Bioscape 120 Ultra Clear Glass Aquarium Tank - 81x36x40

• 8 mm low-iron glass – low-iron glass (also sold as ultra clear or optiwhite) has the iron oxide content reduced, so the panels read colourless rather than green. The difference is most obvious looking through a corner, where you are seeing through two panels at once.
• Rimless and braceless – no black plastic trim and no centre brace, so the entire water surface is open for aquascaping, feeding, planting and maintenance.
• 81 cm long on a 36 cm footprint – a long, comparatively shallow front-to-back profile that sits on a 90 cm cabinet with clearance either side.
• 40 cm tall – low enough to reach the substrate without lying across the tank, and low enough that most slim LED and clamp fixtures put usable light on the bottom.
• Open top – accepts any hang-on filter, clamp light, spray bar or lily pipe without cutting a hood to fit.
• Silicone-sealed float glass construction – repairable and re-sealable by any competent aquarium technician, unlike moulded acrylic or one-piece bent panels.

Bioscape does not publish a silicone colour, an empty weight, or a box-contents list for the Ultra Clear range.

The 120 in the name is a model designation, not a measured volume. Working from the published 81 x 36 x 40 cm external size and 8 mm glass, the real figures come out lower. This matters because you dose treatments, size heaters and calculate stocking against actual water volume, not against the number on the box.

These internal figures are calculated from Bioscape's published external dimensions and 8 mm glass thickness, assuming 8 mm glass throughout with the side panels seated on the base panel. They are not manufacturer-published figures. Substrate and hardscape displace water, so a scaped tank holds less again – a 5 cm substrate bed over this footprint takes out roughly 13 litres.

Use about 100 litres as your working volume for dosing and stocking, not 120.

• One Bioscape 120 Ultra Clear glass aquarium, 81 x 36 x 40 cm

That is the complete list. Bioscape does not publish a box-contents statement for this range, and levelling mat supply varies between suppliers, so do not plan your setup around receiving one.

This is a bare tank, not a kit or a system. Every one of the following has to be bought separately:

• Stand or cabinet. No stand of any kind is supplied.
• Lid, hood or cover glass. The tank is open-topped. Jumping fish and evaporation are both your problem to solve.
• Lighting. No fixture, no mounting brackets.
• Filtration. No filter, no media, no hoses, no inlet or outlet fittings.
• Heater. No heater and no thermostat.
• Substrate, hardscape and decor.
• Levelling mat. Not confirmed as supplied by Bioscape. Budget for one.

The footprint is 81 x 36 cm, so a 90 cm cabinet gives you a few centimetres of overhang clearance at each end and a 100 cm cabinet gives you room for a sump return line beside it. Anything shorter than 81 cm will leave glass unsupported, which is not acceptable on a rimless tank.

Support

A rimless, braceless tank transmits load through the whole base panel rather than through a trim frame at the corners. It needs continuous, flat, full-contact support across the entire 81 x 36 cm base. A four-legged frame that only touches the corners is the wrong stand for this tank.

Levelling

Level it in both directions before adding water, and use a levelling mat between glass and stand. A grain of grit under the base panel becomes a point load once around 100 kg of water is sitting on it.

Weight

Filled to 2 cm below the rim, the water alone is about 102 kg, calculated. Add the glass itself, substrate and rock and a scaped 120 is comfortably a two-person lift when empty and immovable once filled. Bioscape does not publish an empty weight for this model. Fill it in its final position, never before.

Bioscape publishes six sizes in the Ultra Clear range. Glass thickness steps up with the size, which is why the larger tanks are disproportionately heavier.

The 120 is the one to pick when you want length and an easy reach. Its 36 cm front-to-back is the narrowest in the mid range, which keeps it visually light on a wall but limits how deep you can build a hardscape layout front to back. If depth of scape matters more than length, the Bioscape 170 Ultra Clear 71 x 51 x 50 cm gives you 51 cm to work with. If this is your first rimless tank, the Bioscape 60 cm Ultra Clear 63 L is a cheaper way to find out whether you like an open top. The full Bioscape Ultra Clear range lists every size together.

