Aquarium fish tank has gone from a hobby to an industry with hundreds of businesses and thousands of brands and an equal amount of blogs, websites, … A beginner in this hobby could be defined as a person who has started with a fish and a bowl for a long time or who first time goes to a local fish store. Either needs one more step to go to the industry: a simple, basic, easy-to-setup, and easy-to-maintenance aquarium tank kit. Let us seize the 5 best fish tank for beginners among the thousands for a starter to build the first bricks.
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Top 5 Best Fish Tank For Beginners
Top 1 best fish tank for beginners: GloFish Aquarium Kit Fish Tank
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Outstanding features:
This starter kit includes: a 1.5-gallon aquarium, a black aquarium background (if you want to raise GloFish), LED light system with 8 bulbs, low voltage power adapter, air pump and tubing and Tetra® internal filter. As usual, a water heater and water test kit should be added to this kit.
- Easy-to-setup: This simple plastic tank only needs some minutes to be set up. You just need to put into it some gravels, decorative plants, pouring the water and plug in power.
- Adjustable filter: The internal submersible filter gives the most favorable function of adjustable flow. Hence, you will not have to worry about if the water flow is too strong for your betta fish.
- Good lighting: The compact of 8 LED bulbs not only brings the full illumination for your tank but also helps you save your electricity bill. It is also perfect for GloFish – a kind of fish which contains derived florescent protein in his gene and has brilliant colors under white LEDs while dazzles under blue LEDs.
- Affordable price: With only under $30, this price is a perfect start kit for you to begin your hobby without worrying that your wallet will be hurt by your mistakes.
Minus points but not deal-breakers:
- This is a plastic tank so be gentle and careful when cleaning it.
- Besides, I prefer LED bulbs to be fix above instead of under the lid. Be careful on handling so that the bulbs will not fall down and cause electric shocks.
Top 2: Hygger Smart LED Temperature Display 4 Gallon Fish Tank
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This kit includes: a 4-gallon glass aquarium, a 3-in-1 water pump, a 4-LED-lighting-mode hood and 2 packs of filter cartridge replacement. You could get pump replacement by searching ASIN B082W1PJ94 on amazon and get filter cartridge replacement by searching ASIN B07XRJ4YB3. Of course, you should also buy other decors, fish and a water heater to complete this kit.
Outstanding features:
- Easy-to-setup, easy-to-maintain: with the instruction video which is available on amazon, you could set up this tank within some minutes. Just rinse everything in water then flip up the tank lid, assemble filter pump, connect the pump with air tube to agitate the water and create funny bubbles, put the decors into the tank and run it. The maintenance job will also be easier because tank is made of glass. Just disconnect the power, pouring out water, flip up the lid and clean your tank.
- Temperature monitor: it is very easy for you to monitor the water temperature because a thermometer rope is set up on the upper of the lid. Thus, you could always understand the tank situation with a glance.
- Easy feeding & great lighting: just flip up the canopy and feed your pets. The LED light system is perfect for the tank with 4 modes of lightings: shimmering blue lights, relaxing moon light, white light and dim white light.
Minus points but not deal-breakers:
- The water flow is not adjustable and the current is a bit strong for small bettas. If you want to slow down the flow, cut a tiny filter pad and suck it into the water outlet.
- You could not fix the light, if it is damaged, you have to replace the whole tank.
Top 3: Tetra ColorFusion Starter Aquarium Kit 3 Gallons
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What is in the box? There are a 3-gallon half moon tank made from acrylic, a clear lid with feeding hole, 6 LED bubbling Air Stone, filter and filter cartridge, air pump, airline tubing and air connector valve. You should also buy gravel, decors, a small heater and filter cartridge replacement.
Outstanding features:
- Easy setup & easy feeding: it is such a small tank going with the clear lid, a simple filter and the Color Fusion Air Stone at the bottom so it takes you only some minutes for setting up. There is a hole with sliding canopy on top of the lid, which will make your feeding tasks much easier.
- Funny view and creative design: the 6-LED air stone at the bottom creates colorful bubbles which will surely delight your kids away. Moreover, the half-moon tank gives you a panorama view of your fish with its back lean on toward the wall. This design makes it suitable to be placed nearly anywhere in your home.
- Double-scheme internal filter: there are two schemes: mechanical and chemical. At the first scheme, when the pump pushes the water through the filter cartridge, a dual-sided mesh will catch all the particle and debris. At the second scheme, the Ultra-Activated Carbon will do the rest by removing odors and debris.
- Good value-for-money: with only more than 30 dollars for a 3-gallon tank kit, many people will re-order after their success.
Minus points but not deal-breakers:
- You need some hard rock to weighted the air stone down to the bottom.
