Aqueon vs Marineland: Choose the Better Fish-tank!

Choosing the right aquarium for your fish pets isn’t a piece of cake. Because we understand, an all-in-one aquarium isn’t all that easy to come by. 

So, which aquarium should you go for when it comes to aqueon vs marineland?

Both the aquariums have some differences in the accessories they come with. For instance, Aqueon has better heaters than Marineland. Not only that, but aqueon also offers better resale value in comparison to Marineland. However, the Marineland water pump is relatively quieter than the aqueon. 

Fret not! This is merely a rough sketch of the entire issue. We’ll get into a factual discussion about both the brands in the remaining section. 

Let’s move forward!

Aqueon vs Marineland: Quick Review 

You see, choosing between two floating plants for your fish tank isn’t easy according to your fish’s convenience. Likewise, when it comes to choosing the fish tank itself, it can get more tricky for anyone new in the market.

Moreover, both of these Aqueon and Marineland aquariums, that we’re discussing here, have a lot of similar features and a few downsides at the same time. 

So to make it easier here’s a brief table to give you a quick summary of each aquarium. Have a look-

Features	Aqueon	Marineland
Noise level	Noisy	Relatively quiet
Quality of material	Sloppy silicone, needs redoing	The bottom seam is quite flimsy
Value for money	Great resale value	Not much compared to Aqueon
Size	Wide range of sizes	Limited size range available
Setup	Easy installation with aqueon stand	Marineland stands are a bit sloppy and difficult to set up on
Overall satisfaction	Perfect for both beginners and professional setup	Perfect for beginners only
Accessories	Buy now	Buy now

Having difficulty comparing all these jargon plays? No issues! We’re gonna bring in some numbers to make things a little easier for you. Take a look at this rating chart below!

Now let’s dig deeper. Shall we?

Capacity 

Both Aqueon and Marineland come in different sizes and shapes. Oh not only that, mostly their materials and design also vary according to their capacity. 

So are you excited to find out how many options these two brands are offering you? 

Sit tight and let’s discover!

These are all the different aquariums by Aqueon and Marineland with varied capacities. You can easily choose one according to your home space and your pet’s convenience. 

However, aqueon actually has an assortment of both aquarium and accessories collections with different features. That being said, you’re having more options here than Marineland if you’re choosing an aqueon product. 

Winner: Aqueon

Build Quality 

Build quality is an important factor for selecting a new fish tank. The best fish tank is the one that is right for you and the one that will last for years to come. 

So let’s find out if the materials and sealant structure of Aqueon and Marineland match your preferences or not.

Source: fishcareguide.com

Glass Or Acrylic

Well, all the aqueon small aquariums, for instance, 0.5-5 gallon aquariums are made of acrylic. On the other hand, the big ones such as 10-40 gallon aquariums are made of high-quality glass.

However, glass aquariums are slumping against acrylic ones for various reasons. One of them is how neat the stuff is. Moreover, the relatively bigger glass aquariums of Aqueon seem to leak easily because of stress cracks.

On the other hand, both the Marineland portrait and contour aquarium are made of glass. Since these aquariums are small in size there aren’t many cases that show leaking issues. Besides, the glass is so neat you’d barely feel it was there at all.

Moreover, there have been occasional cases of the Marineland bigger aquariums appearing shattered at their destinations. Hence, this leads us to assume the sturdiness is also up to par.

Another thing to mention is the ability to paint on glass. If you want to paint on your glass you can choose glass containers. However, don’t compromise while choosing the glass paint. Otherwise, painting on your aquarium can backfire.

In short, both brands are perfect for beginners. Nevertheless, whichever brand you’re choosing, handle it with care while setting it up professionally.  

However, if you’re only looking for durability in AIO’s then you should look for something out of these brands. From our experience with AIO’s, we’ve found coralife and Fluval tanks to be the strongest. 

So, here are some of our suggestions for the strongest AIO’s out there-

P.S. Don’t let Thor (your child with a hammer) have his way with these. At the end of the day, these are aquariums, right?

Silicone Lines

The silicone-based structure of the Aqueon tank isn’t as durable as we would’ve liked it to be. It’s quite prone to cracks and scratches from external physical forces. Hence, you will have to tread lightly when trying to clean the tank.

Similarly, we noticed the black silicone used in Marineland pulls apart from the pressure of water. Also, different users have revealed that the nooks and rims of the 5-gallon tank had extra chunks of adhesive. It failed to properly attach the glass rails together. So this might result in your fish tank leaking shortly.

