Mini-Bow ?

[F.sparverius]

I saw these things at walmart and was considering getting one because

A) I can't afford another big tank
B) I have no place to put another big tank
C) I've always wanted to keep neon tetras but every other fish on the face of the earth seems to eat them.
D) they are really cheap and come with everything.

What are your opions of these things? Are they hard to take care of ? I'm used to wiping down the side panels of my 29 gallon tank a few times a month and siphoning the debries off the bottom with my handy dandy suction hose. It stays crystal clear this way and has little or no smell most of the time. I would assume that a minibow would be to small to do this with. Also would it be enough space for say 4 neons,some small fake plants and a few rocks?

[Captain Hook]

When you say Mini-Bow do you mean something really small like 2.5 gallons? I have never kept a really small tank like that but have heard they are harder to keep stable than larger tanks. I think you have a nice idea and the tank will probably look really good but I would suggest at least 5 or 10 gallons for a small school of tetras.

[F.sparverius]

They have 5 gallon ones and that's probably what I'd get. I have never kept a tank smaller than ten gallons though.

[yashinfan]

I have this one in my kitchen. Two things: One, the light on the tank was designed so poorly and honestly, I'm surprised I haven't been electricuted yet!! The light bulb gets wet all the time because the little glass panel protecting the light bulb only covers 3/4 of it. 2nd, the filter it comes with and the material that goes inside is pretty bad quality. You have to replace it every 3 months and if you don't it smells SO BAD! As for cleaning, I haven't really had to do any big jobs thus far, but I don't think it would be quite difficult. There is a really big limit space-wise as to what you can put in there.
None the less, it is so cheap in comparison to what is out there so neons shouldn't be too bad to keep in there. Good luck!

[F.sparverius]

I change my whisper 20 filters every two months...which may be an overkill if 3 months is considered a short amount of time.


And it IS cheap. My bigger tank cost me nearly 300 bucks for the whole set up. But it's so perrrrrttttttttyyy, it was certainly worth it.:D

[blitzen25bm]

if you get a smaller tank like that i suggest the eclipse line. they come with everything built into the top of the tank flourescent lighting and biowheel filter. cost more but they are built better and i think one of the walmart ones are built by marine land so it should basically be pretty similar but cheaper.

[tricksterpup]

Originally posted by yashinfan
the filter it comes with and the material that goes inside is pretty bad quality. You have to replace it every 3 months and if you don't it smells SO BAD!

Ok, I own the mini bow also, i have a 2.5 tank, which is not a bad little set up. The small whisper filter is actually a pretty nice little filter, i own 3 of them for my 5 gallon tanks that I own. The thing with Filters is that you must change them ATLEAST once a month, Do not wait 3 months. Carbon looses its effect after about a month, if that. I will usually change carbons ever few weeks, on top of weekly water changes. This is just proper maintenance. Part of the hobby is constant up keep, no way around it.
Now for the light part, i threw away that cheap incandecent bulb, Walmart sells a pc (power compact) screw bulb that is 10 watts which is perfect for these. I use these bulbs in my 10 gallon tanks with incandecent hoods. They run for about $4 each.

I also own the Regent models (the eclipse knockoffs by marine land) and they are fine also. I just do not like the flourescent bulbs that come with the tanks and i can not find really lights for the tanks that will work with plants. But, if you want the marine land setup, you can get yourself the 5 gallon hex which uses an incandecent bulb and use a pc bulb instead. I have seen this tank setup with some rare livebearers and cherry shrimp, it was very nice.

As for my 2.5 minibow, I keep a small colony of Heterandria Formosa in a field of crypts. It is a very nice tank but again, small tanks are alot of work.

Like I said, i own the Galaxy 5 Regent tank and the Star fish tank, both knock offs of the eclipses. Both are cheap tanks and also very nice. I would rate them about the same, but I find that if something goes wrong with the minibow filter or light, i can replace that myself very easily.

jim

[Erik713]

F - I was in the same situation as you and I did get the miniBow. It's a nice looking tank, but I have to say that the UGF they include doesn't do crap to keep the water clear. I have to change the water every 3 days or so or else it gets pretty bad. I wish I would have gone with the Eclipse for 15 bucks more.

[yashinfan]

Well I got a 30 with everything I needed including a fluval 203 for 125$, so honestly, if you would rather have a big tank you just got to look through the classifieds. I would never pay more than 200$ for any tank.

[F.sparverius]

The tank it's self was not to bad. The cedar base was what was so expensive.

Thus far it looks like the mini bow is probably the best bet. I'll look at the eclipse tanks if they have them though. I like things that can be replaced easily though and my favorite petstore has every whisper filter model and the filters for them. I think if I understock it it should not get too dirty too fast?


I would like a bigger tank and some cichlids ( we used to keep bloody parrots) but I really have no good spaces for one. It would be in front of a huge window and I imagine the algae growth would be horrendus not to mention that the temperature would be hard to regulate.

[PumaWard]

It's much cheaper to do a DIY stand. I recently made one out of 2x4's and 2x3's for my 38 gallon. I got 2 50lb bags of sand, the tank, the wood materials, and plexiglass for the hood for around $120. The tank was brand new also.

You can also do a DIY sponge filter, it's quite easy.

[JeffP]

My daughter (6 yr) and I setup a minibow 5 in her bedroom a little over two months ago. The tanks contains neons and amano shrimp and is planted with live plants.

She (and I) love this little tank. I would have opted for the minibow 7 which is made of glass but only comes in black. She wanted a Teal tank so a Minibow 5 was the way to go. However, I had to make the following modifications:

1. Replace the filter - The Whisper filter is a dog so I replaced it with an aquaclear mini with double sponge. IMO, the AC is an infinitely superior filter.

2. Replace the lousy 10W incadescent light - Tried a 19W CF which was too much light. Tried a 15W CF and algae problems continued unabated. Currently have an 11W CF (6500K) from Drs Foster & Smith which seems to be just right.

3. Readusted splash shield - drilled new hole in splash shield so I could center if over the bulb. It does cover the whole bulb when you use a CF.

In summary, it's a nice looking little setup (algae problems aside), but it's unfortunate that it's bundled with a lousy filter and light. I only wish I could have purchased the tank, cover, and base separately.