a desktop. And it looks high end.I do have two recommendations for anyone who wants to hot rod this tank down below.—— MY SETUPI purchased this tank to do my first planted. I’m using “Fluval Plant and Shrimp Stratum” as my substrate, and then I have some Dragon stone and a dozen plants. The Marmimo moss ball and Frogbit are my favorites.In my tank I have 1 Red Veiltail Betta, 13 Red Cherry Shrimp, 2 Apple Snails & 1 Nerite Snail.—— RECOMMENDATIONSSo - if you wanted a planted tank, you can do better for the lighting. Both the “ONF Nan”o & the “Fluval Plant Bluetooth Nano” will fit the back of this tank and allow you to use the back cover.I purchase the Fluval Nano (shown in my photos) as you get better bang for your buck with it. The ONF Nano might be better looking though. That’s up to you if, should you decide to upgrade.If you are going to have plants, you’re going to want to upgrade the light. The OE light is “Ok” but it’s not going to provide you with the kind of lighting you want to grow things.The second thing I did was improve the filtration. I chucked what it came with, and purchased some foam filter material to fill int he whole back panel where they just provide you a small block of it. On the front, I chucked that charcoal filter and did a DIY water polisher. The water first passes through “inTank Aquarium and Pond Value Pack - Bonded Blue & White Poly Filter Floss Pads 600-square-inches” and then through “Polishing Filter Pad 100 Micron - 1 Pack -Superior Aquarium Prefilter Media - Cut to Fit 24" by 36" for Fresh Water & Saltwater Fish Tanks, Aquaculture, Hydroponics - Made in the USA”In the compartment, I’m using a filter bag filled with Fluval Biomax Ceramic Ring.This is working very well. My water stays crystal clear with the polishing material and the parameters are doing very well with the biomaterial.Like a few other reviewers, I did drill some small holes into the return tubing to reduce the flow for my Betta and to agitate the water in the back panel.This is a MUST DO IMO for this tank. Drill some holes people!—— FINAL THOUGHTSI can’t recommend this tank enough. I’m just some random dude on the internet. But this has been a very enjoyable purchase. This tank provides some solid value for the price.

I received tank 2021 and finally found a space to set it up several weeks back. Never had a tank this tiny -it's the small house, small space situation.It is very easy to assemble and I had no problems following the instructions until trying to adjust the filter - hands (at least mine) won't fit in back compartment that houses the filter tubing.Looks very nice, modern and sleek.. I like way it sits on the base and and LED lights (settings) bring the inside really to life and let you choose bright, low or off.I don't especially like the back plastic? that covers/is the back wall - since it is harder to clean then the glass. But on the plus side it really is a perfect backdrop to see your fish clearly.I definitely don't like the removable black plastic lid that covers the filter compartment; it doesn't stay put any time I lift/move the glass top; just slightly bumping it dislodges it and find it tiresome trying to get it back on flush and centered after filter changes or because it was knocked back by closing or opening glass top.This really could use an attached or hinged closure in my opinion. Since my tank is over a year old I'm not sure if that is still an issue with the newer tanks.Also thought that the glass lid should have a lift help to make it easier to remove it or just lift it up to feed.I was pleasantly surprised how quiet the filter works - and that the return nozzle can be moved to exactly how/where I want the stream to return - my fish really love the current that is to the top half in my tank with how I positioned it.Since it is a strong return current I bought a small feeding ring which keeps food waste down and more flakes from being pulled into filter - plus the fish expect their food there after just a few times using.To keep the glass clean I bought a small magnet cleaner (was a new thing to me - absolutely love it) - back wall I clean witha wand-style blade.On the whole this is a great starter tank, that could have some improvements on some parts but is easy on the eyes, easy to enjoy and pretty easy to maintain from my experience so far..I would recommend this tank to start getting the feel of caring for an aquarium, how much care (maintenance time )it requires and best part: how much enjoyment/satisfaction even one or more little fish (or other aquatic creatures) can provide us with.If I had space probably would buy another one; I would gift it (to family/friends interested in starting a fish tank).