You see both the Aqueon and Marineland are quite weak on their silicone seam. You might wonder about using duct tape in your aquarium for additional support. Well, that’s a thought which is still up for debate.

Therefore, we would suggest you redo the silicone lines before setting them up to avoid leaking.

In this case, you should go with sealants that are both waterproof and non-slump. So, here are some of the strongest waterproof aquarium sealant recommendations for you.

Using a strong sealant you can secure your fish tank from any unwanted cracks or scratches. However, don’t put too much temperature stress or pressure on your tank. Because these adhesives have their limits as well.

Winner: Tie

Quality of Filtration 

The Aqueon comes with a pro-power filtration system that works up a five-stage cleaning process. It completely cleans out the tank and keeps your fish healthy and safe. 

From treating bacteria or microbes, and even medium traces of DOC, Aqueon goes the extra mile. It makes sure that your first ever fish-keeping experience is an amazing one.

However, you might find this filter a bit noisy at times. As it’s big in size (courtesy of the five-step process), it vibrates a lot. Therefore, it makes a loud noise or sound when working. In case you have sensitive ears, then you might find it very irritating.

Nonetheless, when it comes to battery charging, the filter won’t require any form of guesswork from you to figure out when it’s out of juice. It comes with an LED light marker on the surface. It’ll shine and prompt you that its cartridge is running out and will need a charge soon.

However, this feature is absent in the Marineland Penguin 350 Power Filter.

Moreover, this filter doesn’t have enough space for other filter media like the Aqueon LED pro aquarium power filter.

Furthermore, we realize all fish aren’t identical. It means not all fish require the exact sort of tank layout, and that involves water flow.

Fortunately, the Marineland Aquarium comes with a flexible flow on its filter. So you can modify the tank to the requirements of your fish and plants. Unfortunately, this can’t be said for Aqueon filters.

Also, unlike aqueon filters, Marineland filtration operates smoothly and calmly. Thus it can be attractive visually, without any disturbing noise.

Winner: Marineland

Accessories 

Aqueon and Marineland aquarium kits come with some valuable accessories that complement the fish tank so well. However, the quality of these accessories matters a lot.

A fish tank with better accessories is easy to install and it doesn’t even require too much maintenance.

So here’s a short comparison chart for you to find out the convenient ones from this pool of accessories.

Aqueon accessories	Marineland accessories
Lid without hinge	Loose LED stripe
Light doesn’t have a timer and expires soon	Lights can be fixed on the timer
The heater is great for tropical fish	The heater lacks temperature stability
Relatively quiet pump	The pump makes a noise at a low flow rate

Did you get the hang of it? If not, it’s totally fine. We’ll now walk you through the detailed comparison. 

So let’s find out which brand offers the better quality accessories to make your user experience comfortable.

Lid

You’ll notice a lot of fish tanks keep hoods with a hinge. It keeps the lid clasped to the tank even when opened and partly removed for cleaning. But when it came to the aqueon fish tank lid we noticed the full top on this fish tank needed to be taken off and set aside.

A lot of aqueon aquarium reviews revealed having a hard time taking out and resetting the hood. Because it’s loose to fall down as it can be soapy.

However, this can be upgraded or fixed if it becomes an annoying and permanent issue.

Here are some easy to move glass canopy replacement recommendations that you can look into-

However, since these are glass canopies, try not to test your strength on them.

Source: fishcareguide.com

On the other hand, the Marineland hood is a hinged top for easy access and feeding. Also, adaptable for use with heaters, filters, and accessories. But the only drawback is opening the hood too far will allow the LED light strip to fall off the hood straight into the water. 

So if your tank is against a wall or enclosed in a cabinet, you won’t have fun retrieving it. The light is supposed to snap onto the hood, but it’s certainly not tight enough to keep it in place when the hood is in a vertical position.

Winner: Marineland

Lights 

Aqueon has energy-efficient LEDs that are really super bright and effective for plants and fish. The overall lighting system makes the tank look beautiful. Also, it helps to create an ambiance in the area wherever the tank is situated. 

Though the LED lights are enough glossy to brighten the whole tank, they become so heated very quickly. Moreover, they’re likely to expire sooner than would be helpful for some users.

Source: fishcareguide.com

Plus, the lighting is in-built into the aquarium cover and has no splash guard. So, it’s also easy to get the lights wet.

Nonetheless, the lights are sufficiently sharp for human viewing. However, they’re not bright enough for any living plants that a user might like to set in the aquarium with the fish.

