Jeremy Gay tries out this new aquarium kit from Interpet.
It’s good…
If a potential fishkeeper asked me what style of aquarium they should start off with, I would describe and recommend this very tank — a two-foot aquarium with removable hood, internal power filter, a heater and built in T8 waterproof light. It’s practical, relatively well built, and you can do lots of different fish set-up types with it. And if you want to remove, change or upgrade any of the included parts, you can do that too (at your own cost of course).
But…
Instead of the top access filter included in the package, I would have gone for a good old canister filter like Interpet used to include with their tanks. Because the hood does not have a rear access panel, it makes what should be ease of access to that filter media completely redundant, and its close proximity to the hood also made my test model rattle. That light and hood design doesn’t illuminate the top rear part of the tank very well at all and plants struggled.
Interpet encourages users to upgrade with some of their new LED lights, but I’d rather just have better hood and reflector design or an LED fitted from day one. That hood flap is just a bit too narrow too, and I scrape and squeeze my forearm every time I go to maintain it. Yes, I can remove the hood but then water drips everywhere when I lift it up.
Verdict
Apart from the filter, the look of this aquarium is very reminiscent of a tank called the Uno that Hagen built and supplied some ten years ago, only the Interpet model isn’t as good because of that new filter. Change the filter, improve the lighting and I’ll be a happy man. I still prefer these to small, cube nano tanks as they are more flexible and I think, better for fish and fishkeeping.
Good
- Nice standard size and standard T8 light. Versatile.
Bad
- Dimly lit at the back, hood access is too tight and the new style filter is noisy and not accessible as top-access filters should be.
Price: £188.99.
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