Aquamanta Nano 60 LED Aquarium

[Jespo2312]

I am looking to purchase a new tank and would like some honest reviews for the Aquamanta Nano 60 LED Aquarium.
Aquamanta Nano 60 LED Aquarium

My wife and I are new to keeping fish and want a stylish aquarium that would sit in our living room to sit on top of our side board unit. We have done some research online and are wondering about the likelihood of tanks cracking… any advice would be appreciated

 

[Flyfisha]

Hi Jespo2312
Welcome to fishlore.
I am not familiar with that particular nano aquarium sorry as it’s not sold in Australia. Not by that name anyway?

Its great you are researching before starting.
60 litres/ 15 gallons is on the small end of what I would recommend. As strange as it may seem a 5 or 10 gallon/ 20 litre or 40 litre tank is a lot harder to establish and maintain especially for a beginner.
60 litres is ok but if you have the room and finance/ disposable income get as big a tank as you can .
Something like 32 gallons/ 120 litres is a reasonable first tank but still has its limitations on stocking. Big limitations actually .

I have multiple small tanks picked up second hand from the rubbish dump. I would not bend my back to pick up another 40 litre/ 10 gallon .

Tanks don’t just crack if they are sitting on a stable surface with foam under them.

You may have room on the sideboard for a long low tank? Something outside the “ standard “ sizes.
A 20 long the Americans call them.

 

[Coradee]

Hi Jespo, I haven’t had that particular tank but have had one with a similar spec.
Whilst they look nice having the filter hidden away often the heater won’t fit in that compartment & you have to have it in the main body of the tank.
If the inbuilt filter fails, which mine did, then you’re left with a useless dead space at the back of the tank & with no circulation there the water gets quite stale.
I personally would not have another tank with that type of system, I’d go for a plain glass tank & add filter/heater of my choice.

 

[RIFishbowl]

I agree with Flyfisha on the getting smaller tank going as someone new to the hobby.I have 12 gallon long"bookshelf" tank. Took me a while to get the cycle right and the stocking right.My 29 gallon was easier to do both.

 

[Jespo2312]

Hi Jespo2312
Welcome to fishlore.
I am not familiar with that particular nano aquarium sorry as it’s not sold in Australia. Not by that name anyway?

Its great you are researching before starting.
60 litres/ 15 gallons is on the small end of what I would recommend. As strange as it may seem a 5 or 10 gallon/ 20 litre or 40 litre tank is a lot harder to establish and maintain especially for a beginner.
60 litres is ok but if you have the room and finance/ disposable income get as big a tank as you can .
Something like 32 gallons/ 120 litres is a reasonable first tank but still has its limitations on stocking. Big limitations actually .

I have multiple small tanks picked up second hand from the rubbish dump. I would not bend my back to pick up another 40 litre/ 10 gallon .

Tanks don’t just crack if they are sitting on a stable surface with foam under them.

You may have room on the sideboard for a long low tank? Something outside the “ standard “ sizes.
A 20 long the Americans call them.

Thank you for the advice I will deffo look into it.

Hi Jespo, I haven’t had that particular tank but have had one with a similar spec.
Whilst they look nice having the filter hidden away often the heater won’t fit in that compartment & you have to have it in the main body of the tank.
If the inbuilt filter fails, which mine did, then you’re left with a useless dead space at the back of the tank & with no circulation there the water gets quite stale.
I personally would not have another tank with that type of system, I’d go for a plain glass tank & add filter/heater of my choice.

Thank you I will look at filters and heaters I can add to a tank.

I agree with Flyfisha on the getting smaller tank going as someone new to the hobby.I have 12 gallon long"bookshelf" tank. Took me a while to get the cycle right and the stocking right.My 29 gallon was easier to do both.

Thank you. They cycle is something I’m still researching and coming to terms with before I start. If it’s simpler in a bigger tank I will look into it more.

 

[FishDin]

I agree with Coradee. I wouldn't use one with that set-up, but I'm sure it looks nice until something fails. I would make sure everything (heater, filter, light) is replaceable if it fails. I do love the concept however, of a self contained aqaurium with no equipment showing in the tank. Looks like there is plenty of room for a heater to be hidden back there as well.

On the other hand, it is a "starter tank" and may be all you need. The esthetic is nice. I prefer to not see the heater and filter in the tank, so that's a plus. It doesn't require a cabinet to house an exterior filter.

The light is probably fine if you want to grow low light plants.

It's nice to be able to control the light with a timer. Not sure if this one will work with one. I have a light for some house plants that has a similar control and if it's unplugged or the power goes out it will not return to the previous setting when the power comes back on.

Once you know what size tank you're getting you can start thinking about what fish and or invertibrates you want to keep (snails , shrimp). Please do not trust the local fish store (LFS) for advice on what and how to keep fish. Before you make any decisions please check back here to double check their advice. Fish stores are in business. Their priority is to sell fish and supplies (often unnecessary supplies). If they sell Betta fish in a cup, that tells you something about how much they care for the fish they sell.
There are tons of bottles of potions for sale and most are not needed.