There isn’t any “night time” light outlined for the LED lights in this fish tank like the Marineland lights. The lights are either totally on or totally off. Hence it doesn’t give many options to the people who like a more flexible, nighttime fish tank experience.  

On the other hand, the Marineland is also equipped with fantastic LED rail lights. These lights blaze sufficiently onto the fish so that everything can be nicely brightened.

Also, these lights can be fixed on a timer. So you can modify your tank to function without any direction from you. More specifically it’ll be able to simulate the normal day/night cycle.

However, the different layout of the contour aquarium causes a little trouble for some of the more conventional structures. Plants, particularly those that rise sideways rather than vertically will have difficulty adjusting appropriately to this tank’s shape.

That’s why while decorating, it’s a creative game to choose plants that thrive upward. As well as little figures or other ornaments that don’t use plenty of floor space instead of the common aquatic pirate ship.

Another problem is somewhat similar to the aqueon light. The Marineland hood light might not catch up with all your plants suitably. In this case, preferring low-maintenance plants will guarantee a comfortable life for your fish and all of the other inmates.

Winner: Tie

Heater

The Aqueon is made primarily for tropical fish. Hence, instead of a regulator, it has a preset heater that warms the water to 78 degrees. This is basically the ideal temperature for tropical fish.

However, the lack of a temperature adjustment feature here can indeed be very inconvenient. This can take a while to heat up your fish tank water.

So, if you want to give a shot at keeping goldfish, then we would recommend that you don’t opt for Aqueon.

However, compared to an aqueon heater, a Marineland heater gives much more hard time. Because it massively lacks temperature control.

Sometimes, the unit no longer heats up and the temperature cools down dangerously low overnight. Again sometimes the temperature holds strong and steady little to no fluctuation but suddenly climbs up about 2-3 degrees.  

Overall, these uncontrolled temperature fluctuations can harm your fish or even kill them. In this case, we would suggest you upgrade your Marineland heater to a new one. 

For your convenience, we’ve listed some heaters with accurate and steady temperature control . Take a look!

Nonetheless, the aqueon heater is sort of species-specific. If you’re only aiming for tropical fish then this heater should be enough. 

On the other hand, a Marineland heater can be quite risky for your fish pals considering its temperature instability. So an upgrade should be like low hanging fruit here.

Winner: Aqueon 

Pump

Source: cayman.desertcart.com

The Aqueon water pump is slightly quieter than the Marineland maxi-jet 600 pump. The aqueon pump can circulate 1650 Gallons Per Hour (GPH), whereas the Marineland pump can circulate 160/750 max GPH. 

That’s why you can use the aqueon pump with your other 125 to 180-gallon aquarium as well.

However, for relatively smaller fish tanks this pump can be a little too powerful. Also, the suction cup can be slightly difficult to clip but once it’s clipped it stays in place.

The Marineland pump, on the other hand, gets noisy if you try to block or lower the flow rate. Moreover, the suction cups aren’t as strong as the aqueon pump and don’t last long. Apart from that, this pump isn’t bad for beginners.

Winner: Aqueon

Assembling 

Both Aqueon and Marineland Aquarium come with a detailed and easy-going, step-by-step assembling handbook. It’s easy to understand for grown-ups, teens, and kids alike.

However, the Aqouen forge aquarium stand is very sturdy and incredibly convenient in size (30 by 12-inch). That’s why you wouldn’t face any problem installing your 10-gallon or 20-gallons aquariums on it. Both adults and children will be able to fill the tank with water and feed the fish easily from this height point.

On the other hand, the Marineland simple modern stand (30″ x 30″) isn’t appropriate for 3-gallon and 5-gallon aquariums. Moreover, you might face problems setting them up because this can get quite sloppy with insufficient space. 

In this case, you would need to cut some corners. Such as getting an easy to assemble and moisture-resistant stand for secure setup.

So we found out that coralife and aquatic fundamentals have some easy-to-put tank stands. Let’s take a look at the following recommendation list.

Any of these stands should be a great deal for your small to bigger aquariums setup. 

Winner: Aqueon

Ease of Use

One of the major problems that many beginners have with the more standard aquariums is the lack of a proper feeding mechanism. This is one of the primary things that puts them off from the hobby as it’s one of the most complicated tasks to accomplish apart from cleaning and maintenance.

However, the Aqueon 20-gallon aquarium comes with its very own dedicated feeding door, which is extremely easy to operate.