Suitable for

• Planted and nature aquascapes where an open top and clear corners matter
• Community freshwater tanks of around 100 litres working volume
• Shrimp and nano-fish displays, where low-iron glass shows colour properly
• Marine and reef setups run on a hang-on or canister filter
• Anyone replacing a trimmed tank on an existing 90 cm cabinet

Not suitable for

• Sump-based marine systems without modification – the tank is undrilled, so you need a hang-on overflow box or a drilling service
• Stands that only support the corners or the perimeter
• Jumping species without a separately purchased lid – there is no cover of any kind
• Turtles and axolotls needing a basking or land area, which this open glass box does not provide
• Anyone expecting a working setup out of the carton – nothing but glass is supplied
• Reptiles and terrestrial species – this is a water-tight aquarium with no ventilation

• Cleaning the glass: low-iron glass scratches exactly as easily as standard glass. Keep a grain of sand out from under your magnet cleaner or you will draw a permanent line across the front panel.
• Silicone seams: inspect the internal seams once or twice a year for lifting or clouding at the corners. Silicone in an aquarium is a consumable measured in decades, not a permanent bond.
• Open top: expect meaningful evaporation, and more of it in a Queensland summer. Top up with fresh water, not with saltwater or with treated tap water carrying more minerals.
• Moving it: never lift a rimless tank by one end and never slide it on its base. Empty it, then carry it supported from underneath.
• Hard water marks: deal with them while wet. Dried mineral deposits on low-iron glass are obvious and take work to remove.

• Bioscape PRO 1050LPH Canister Filter – rated to 250 L, so it is comfortably oversized on this tank's roughly 100 L working volume, and it has an integrated 200 W heater that removes the need for a separate one.
• Bioscape PRO Electronic Heater – if you filter with a hang-on unit instead, this tank still needs a heater sized to its real volume rather than the 120 on the label.
• Bioscape Slim Natural LED Light Unit – an 81 cm open top needs a fixture that spans it. Check the adjustable span against 81 cm before ordering.
• Bioscape Premium Fine Filter Wool 6 Pack – cut-to-fit polishing wool for whichever filter you pair with the tank.

Bioscape does not publish a warranty term for the Ultra Clear aquarium range. Whatever manufacturer warranty applies sits in addition to your rights under the Australian Consumer Law, which are not limited by any manufacturer's warranty. Where goods are not of acceptable quality you are entitled to a repair, replacement or refund.

At 81 cm long this is an oversize, fragile glass item and is handled as a bulky freight item rather than a standard parcel. Inspect the tank for chips along the edges and corners before it is filled – a chipped edge on a rimless tank is a structural issue, not a cosmetic one.

Does the Bioscape 120 Ultra Clear really hold 120 litres?

No. The 120 is a model designation. Calculated from Bioscape's published 81 x 36 x 40 cm external size and 8 mm glass, the tank holds about 107 litres filled to the brim and about 102 litres filled to a normal level 2 cm below the rim. Once substrate and hardscape are in, treat around 100 litres as your working volume for dosing and stocking.

Does it come with a lid, light, filter or heater?

No. The Bioscape 120 Ultra Clear is supplied as a bare glass tank only. There is no lid or cover glass, no lighting, no filtration, no heater and no stand. Everything needed to run the tank is bought separately.

How thick is the glass?

8 mm, in low-iron ultra clear glass, on all panels. The 110 also uses 8 mm; the 170, 180 and 300 step up to 10 mm and the 400 uses 15 mm.

Can I use it as a marine or reef tank?

Yes. It is plain glass and silicone with no equipment, so nothing about the tank restricts it to freshwater. The limitation is that it is undrilled – if you want to run a sump you will need a hang-on overflow box or to have the tank drilled by a glass specialist before it is set up.

What size stand does it need?

The base is 81 x 36 cm, so a 90 cm cabinet is the natural fit. The critical requirement is that the stand supports the entire base panel flat and continuously. Rimless tanks have no trim to spread the load to the corners, so a frame that only touches at the corners or around the perimeter is unsuitable.

How heavy is it when full?

The water alone comes to roughly 102 kg at a normal fill level, calculated at one kilogram per litre. Substrate, rock and the glass itself add to that. Bioscape does not publish an empty weight. Always position the tank on its final stand before filling it.