Hagen Elite 60 Style Aquarium

I bought this item from Pets At Home but it is available from a variety of retail outlets, both on and offline. The Aquarium is fully made of glass and comes with a variety of accessories. It is available in both black and silver models and although mine is the 60L it also comes in other sizes. The Elite 60 is sold primarily as an aquarium, and as a result the accessories reflect this. However it could also be used as a reptile tank or even for keeping gerbils.
The Elite 60 comes complete with canopy and frame in the respective colour. The box also comes complete with filter, heater, light, tropical fish food flakes, Nutrafin Biological Supplement and Aqua Plus Conditioner, an ornament, LCD thermometer and tropical fish care guide.
The filter is an elite stingray 15 filter, as the name suggests it is shaped like a stingray. It attaches to the inside wall of the aquarium, using 4 suction cups. It is easy to remove and clean. The filter opens and you can remove the sponge and carbon filters for cleaning and when required replacing.
The heater is also of the Elite brand and is 100W. This also attaches to the inside wall using suction cups. The temperature is controlled using the knob on the top; there are settings on the side to see how hot you have set it to. But it is easier to monitor the temperature using the stick on thermometer. This is a standard LCD thermometer which sticks to the outside of the tank; it detects the temperature of the tank through the glass.
As previously mentioned the set comes with a light, this is a Sun-Glo Fluorescent T8 fluorescent- 20 watt 46cm, and attaches to the inside of the canopy. If you are going to be using the tank for anything other than an aquarium you may need to buy a different light. For example if you’re going to keep reptiles you will need specialist bulbs and should consult someone who knows what they are talking about (sorry I’ve never kept reptiles and do not want to give wrong advice that could damage your pets health)
The Elite set would make a good starter kit (it’s what I bought mine as) as comes with almost everything you need. I got the set for a good price £60, but have seen it for sale up to £128 so it depends where you choose to buy from. The food and chemicals it comes with are of a general nature, the food could be used as a well rounded diet for you fish or as a backup for when you’ve run out of your normal food. The chemicals provided help the tank to set its own balance helping to remove things from tap water which are bad for the fish but also helping to kick start the tanks nitrogen cycle. It is generally recommended that once the tank is set up you leave it filled with water with the filter and everything working for at least a few days before adding fish. This gives the chemicals time to do their job. Sorry if I sound a bit vague on the chemicals but I am not a chemist or a fish keeping expert, I just know that they work and were recommended, if you’re planning on starting an aquarium I would recommend doing your own research first.
The tank is a good size, 60 cm x 30 cm x 35 cm, but it is difficult to say how many fish you could keep in it, as it depends on the type and size of fish you wish to keep. We actually have 2 of these tanks in my home. One of the currently contains, 11 fish. 1 Catfish about 5 inches long, 6 Angelfish which are about 1.5 inches long and up to 2 inches tall (fin tip to fin tip), 2 flying foxes approx 2.5 inches long, 1 gourami about 2.5 inches long and a golden sucking loach which is about 1.5 inches. This tank is full and we think we’ll soon need to move the catfish as it is getting too big. The other tank has more fish but they are all much smaller. It contains, 5 male guppies approx 1 inch each, 1 male betta approx 2 inches, 4 red wags about an inch, 1 golden sucking loach about 2 inches, 1 albino cory approx 1 inch and 4 assorted mollies about 1.5 inches. This is just a guide to give an idea of the capacity of the tank. Please remember to consider both size and compatibility before buying fish.
In essence this is a good tank, and was perfect for my needs (a starter tank), as it came with almost everything i needed to get started. Those among you that already keep fish will notice that i have not mention aeration. This is the one thing the tank is missing. While some filters will also supply the tank with oxygen the Stingray is not one them. A separate oxygen supply is needed. This could be in the form of plants, an air curtain, or using an air stone. It is possible to buy ornaments which can attach to an air pipe, either way you need to decide and buy it separately. Other than that I have no complaints about this aquarium and would definitely recommend it.