Also, don't feel rushed. Patience is a big part of this hobby. There are many online resources. Some are dubious. Many are not. There are a lot of ideas thrown around as fact, when there is no proof, so it good to have help sifting through it. It's the maddening part of this awesome hobby. So don't be supprised if you get conflicting info sometimes. Just come here and ask about it.

Having said that, It's exciting to get a new aquarium. IMO, if this is the size tank you want, I would not get a bigger one just to make the cycling easier. Any tank will cycle, and there are people here willing to help you get through it.

 

[Flyfisha]

Further to the concept of putting the life support system out of sight behind a panel in the way the aquamanta nano does. I have experience with several tanks of this style. Having picked up 4 tanks from the rubbish dump that had this set up I have been able to cut the silicone and remove the panels. There by giving more swimming space to the creatures whose home the box is. Why else would I do this you may ask ?

Because the daily job of all fish keepers is to check the function of the heater and other parts of the life support system. Every week or so we should look at the foam on the filter until we get an idea of how long it takes to begin to block up. Even when we know we can go a month without rinsing the sponge filter pads etc we should have a quick look to double check it’s not blocked by dead plant leaves etc.

To me it seems silly to not be able to see the red light on the heater turning on and off. To not be able to see the filter is unthinkable for me. Even if I have partially hidden the task of the daily checking with wood and plants.

 

[Youthquaker]

For a first tank it may be perfectly suitable and certainly looks as though it would be a nice, stylish focal point. I can understand the attraction of a kit like this, takes away some if the complication and uncertainty of being a novice and trying to put together your own package when you don't really know what you are looking at. You might get it and find something goes wrong after 6 month, but at the same time that could happen with anything and looked after properly who is to say it won't last 6 years?

If you have a Maidenhead near you have you been in to the store to look? Near me the stores quite often have tank sales that aren't matched online if they have some older stock etc. They could assist with putting a package together if you opted for buying everything separately but you would have to bear in mind they want to maximise sales while helping.

You have said it will go on a sideboard...are there any radiators near it? Wall mounted TV? With it being open top there will probably be evaporation so you might want to consider that.

 

[Jespo2312]

I agree with Coradee. I wouldn't use one with that set-up, but I'm sure it looks nice until something fails. I would make sure everything (heater, filter, light) is replaceable if it fails. I do love the concept however, of a self contained aqaurium with no equipment showing in the tank. Looks like there is plenty of room for a heater to be hidden back there as well.

On the other hand, it is a "starter tank" and may be all you need. The esthetic is nice. I prefer to not see the heater and filter in the tank, so that's a plus. It doesn't require a cabinet to house an exterior filter.

The light is probably fine if you want to grow low light plants.

It's nice to be able to control the light with a timer. Not sure if this one will work with one. I have a light for some house plants that has a similar control and if it's unplugged or the power goes out it will not return to the previous setting when the power comes back on.

Once you know what size tank you're getting you can start thinking about what fish and or invertibrates you want to keep (snails , shrimp). Please do not trust the local fish store (LFS) for advice on what and how to keep fish. Before you make any decisions please check back here to double check their advice. Fish stores are in business. Their priority is to sell fish and supplies (often unnecessary supplies). If they sell Betta fish in a cup, that tells you something about how much they care for the fish they sell.
There are tons of bottles of potions for sale and most are not needed.

Also, don't feel rushed. Patience is a big part of this hobby. There are many online resources. Some are dubious. Many are not. There are a lot of ideas thrown around as fact, when there is no proof, so it good to have help sifting through it. It's the maddening part of this awesome hobby. So don't be supprised if you get conflicting info sometimes. Just come here and ask about it.

Having said that, It's exciting to get a new aquarium. IMO, if this is the size tank you want, I would not get a bigger one just to make the cycling easier. Any tank will cycle, and there are people here willing to help you get through it.

Thank you this is really good advice

For a first tank it may be perfectly suitable and certainly looks as though it would be a nice, stylish focal point. I can understand the attraction of a kit like this, takes away some if the complication and uncertainty of being a novice and trying to put together your own package when you don't really know what you are looking at. You might get it and find something goes wrong after 6 month, but at the same time that could happen with anything and looked after properly who is to say it won't last 6 years?

If you have a Maidenhead near you have you been in to the store to look? Near me the stores quite often have tank sales that aren't matched online if they have some older stock etc. They could assist with putting a package together if you opted for buying everything separately but you would have to bear in mind they want to maximise sales while helping.

You have said it will go on a sideboard...are there any radiators near it? Wall mounted TV? With it being open top there will probably be evaporation so you might want to consider that.

Thank fully the sideboard is the opposite side of the room to the TV and radiator. We have a couple of Maidenhead stores nears us so will have a look.