Are you interested in picking up an aquarium hobby, but put off with all the tank maintenance and time you’ll need to take away your busy schedule to control the tank? This can cause many of us to be discouraged. Our daily lives have become busy and time-consuming, but that doesn’t mean we have to be left out of the fishkeeping game. We have compiled a list of some great self-cleaning goldfish tank reviews that require minimal maintenance. These tanks can easily fit into your busy life and reward you with the aquarium experience without much effort and maintenance required.
Self-cleaning tanks live up to their name. They mainly run through a natural ecosystem of live root submerged plants that readily absorb ammonia and nitrites, which then get used for nutrients and growth. These tanks use nature to maintain the tank, ensuring less maintenance and the reward of growing a vegetation food source. The aquaponic systems ensure the health of your aquarium is taken care of with little interference from you.
An aquarium and indoor gardening kit all in one, this self-cleaning tank benefits both your aquarium inhabitants and you. The Back to the Roots Water Garden tank is an ideal gift for young children to learn the skills to look after a pet as well as learn the science behind aquaponics. Due to the tank being on the smaller side, a betta fish is an ideal fish to house in this tank. The tank’s main aim is to establish a self-maintained ecosystem and allow you to have minimal requirements to clean the tank. Setting the tank up is time savvy and quick to put together, ensuring you will have an amazing little self-cleaning tank in your hands in no time! The tank comes with a variety of items included, such as grow stones, fish food, coupons, chlorine remover, and a nitrogen starter nutrient to ensure your tank effectively starts cycling.
Pros
Self-cleaning
Food source
Low maintenance
Cons
Too small for most fish
Pricey
2. As Seen on TV 56028 My Fun Fish Tank – Best Value
The My Fun Fish Tank offers aquarium benefits at the best value for the money. This tank is compiled using innovative design, making water conditions and water changes simple. The tank has a gravity-activated self-cleaning system that features a thick tube that pushes dirty water out from the top when new, fresh water is added in. This saves you from having to siphon the gravel as the tank does it for you! Due to its size, not a lot of aquatic inhabitants are ideally housed in this tank, putting it number two on our list. The tank includes a white LED light to enhance your view inside the aquarium. It also comes with riverbed stones for substrate and an aquatic plant that helps keep the water parameters under control as well as providing essential oxygen into the water during the daytime. The tank is perfect for people who do not fancy tank cleaning days and hauling buckets. Its gravity-induced design ensures low maintenance is all that’s required.
The modern-looking AquaSprouts Garden tank is an excellent example of self-cleaning aquaponics. The visually appealing look is sure to draw you in, but so are the self-sustained plants that get fertilized by the fish, which enhances the growth of these root-submerged plants. There is space to optimally grow a variety of plants at the top of the tank. When the fish excretes waste, the plants will absorb and use the nutrients for growth, leaving you with fast-growing plants that are self-sufficient. This means you do not have to worry about frequent water changes or watering your plants. This aquaponics system does it all for you. However, the tank is quite expensive, which landed it at number three. That being said, the benefits and quality design will not leave you feeling regretful for purchasing such an astonishing tank. Due to the way the tank is shaped, small tropical fish (with a low watt heater) look great in this tank and can add color and liveliness to your environment.
The EcoQubeC tank is a perfect choice when you are looking to add a tranquil and ambient look to your environment. The tank’s natural look and size are perfect for betta fish, giving them an attractive and comfortable home. The aquaponic system is low maintenance, requiring few water changes throughout your fish’s lifetime. The tank includes a basil plant that uses the aquarium’s nutrients as food for the plant, making it grow faster without the use of harmful fertilizers and plant hormones. This self-cleaning tank, unfortunately, does not include decorations in the total price, but does include basil seeds and a unique lighting set that changes colors. The tank supports a mini-ecosystem that leaves things hassle-free as it does all the filtration work for you.
The Springworks Microfarm Aquaponic Garden offers an opportunity to keep aquarium life and plants with minimal effort on your part. The plants included with the tank filter out unwanted nutrients that are harmful to the aquarium’s inhabitants. The overall size of this tank is larger than the others, which makes it take longer to develop and maintain an aquaponics self-cleaning system. However, it does a good job of ensuring you do not have to spend too much time maintaining the tank. The aquaponic garden tank is big enough to house two small goldfish. The tank comes with a grow bed for your plants, the tank itself, a light, a de-chlorinator, and a beneficial bacteria additive. It also comes with a pump with a timer that you can set to move the water from the tank to your plants, as well as seeds and natural food. The tank takes up more space due to its size and may not work the best as a desk or small space self-cleaning tank. While this tank rounds out our top five list, it’s still a great option and helps keep the need for frequent maintenance at bay.
Pros
Spacious
Space for multiple plants
Cons
Too large for small spaces
Heavy
Pricey
Buyer’s Guide
Before you purchase your self-cleaning tank, you must take a few considerations into mind:
The number of fish or invertebrates —If you plan on keeping large fish species or fish that require large groups to school, the smaller aquaponic self-cleaning tanks are not the best option. It is best to keep a betta fish or small tropical fish such as danios in the smaller tanks alongside a heater. Our number five pick, the Springworks Microfarm Aquaponic Garden, is large enough to house larger fish.
Space availability — As well as having enough space inside your tank for fish, you should make sure that the space you have designated for your tank can hold its size as well as the weight when it is full of water.
Type of fish — Given your space limitations within the tank, and the fact that some fish need both a heater and a filter, you’ll need to carefully consider which breed of fish you choose to keep in your self-cleaning tank.
Guarantee — Always check that the product that you want to purchase has a refund or replacement policy, so if you do not end up with the tank you want, you can still get a refund or replacement.
OtherFactors To Consider
The types of self-cleaning tanks are either based on plant filtration and the development of a natural beneficial bacterium, or they use a tube that removes old water once freshwater is added. Most of the tanks we have reviewed come with lighting, which requires an electrical outlet. When it comes to plugging in an air-stone or heater, you will need close outlet access too. Make sure to keep these logistics in mind before you decide on a final aquarium.
Conclusion
After reviewing all the excellent self-cleaning tanks on the market, the Back to the Roots Water Garden Self-Cleaning Fish Tank is our top choice for self-cleaning goldfish tanks. If you’re interested in taking a back seat to maintenance on your tank, but you don’t want to break the bank, check out the My Fun Fish Tank in our number two spot.
Self-cleaning tanks are excellent tank options for those who want the aquarium experience, but not the work that comes with it. We hope our reviews have helped you decide or at least narrowed down your options on what self-cleaning tank you want to purchase and what best benefits your needs.
Featured Image Credit: Back to the Roots Water Garden, Amazon
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