Penn-Plax (APON1) Aquaponic Planter and Aquarium for Betta Fish Tank Promotes Healthy Hydroponic Environment for Plants and Fish

The most perfect home for my beta fish
I love how simple this is to use and clean, I also enjoy the simplicity of the style and I keep it right on my desk so that I can see my fish daily while doing homework and remind myself to feed him. I am waiting for my plant to root so that it will grow but I just live the idea that the plant will be good for my fish and my fish will also help my plant. It’s a beautiful concept and I enjoy things that are practical like this. Everything is plastic except for the clay absorbent stones Which in my opinion is good because it will not be easy to break or crack. Defiantly a great purchase and for a good price. I recommend.

Happy Fish
Important things to note about keeping a fish in this type of environment:* Water needs to be changed at least twice a week and treated* Vase is approx 40 oz the pet store betta cup is 10 oz* In the winter, the fish needs to be moved to a heated tank (78-80 degrees)* Spring water is a safe option with 1/8 tsp of aquarium salt per 1 gallon* Fish needs to be fed 4-5 times a week, plant roots are not enough* Plant roots will take over, be sure the fish has room to swim or ditch the plant* Get a round fish net, squared fish nets don’t work well with this vase*This setup is a lot of work, you must be dedicated to make it workMy Betta’s name is Conrad and he is very happy in his new home. The picture shows the cup he was in before being moved to this larger environment. I gave the plant a week to get used to living in this vase before moving Conrad in, I wanted to make sure the plant could survive in this type of setup. I treated the tap water with Tetra’s BettaSafe drops to remove harmful stuff and make it safe for Conrad before adding him. I also purchased the Zoo Med Betta Bed Leaf Hammock that has amazing reviews both on Amazon and from pet stores alike and it fits, giving Conrad something fun to swim around, as well as something to lay on when he wants to rest.I keep a bottle of water nearby at the same room temperature; the water in the bottle has been treated with the right dose of BettaSafe so that I can add more water to the vase as needed without having to add more drops or wait for it to reach the right temperature.I decided to buy this item because of the negative reviews left by others who do not own this product and are basing their reviews on personal opinions. I love animals and would never do anything to harm them. I will keep updating my review on the status of Conrad.***Day 10 UPDATE***It has been a little over a week and Conrad (the Betta) is doing great. He is very active. I feed him Tetra BettaMin flakes twice a week (like the pet store said to do), usually on Monday and again on Thursday after cleaning the vase. I clean it using a turkey baser to suck up all the poo, roots and food left at the bottom; I do not replace the water because it doesn’t seem dirty other than the stuff at the bottom, but I pour more in from the prepared bottle I keep nearby. Throughout the day Conrad will bite and tug on the roots of the plants, I don’t think he needs the Hammock leaf because he often just swims to the top and tangles himself in the roots, using them as support while he rests. My only concern is the health of the plant, some of the leaves are dying and I am not sure if it is the plant possibly not being suited for this type of setup or if it is the BettaSafe drops that I put in the water. I have been cutting off the dead leaves as recommended by the office plant guru.***Day 21 UPDATE***21 days in, the fish is doing really well and is very active; he really likes the BettaMin Tropical Medley flakes I am feeding him. Although the pet store said they were feeding him only twice a week, I am not sure this was enough. I now feed him a small pinch Mon-Thur, he doesn’t get fed Fri-Sat when I am out of the office. On Mondays I still use the turkey baser to clean out the poop and stuff from the bottom. On day 18 I poured out half the water and replaced it with the bottle of water that I keep nearby at the same temp which is already treated with the BettaSafe drops. Doing this didn’t seem to cause stress to the fish since the water was already at the temp he is use to and was treated.As for the plant, it wasn’t doing too well and the leaves were all but dead, so I took it out and now just have the rocks on the top until I get another plant. Interesting thing I noticed is that these rocks float, so if they ever fall through the small holes they won’t drop to the bottom, instead they will just float near the top.***Day 36 UPDATE***I changed this to a four star review because really the water needs to be changed more frequently than what is said in the instructions. In fact the instructions don’t really say much about cleaning. I am changing his water once a week on Thursdays and added some marimo moss balls to also help cleanse the water. I took out the leaf hammock because it was getting in the way, but Conrad loves these moss balls. I heard some bettas ignore them, but he lays on them and roughs them up a little (see the picture, one of them is a little fuzzier than the others because he’s been playing with it). The yellow jelly balls are cool because they blend into the water and are super soft. I ordered both from Amazon and I believe the brand is called “Luffy”.This is the most time I have ever spent on a review for an item, I have gone beyond what I normally do when providing information, yet still I am receiving “not helpful” responses. I am left to believe those are from people who are voting based on their personal opinions and not based on what is actually described in my review… either way, I love animals and my fish is happier than all his dying brothers and sisters who are still in a cup at the pet store =(***Day 65 UPDATE***Conrad is still a happy active fish. I too am much happier seeing this guy every day and in the 65 days that I have had him I have not called out sick once, I actually look forward to coming to work and seeing this little guy greet me for his breakfast. I am still feeding him the BettaMin flakes, treating water with BettaSafe drops and keeping Marimo Moss balls in the vase to help with cleaning. Those jelly Luffy balls I got for him shrink and slowly dissolve, I may or may not buy more of those, and he didn’t seem to notice them like he did the Marimo balls.I now have bamboo growing in the vase. Bamboo needs the same chlorine free water that Conrad needs, so I am hoping the BettaSafe drops will be BambooSafe too. My number one priority is the safety of Conrad, so if anything seems off with this bamboo it is coming out!