VIVOSUN 3-Gallon Aquaponic Fish Tank, Hydroponic Cleaning Tank for Freshwater Fish to Feed Plants and Plants Clean Tank, Additional Thermostat, Flow Pump, and Ceramsite Included

The media could not be loaded. I decided to rehome my betta into this tank. It took me a few tries to get everything running smooth but it’s been up and going with no issues for over a week. I found the clay balls to be mildly dangerous and flooded my room once. You need to go through them on arrival and toss out any small enough to fit in the drain tube. They get stuck and cause problems. I found the best way to secure the tank into smooth operation was rocks around the drainage tube and a shaker ball over the tube itself. It blocks anything from jamming in it or closing it and removes the whirlpool drain whine, you can see and hear all of this explained in my video.The inside of the tank I added black gravel and some decor, the betta loves it. The filter isn’t so strong it hurts him Or sucks up his fins at all. The plants do seem to be doing a good job keeping the water quality good. I’m growing lemon thyme in mine, because I use it to cook.*all photos and video show this tank in use and are relevant to the review.

The clay balls get stuck in the pump and have overflowed water everywhere several times as we tried to come up with different ideas to fix it.It is loud and keeps my daughter awakeThe design of the pump is horrible and the suction cups dont work. Maybe I am a complete idiot and missing something but the directions and design stinkCan not get the water level to stay high enough in the tank it pulls out half the water and even filling it up the levels just seem to be weird.You can't actually buy plants and put them in there as the dirt gets in the water. Instructions on how folks do that would be helpful. Washing the dirt does not work as it still leaves dirt in the water.Positive...nothing.Good concept maybe other tanks are different but this one is trash

It was not a large slope difference. It took a bit of time as it pumped up the water to the lid before it could start to drain back into the tank. What end up happening about 2 months ago it some how keep sucking water and sucked all the water out and it poured out onto the floor kill my fish. I did it during the night. I had cleaned out and wash the filter put I guess not enough. I changed fish tanks. I did like the feature of grown chives. But I want alive fish. Happy with the new one.

This tank is a ton of fun to set up and maintain. It’s really rewarding to watch the plants grow and see the fish flourish. But it does require a lot of work. Another review called it “not for beginners” and I’m going to agree and also say that it’s not for the impatient.The good:-despite the fact that I’d never grown plants in water, the tank is really conducive to it, and by some magic, nothing I’ve planted has died (mint, basil upper, some aquatic plant from petsmart lower)-the water current is fine for a betta, and he seems really happy in his little home-it is a ton of fun!The bad:-it has been difficult to keep nítrate and nitrite levels in check. I’ve been doing 10-20% water changes weekly and have never seen the nitrite go below “danger” on the test strip. I’m going to try a bacterial starter pack, but that brings me to the next point:-if you plan to eat the plants, it really restricts what you can use to treat the water. Most conditioners are not safe for human consumption, and I’m still hesitant to introduce bacteria, even if commercially available, because who knows what happens if you eat them?-the tank floods sporadically. Even with the plastic cap to keep rocks from plugging the drain, I find it overflowing every few weeks. Digging the substrate away and clearing the drain is frustrating, especially if you’re already running late for work. I rigged a barrier to keep the substrate away from the drain for easier access, but it’s still not the most pleasant thing.-it is a little difficult to manipulate the grow bed, if you need to do anything in the lower part.Despite all the negatives, I’m still tempted to give 5 stars. I love this setup and really am having a great time with it. But since it just flooded again, it gets 4.

Super cool aquarium, you can grow stuff in the top. There is a constant water noise but I liked it, akin to a fountain. Could use more cool lighting - I put a small LED strip on the inside ledge. My only complaint is that to adjust things you have to completely remove the top or have someone else help you and hover over the bottom portion without spilling the plant or the little floaty lava rocks. But the cords are woven through an opening so you have no option of removing them while you work. But my beta fish thought that he died and went to heaven (which incidentally he did in true fish fashion unrelated to the tank) with all the space. It obviously needs more substrate and decorations but quality little tank.

This tank has the following issuesPoor feeding accessibility which is needed for most tanks and fish when intial set up is talking placeBell siphon does not fit or set correctlyThis caused mass water loss and uneven tank dispersionThe red clay substrate that comes with tank is very dirty and requires at the least 72 hours of soaking or more and there will still be signs of residue on upper area of and in tankAlthough tank has medium noise level the vent sucked in one of my fish killing it. I then found fish hanging out one side which was quite traumatizingWhen planting the upper area provides little balance so cups or pvc would need to be used to hold and separate plants if there was more than one type in useAdditionally water changes if ever needed are a complete nightmare as the entire top system has to be lifted including ripping the air vent up every time.Please don’t get me started on how hard that was to put into place with a broken fish net I had handy.Chaining the speed of vent is nearly impossible to test without taking the entire thing apart and putting back together every time.

The media could not be loaded. Actually the piece was connected to under the top piece and I just didn’t see it lol.Works goodOnly good for aquatic plants though… so much water in the top part.I was so excited I didn’t even realize that I was missing a piece before I started setting it all up. Now it’s useless because I’m missing the part that actually moves the water up.***I added a bunch of my own deco as it only comes with a couple of white rocks.***

Pump broke and flooded the area I had it. I had set it up and had it running for a week. Left for work and came back to water everywhere.

It was very strange that there were no proper instructions to set it up.I tried to use sprouting seeds in it and it was a huge disaster - rotten seeds and brown water and a clogged filter. Now I just have a few vines growing around the sides and it works much better.At the end of the day I’m happy with this product but I really wish there would’ve been a little bit more direction on how to set it up and run it. I needed to buy several more products in order to make this work, including a heater, a vacuum and water conditioner.

You have to put something in the top for prevent the seeds to get in the water and damage it, very delicate don’t be confident on the water the organic material can damage the quality of the water

High price, poor quality.No explanation on how to combine fish tank and plant.I try it for many weeks without results, so too late to send it back.