Review on Penn Plax Second Generation AquaTerrium by Chrissy Ramirez

This is a pretty cool aquarium! Looks well assembled, very well packaged. I bought it to try my hand at aquaponics and to raise some roosters. Having rooster fish in each section of the tank and sharing the circulating water is great. The pump is almost silent and the "waterfall" from the rear reservoir to the front makes a pleasant soft trickle sound. (It can be easily dampened by putting something spongy under the stream that goes into the front reservoir.) As for male use, there is a section of clear glass between the front and rear reservoirs, and I quickly posed found that the men could see through each other. I found something sliding along the front edge of the rear tank, blocking their view. This solved the problem easily. (As long as the vision barrier is at water level in the front chamber, it prevents the fish from bumping into each other through the glass, but does not block the view of the rear chamber.) Only thing that caught my eye. notices that I have to add water to the tank every 2-3 days. I'm guessing this is because the anterior chamber isn't closed, so more surface area is exposed to the air and thus water evaporates more easily? (I'm not a scientist, so this is just a guess.) I'd say the design would be exceptional if the front chamber had a hinged, see-through cover so one could look inside, but it might have prevented water from evaporating. It's that simple. (It can also prevent airborne dust from settling on the water surface.) Depending on how you use your aquarium, this can be a moot point. (Some people will probably disagree that I use the front tank as it's not very deep, but the little betta seems pretty happy there as long as I keep the water level high.)