Top 4: Tetra Bubbling LED aquarium Kit 1 Gallon
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This kit includes a 1-gallon hexagon tank made from acrylic, an air pump for driving both air stone and filter, internal filter, a small filter cartridge, a 3-LED air stone, airline tubing and airline connector valve. You may need to buy some decors and a small water heater.
Outstanding features:
- Easy-to-setup, easy-to-maintain: not just because it is small and lightweight, it is also because that it could hold a single small betta only. A tiny tank is nearly the same as a fish with a bowl, just adding some simple equipment like air pump, filter, cartridge and LED lighting system, which will not make the beginners have to think too much.
- Easy feeding: the hole on the canopy is sufficient for good feeding. The hole for assembling the internal filter is also quite fit.
- Aesthetically pleasing: the hexagon design plus colorful bubbles make it ideal for any corner of your house.
- Quiet filter: while the air pump is driving both the bubble changing disc and the filter, it runs rather quietly that you could put it near bedside or on working desk.
Minus points but not deal-breakers:
- The tube inside the tank is a little bit bulky.
- The tank is nearly same size as bowl so it is recommended for a single betta/small tropical fish only.
Top 5: GloFish Aquarium Kit Fish Tank
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This kit includes a crescent-shaped 5-gallon tank made from acrylic, internal filter, hood, medium filter cartridge, blue LED lights attached with the hood, heater, thermometer.
Outstanding features:
- Special designated for GloFish: as you should know, GloFish is one the fist choice of aquarium beginners because of its funny sights bringing to the owners. GloFish is usually tropical fishes which have been genetically engineered to become fluorescent. Thus, this kit should be bought with GloFish gravel and decors and more perfectly with a water test kit. GloFish is rather hardy and could survive under some certain mistakes of the aquarium beginners.
- Great blue light for GloFish: the efficient LED lights are assembled with the sleek, black hood so that the light could focus it illumination within the tank. The lights will surely make your GloFish more vibrant and shiny.
- Easy-to-setup and easy-to-maintain: this tank is quite simple and I am sure it will only take some minutes for you to set it up. The tank is made from plastic but it is sturdy and clear. However, be careful when cleaning it.
Minus points but not deal-breakers:
- The hood is a little bit flimsy so be careful when handling it.
What is the best fish tank for beginners?
Every building needs the first brick. Thus, even if you have an unlimited budget and time for the hobby, you should start small first. A 5-gallon should be a good start. However, if you do not have enough time and space, you could start with under 5-gallon tank. However, remember to reduce the fish quantity and size to make sure that your tank is not heavily stocked and tank water condition is not quickly going down.
Furthermore, the beginners should also start with the hardy, highly adaptive fishes like bettas, common goldfish, black molly, swordtail, platies, etc. as the top low maintenance fishes recommended.
Though a smaller tank does not mean less maintenance job, small-size tank combined with low-maintenance fish and low stock will make your tasks easier. The small tank also needs a simple filtering system, less filter change and it is also easier to monitor water condition by observing.
Best Fish Tank For Beginners FAQs
What is the best fish for the aquarium beginners?
The first rank in this list we would recommend you is the betta, which is also known as Siamese fighting fish (scientific name: Betta splendens). This fish is originated from Thailand and also appears in other neighboring countries as Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Malaysia. This fish’s temperament is a little aggressive among males and peaceful among females. Females also could fight each other in very small tanks. Thus, for a tank smaller than 3 gallons, we recommend a single betta only. Moreover, a betta could grow to the size of 2.4 – 3.1 inches (6 – 8 cm) so a fully grown up betta should be transitioned to a 5-gallon tank.
What makes betta a hardy and low-maintenance fish is that their natural habitat is usually in shallow water bodies like marshes, floodplains, and paddy fields. Subsequently, they have evolved to be able to breathe directly from the air and can survive or even thrive in harsher environments more than any other freshwater fish. The ideal environment for betta is pH of 7.0 and temperature ranges from 75 – 820F (24 – 280C). However, they could temporarily survive in more extreme conditions than that.
What is the best tank size for a common goldfish?
A common goldfish is also listed as one of low maintenance fish – the fish has been selected and evolved for thriving in captivity. However, keep in mind that a common goldfish can reach 10 inches when fully grow so unlike the bettas, the best tank size should be from 10 to 20 gallons.
Should I begin my aquarium hobby with a neon tetra?
A neon tetra is not quite easy to thrive in captivity like goldfish or bettas. However, they are loved by their bright color which makes them visible in dark water. Thus, if you are in love with them, do not let their complicated characteristics set up a limitation on you.
The ideal parameters in a tank for them is as following: pH of 6 – 7, Nitrate: <20 ppm, GH: <10 dGH, KH: 1-2 dKH, temperature: 72°-76°F (22°-24°C).
Neon tetras are at their best when they are in group of 8 – 12. Thus, they should be kept in at least a 10-gallon tank.