***Day 90 UPDATE***Both Conrad and the Bamboo are doing really good. The BettaSafe drops are also BambooSafe and helped remove chlorine from the water. I have been keeping a prepared bottle of Betta Revive with only half a dose of treatment, it was suggested that I add a little bit to the water during changes to prevent slime. I haven’t noticed any slime or discoloration in Conrad, I don’t know if it is because Betta Revive has prevented it or if my frequent water changes (once a week) have been preventing it. My next purchase will be a round fishnet, the squared fishnet doesn’t work well in a round vase =/I promise everyone that the fish does seem really happy, people stop by my desk all the time and tell me how Conrad is the most active betta fish they have seen. He is always swimming around, but never in a panic or stressful manner, just peaceful with a nice flow to his tail and fins.***Day 120 UPDATE***Conrad and I have been cubicle buddies for four months now. He has decided he no longer likes the BettaMin flakes and now prefers the Betta Bio-Gold pellets. This is fine by me since they are not as messy and do not leave a build-up of pink like the flakes did. I realized that the bamboo roots get a little rough and actually made a small tear in Conrad’s tail. I now scrape the rough roots with my finger nail to make sure all the coarseness is removed and the roots stay smooth. I test the roots for coarseness once a week when I change the water. You can test by using a nylon sock or panty-hose… if the nylon tears when rubbed against something, then it is too rough and will tear a betta’s tail. In the picture you will notice the water looks a bit blue, that is because I am treating it with Betta Revive to help treat the small tear in his tail.***Day 180 UPDATE***Conrad is still a happy fish and very active, never seeming bored or lethargic. It is very easy to get his attention by lifting the plant; he knows it is feeding time, but also if I wiggle the eraser end of a pencil at him he’ll flare up and respond like a healthy betta. His fins and tail are always spread; he doesn’t hold them close to himself like he did when he was in the cup at the pet store. This vase is approximately 40oz, that’s nearly 4 times the size of the cup he was in so he has plenty of space to spread his tail and swim up and down, side to side or in circles =)I did noticed a few tears in his fin from what I thought was the bamboo plant, so I took the plant out for a while and treated the water with less than 1/8 teaspoon of aquarium salt and did a 100% water change 3 days in a row. This was suggested by a few betta experts who I found online and seemed to stop the tearing. I’ll keep a close eye on him and will update if anything changes or in the next 30-60 days.***Day 240 UPDATE***Conrad has started making bubble nests in his vase; he does this more when I have a plant in with roots and leaves for him to lie on. The original bamboo plant came out because the roots were getting too long and I want to make sure he has plenty of room to swim without getting tangled. I have added a smaller batch of bamboo. I am so happy he is making a nest, even my bettas at home in large tanks rarely make a nest.Testing ammonia levels are very important, and I found that the water needs to be changed at a minimum of once a week. I highly recommend getting test strips for just ammonia; the strips which test for everything sometimes are not as accurate when measuring ammonia. You want the ammonia level at 0, even .25 is too high. I am using Kordon’s AmQuel Ammonia Remover, it also removes chlorine and chloramines. I buy a gallon of spring water and treat it; the gallon jug gives me enough to do two full water changing cycles. Walmart sells a gallon of spring water for 88 cents (in California).***FINAL UPDATE***In the winter I moved Conrad to a heated tank because my office became too cold for him. In the Spring when it gets warmer I may bring him back to work to put in the vase or I might just keep him in his tank since it is easier. This vase is a lot of work, I was changing the water twice a week to keep the ammonia level down; I also had to switch out the bamboo 3 times because the roots were getting too big and taking up too much space. Towards the end I didn’t have any plant, with or without a plant I still had to change the water twice a week so I am not sure how much good the plant was really doing.I wish I could give the review 3.5; after having him in this vase for almost a year, I was getting tired of changing the water so frequently. Even when I treated the water it would still need to be changed twice a week. I will leave my review with 4 stars because I do believe this is a better life for a betta than the small cup at the pet store, and as I have said many times, the bettas at the pet store that are not adopted die in their little cup. Ultimately the 5 gallon heated tank I have now would be ideal for a betta, but this option can work for someone who is dedicated and does not mind the frequent water changes.Thanks to those who followed my review. I promise to continue taking good care of Conrad =)