Additionally, the lid to this aquarium remains completely closed as well and will protect the fish from jumping accidentally. 

Nevertheless, here’s the million-dollar question! Is aqueon child-friendly?

Yes! Aqueon aquariums are quite child-friendly. Because it lets your kids feed the fish with its simple hood structure. Moreover, not many aquariums can provide viewing clarity to the same amount of fish that the Aqueon brings to the table. So your kid’s gonna enjoy watching their fish.

Similarly, the Marineland glass canopy has been made without resulting in uncomfortable contortion. The canopy can be pushed up and down for feeding your fish or fixing your LED lights.

If you like particularly active species, the canopy will protect them from bouncing out of the tank. Also, it discourages kittens or children from splashing where they shouldn’t. 

However, priming the canister filter of Marineland is more difficult than aqueon. Because the plastic clamps provided with it are absolute waste. You’ll notice, when it’s clamped down all the way, the clamps are still loose enough to slide around on the hose. 

So we would recommend getting metal hose clamps while you’re setting up. 

Another problem is while priming the inlet hose just wouldn’t fill up and flow. So to sum up Marineland is a bit of a hassle compared to aqueon when it comes to cleaning the filters.

Winner: Aqueon

Brand Comparison 

Aqueon has tons of impressive reviews for its filter systems. Also, their tanks are considered one of the world’s biggest aquarium manufacturers. 

People who have experience with their tanks for a long time have revealed that the quality is flawless. Many reckon that they’re of better quality than products from Marineland. 

So let’s see if the above-mentioned statement actually has any validity or not by comparing the two brands in terms of availability, warranty and services, and value for money.

Availability 

The Aqueon Aquarium will protect you both fortune and time. Instead of scavenging in your local pet shop, you’ll find everything in the box. 

The kit contains a sufficient portion of fish food, as well as a water conditioner, which would’ve been tough to dig out anyways.

Eventually, it keeps all the things that you wish to begin fish-keeping in one box.

Ah well, you’ll have to drive for fish-shopping, though!

On the other hand, one problem with Marineland aquarium kits is that some of its fish tanks don’t come with a heater. You need to look for the heater separately in this case. 

Winner: Aqueon   

Warranty & Services 

Both newcomers and experts will be delighted to know that Aqueon and Marineland have got you should any manufacturing problems occur.

If you catch any manufacturing negligences just reach Aqueon and they’ll provide you alternatives to settle the matter.

These matters should be figured out promptly as Aqueon is located in the United States. It means you’re not required to ship parcels overseas.

Similarly, Marineland is also located in the USA. However, some users of Marineland aquarium have complained about their customer service. Because they don’t seem to get any effective solution as the customer agents don’t acknowledge their problems properly.

Winner: Aqueon 

Value for Money 

If you’re barely stepping into the realm of aquatics, the expense of getting your aquarium functional can shortly count up to.

Gratefully, the Aqueon aquarium kit will get you underway without swallowing all of your money.

Its reasonable cost label also contains all the appliances you require to get your tank started. So you won’t need to pay any additional bills if you don’t like to.

Also, compared to the Marineland aquarium, the resale value of an aqueon aquarium is much better. Because aqueon tanks are easier to maintain and clean than Marineland. 

Moreover, having all the accessories available with the kit it gets effortless to sell the aqueon aquarium in fish club auctions.

Winner: Aqueon

Our Recommendation 

Aqueon comes with a fantastic array of features and options, which makes it appropriate for both beginners and professionals. 

However, we will not be recommending the Marineland aquariums for the more adept and professional users, as it lacks a lot of flexibility. Nevertheless, it’s perfect for beginners.

Here’s a final summary table for you to help you with the decision. 

That’s everything you need to consider thoroughly before making your choice.

FAQs

Are Aqueon tanks tempered?

Yes, aqueon tanks are sometimes tempered. For the time being, central aquatics might replace usual or non-tempered glass cabinets with tempered glass cabinets. However, there’ll be a caution tag attached to the tank bottom. 

What does Marineland’s bio-wheel do?

The Marineland bio-wheel uncovers useful bacteria in the air. It boosts bacteria function harder and quicker to maintain your aquarium ammonia-free. The bio-Wheel never clogs or needs to be replaced.

Last Words

When it comes to choosing an aquarium you need an affordable and high-quality aquarium. At the same time, which can complement your fish as well. 

From that standpoint, we tried our best to explain everything on aqueon vs Marineland However, before making a decision, always make sure your pets stay in comfortable and healthy conditions.

Happy fish gazing!