Thoughts on the Lifegard Aquatics Full View AIO tank?

[shyguy]

Title says most of it! I’ve been keeping freshwater tanks for years, and researching saltwater for a couple of years too. I think I want to take the plunge with the 7 gallon AIO tank from Lifegard Aquatics. Probably no fish, maybe a goby and a small cuc. My main goal is some LPS coral. But there aren’t many reviews of the tank out there, and I can’t find a picture of one set up and aquascaped in a reef setting.  
 

So if anyone has any experience with this tank, pointers, or links to builds on it I would be most appreciative!!

 

This is the tank: https://www.marinedepot.com/lifegard-aquatics-full-view-aquarium-with-built-in-filter-7-gallon

 

Update: I found a couple of builds! Other than that there’s not really much on the tank itself

 

 

 

 

[Christopher Marks]

@shyguy They make for great nano reef systems, well built and capable. Other than potentially replacing the return pump with something more powerful, I don’t think there’s much more they need. It’s a tried and true design, just with a uniquely angled front panel. 🙂

[Tired]

My question would be, is the angled panel good? Or does it look weird and distort the stuff inside? 

[Christopher Marks]

2 hours ago, Tired said:

My question would be, is the angled panel good? Or does it look weird and distort the stuff inside? 

Seeing a freshwater setup in person before, the angled panel doesn't seem to create any distortion when viewing, it's nice from above to see the depth of the tank a little better.

 

One thing that is different though, is how the angled glass reflects things in the room the tank is in. It faces slightly upward, so you might see some reflections of lights on your ceiling. Not really a big deal at all, just an interesting observation I had. It might even be a benefit if your tank was opposite a bright window... less glare.

 

I think it would be a good tank shape for an open aquascape with some corals placed on the sand bed up front for viewing. I wonder if it effects light spread from above?

[shyguy]

Courtesy of the reef to reef forum, I found a couple of other pics of this tank in a reef environment. 

 

 

 

 

 

[shyguy]

41 minutes ago, Christopher Marks said:

Seeing a freshwater setup in person before, the angled panel doesn't seem to create any distortion when viewing, it's nice from above to see the depth of the tank a little better.

 

One thing that is different though, is how the angled glass reflects things in the room the tank is in. It faces slightly upward, so you might see some reflections of lights on your ceiling. Not really a big deal at all, just an interesting observation I had. It might even be a benefit if your tank was opposite a bright window... less glare.

 

I think it would be a good tank shape for an open aquascape with some corals placed on the sand bed up front for viewing. I wonder if it effects light spread from above?

Thank you so much!! And I was kinda wondering about possible light distortion from above but I don’t think it’ll be much of an issue

[RedCrow]

While I can’t speak for that exact model, Lifegard as a whole makes some beautiful glass tanks. I have two: their 5.4, and 17.1. (The 17 is still dry 😬). Great quality, and much more affordable than the competition.