Lifegard Aquatics Full-View Aquarium with Built-in Back Filter- Patented Angle Design - Empty - No Accessories - 5 Gallons

I have now had this aquarium for five years and it has held up great. The unique slanted front truly gives a unique viewing experience, while also still being glass which has many advantages over acrylic, and you are still able to use both magnetic algae scrapers and a razor blade easily enough. The glass is a little thin, so I suggest using caution when transporting and cleaning the lid. Again though, no cracking or leaking issues to date.Additionally, LifeGard has great customer service, I had lost a part and LifeGard aquatics was quick to get back to me. But, there are a few potential issues with this aquarium. First, is that the pump it comes with is quite strong and I do not believe there is any adjustment dial, I suggest replacing the pump if you have delicate fish(the tubing is very standard 1/2 inch, nearly any ~50w pump on the market will work.) I also wish the tubing for the outlet fit more snugly, as it has come loose before. Finally, the lid would be greatly improved with a cutout for feeding, which could also serve as a handle because it is otherwise difficult to remove.

*update*Came home to the filter pump making a lot of noise. Removed it to check for debris and inspected impeller with no apparent cause for this. Brand new impellers need a little time to condition and 'gunk up' but this seems a little too loud. Giving it more time with fingers crossed.*original*This will be my 6th or 7th aquarium (not concurrently) so I can give my impression from a moderate level of experience. First, I was worried it would arrive damaged because the angles and 'uniqueness'. The outer shipping box was in tact, but the Lifegard box kind of disintegrated as I opened it. Everything was in good condition, though very dusty. After a complete rinse and test of the pump, I was confident this 7gallon will work well for my plans. I want to address a few elements from other reviews. I'm waiting to fill the tank till I can get my power situation figured out, I think I'm relying too heavily one circuit and may need to spread out my items. I'm also waiting for plants to arrive.Glue quality - The aquarium is sealed with a black sealant I assume is silicon, but the bead is intact and I didn't see any signs of leaking in my initial test. The quality has been questioned, you can feel a bit of sealant if you run your finger along the exterior of the joints. After filling up the aquarium, the sealant almost vanishes. Unless it leaks, don't let this bug you too much.Glass Lid - The glass lid rests on plastic flanges that rest on the edge of the rim. These clips are quite a bit better than other's, for example the clips on the Eheim Aquastyle that pop up if you're not careful lifting the lid. I recommend making a knob or handle with suguru or something similar to help you lift the lid. I have some curious cats so I count it as a plus that they don't have an easy way to snack on my aquatic buddies.Substrate - I'm too intimidated by marine aquariums still so this will be a planted freshwater tank for neocardinia or cardinia, I've not decided. I will need to use sponge on the back waterfall valve to prevent fry from using the filter as a playground. I added an 8.8lb bag of Fluval stratum. With a mild slope, I have about 1-1.5" substrate in the front, and just enough to cover the rear port and airpump hole.Size - I originally wanted to replace my Fluval Edge on an end table that turned out to be narrower than the full aquarium's depth. The edge get's to stay where it is, and I'll be moving a moss terrarium to accommodate the space.Light - The light appears pretty standard for a low profile aquarium LED. Similar to other styles, the rails have to backstop, so if you're not careful you can dump your light in the tank. I also had to bend my rails to be square with the glass, but that seems par for the course with these.Overall impression - Beautiful. I look forward to having a little freshwater shrimp community in the coming months. If I continue to be impressed with this tank, I may just have to break down my fear of saltwater aquariums and explore the idea of another one, possibly the 5gallon.

This is a convenient way to get your feet wet with a saltwater nano reef tank, at a reasonable price. If you add one or two small fish (such as small clown, lawnmower blenny, or damsel), expect to change out 2 gallons of water a week to keep up with the bioload. A good reef salt will also keep your water properly replenished with elements for your corals. Leather corals, green star polyps, and mushrooms will all do well even with inexpensive lighting, as the tank is shallow. You can fit cheap filter floss and a sponge in the overflow/intake section (to the left), and there is additional room in the ‘sump’ panel to hold a bag of charcoal or other media like Phosguard. Besides a heater, I would highly recommend a nano skimmer; the one from Coral Life will fit inside the sump area. Please note: Do NOT attempt to keep a large fish in this tank (which will only have about 5 usable gallons for the wish to swim after sand/rock). The filefish and angel in my photos are only in those tanks for a brief period of observation, before returning to my 90 gallon tank!

Purchased the 7gallon tank with integrated filter end of January 2018. The pump that came with the tank was weak and needed to be replaced to properly filter the aquarium, however the spacing within the separated filter space in the back is very limited making this challenging. The glass lid was extremely inconvenient as it needed to be balanced on 4 plastic clips that slide around the edge of the tank, needed to be taped in place and light removed for feedings to provide clearance. After less than 4 months on a stable flat surface not being moved, woke up this morning to an empty tank and flooded kitchen counter and floor. The glass on the bottom of the tank split in 2. Lost all celestial Pearl's, pygmy Cory's, Gertrude rainbows....not a cheap loss, and very sad. Asthetically it was beautiful, but the challenges of the tank setup combined with the glass lid fit and tank bottom splitting, I would look at other nano tanks.

The media could not be loaded. This is a fantastic fishtank; my friend has two of these kits that he’s been running heavily planted for years and I am very happy with mine. The full view effect from the angled front glass truly works as advertised and minimizes light distortion, greatly improving the viewing angle and making the tank feel bigger than it is. The included filter is silent, no exaggeration. The included light (which sells for $40 alone at the local fish store) offers a great spectrum for plants and provides the ideal level of brightness for this tank. Also it comes with a hole with airline tubing ready to go for a co2 setup if you want. Only slight improvements that could be made are that the tank has no handle or hole to lift it by, so you need to get a handle for like a dollar, and they put their unsightly logo right on the front of the tank for some reason.