Follow these steps & it will thrive
Not sure what everyone else was doing but my fish was in a container as small as a can of beans, after I swapped my beta fish to this tank it swims more expands its tail when I look at it and when I play reggae music 🙂 it even cuddles inside the plant roots to sleep, so cool!! I always use reverse osmosis water of coarse which some water bottles will say that it’s RO purified so no need to go to pet store all the time and just talk to your fish and let it know u bought this new home so they are happier and they will then love you. Maybe it’s not the tank maybe you might need to be more friendly and not so negative, plants communicate and if it’s in a symbiotic relationship with the fish, that means the fish is picking up on that negativity too so y’all need to tell your fish and your plant it’s beautiful daily but make sure you mean it and you will see your fish plant thrive! I used a small peace lily plant on the 0.5gal. Barely any maintenance I’ve had it for a month and I just pour out 3/4 of the water and slowly add RO water so the fish doesn’t freak out and I feed it 3 mini pellets every other day or I monitor to see how many it eats and guide yourself buy that, scoop out the left over so it doesn’t dirty the water.. everyone that comes over loves it and I’m getting my grandma one for mother’s day, she is a big fan of this setup. Definitely recommend this vase just don’t take it so serious and let the fish be. Acclamation when you first transfer is important at least for 30 minutes in like a ziploc bag (leave bag opened and dip in vase)and then feed the fish as soon as you transfer from bag to tank. I had to let my peace lily soak in water to release as much soil as possible before I places in vase, poke as many thick roots as u can in the water but you don’t have to get too wild with it, the roots will naturally guide themselves to the water and grow. Follow these steps and u will do just fine I promise! Remember talk to the fish and be nice to your plant 🙂

As per the price the product is not at all worth .. Literally the product is to make user fool as just acrylic box is not more than 300 rs and on the top the lead which is not more then 100 rs and few gravels of 50 rs so overall product is not more then 500 rs as too simpleSo not recommended for anything.

Non funziona, I pesci sono morti e anche la pianta.