Bioscape 170 Ultra Clear Aquarium 71 x 51 x 50cm 10mm

• 10 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 instead of green. The difference is most obvious through a corner, where you look through two panels at once.
• 51 cm front to back – unusually deep for a 71 cm tank. It gives you room to build a foreground, midground and background instead of pressing hardscape flat against the rear glass.
• Rimless and braceless – no black plastic trim and no centre brace, so the whole water surface is open for planting, feeding and maintenance.
• 50 cm tall – deep enough for tall stem plants and large-bodied fish to use vertical space, and deep enough that lighting needs to be chosen with penetration in mind rather than by wattage.
• Open top – accepts any hang-on filter, clamp light, spray bar or lily pipe without cutting a hood to fit.
• Silicone-sealed construction – repairable and re-sealable by a competent aquarium technician, unlike moulded acrylic or one-piece bent panels.

Bioscape does not publish an empty weight, a silicone colour, a warranty term or a box-contents list for the Ultra Clear range, and does not list a drilled, bulkhead or overflow option for these tanks.

The 170 is a model designation rather than a measured volume, so it is worth knowing the real figures. 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 10 mm glass thickness, assuming 10 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 across this footprint takes out roughly 17 litres.

Use about 155 litres as your working volume for dosing and stocking, not 170. The 170 designation is a fairer approximation than it is on some tanks in this range, but it still sits above what you will actually be treating.

• One Bioscape 170 Ultra Clear glass aquarium, 71 x 51 x 50 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 yours to solve.
• Lighting. No fixture and no mounting brackets.
• Filtration. No filter, media, hoses, 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 71 x 51 cm. Length is the easy part; the 51 cm depth is what catches people out, because a great many aquarium cabinets are built around a 40 cm or 45 cm depth and this tank will overhang them at the back.

Cabinet size

You need a stand at least 71 cm long and at least 51 cm deep. Measure the cabinet's depth before ordering, not just its length. A 120 cm long cabinet that is only 45 cm deep is still the wrong stand for this 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 71 x 51 cm base. A four-legged frame that only touches the corners is unsuitable.

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 160 kg of water is sitting on it.

Weight and floor loading

Filled to 2 cm below the rim, the water alone is about 159 kg, calculated. Spread over the 0.36 square metre footprint that is roughly 440 kg per square metre from the water on its own, before the glass, substrate, rock and cabinet are counted. That is a heavy point load for a domestic timber floor, particularly upstairs or in a Queenslander. Site it against a load-bearing wall and across the joists rather than along a single one, and get advice if you are in any doubt about the floor. Bioscape does not publish an empty weight for this model. Fill it in its final position, never before.

Lighting reach

At 50 cm tall this tank holds roughly 47 cm of water. Light falls off sharply with depth, so a budget clamp fixture that performs well on a 30 cm tank may not put usable light on the substrate here. If you intend to grow carpeting plants or keep light-demanding corals, choose the fixture on its output at depth rather than on its wattage.

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

The 170 and the 300 in the Ultra Clear range share the same 51 x 50 cm cross-section – the 300 is simply 50 cm longer. So if you like this tank's proportions but want more water, the 300 is the same scape stretched out rather than a different shape. Choose the 170 over the Bioscape 120 Ultra Clear 81 x 36 x 40 cm when depth of scape matters more than length; the 120 is 10 cm longer but 15 cm shallower front to back. If this would be 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.

Suitable for

• Aquascapes with genuine front-to-back depth – iwagumi, nature-style and jungle layouts
• African cichlid and other rockwork-heavy setups, where 51 cm of depth allows real hardscape structure
• Community freshwater tanks of around 155 litres working volume
• Marine and reef setups run on a hang-on or canister filter
• Tall stem plants and large-bodied fish that use vertical swimming space

Not suitable for

• Cabinets shallower than 51 cm – which is most standard aquarium furniture
• Sump-based systems without modification – Bioscape lists no drilled or overflow option, so you would need a hang-on overflow box or a glass specialist to drill it
• Stands that support only the corners or the perimeter
• Jumping species without a separately purchased lid – there is no cover of any kind
• Upstairs rooms or older suspended floors without checking the floor loading first
• 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

• 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.
• Reaching the bottom: at 50 cm tall with 51 cm of depth, the far back corners are a long way from the front rim. A long-handled scraper and long tweezers save you leaning into the tank on every maintenance day.
• Silicone seams: inspect the internal seams once or twice a year for lifting or clouding at the corners. Aquarium silicone is a consumable measured in decades, not a permanent bond.
• Open top: expect meaningful evaporation, and more of it through 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. At this size that is a two-person job even empty.
• Hard water marks: deal with them while wet. Dried mineral deposits on low-iron glass are obvious and take work to remove.

• Bioscape PRO Easy Clean Canister Filter with Heater – the 1050 L/h model is rated to 250 L and comfortably covers this tank's roughly 155 L working volume, with an integrated heater that saves buying a separate one.
• Bioscape 300w Canister Heater – relevant if you run the 2000 L/h canister and ever need to replace its heating element.
• Bioscape Premium Bio-Cylinder Filter Medium 500gm – ceramic biological media to fill out whichever filter you pair with a tank this size.
• Bioscape Premium Fine Filter Wool 6 Pack – cut-to-fit polishing wool, worth having on hand from day one on a newly set up 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.

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 170 Ultra Clear really hold 170 litres?

Not quite. Calculated from Bioscape's published 71 x 51 x 50 cm external size and 10 mm glass, the tank holds about 166 litres filled to the brim and about 159 litres at a normal level 2 cm below the rim. Once substrate and hardscape are in, treat around 155 litres as your working volume for dosing and stocking.

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

No. The Bioscape 170 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.

What size cabinet does it need?

At least 71 cm long and at least 51 cm deep, supporting the entire base panel flat and continuously. The depth is the catch – many aquarium cabinets are built 40 to 45 cm deep and this tank will overhang them at the back, which is not acceptable on a rimless tank.

How heavy is it when full, and will my floor take it?

The water alone comes to roughly 159 kg at a normal fill level, which is about 440 kg per square metre across the 71 x 51 cm footprint before glass, substrate and cabinet are added. That is significant for a domestic floor. Position it against a load-bearing wall, across the joists rather than along one, and seek advice if the room is upstairs or the floor is an older suspended timber one.

How thick is the glass?

10 mm, in low-iron ultra clear glass. The smaller 110 and 120 use 8 mm, the 170, 180 and 300 all use 10 mm, and the 400 steps up to 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 Bioscape lists no drilled or overflow option for the Ultra Clear range, so running a sump means fitting a hang-on overflow box or having the tank drilled by a glass specialist before setup.

How is the 170 different from the 120 and the 300?

The 120 is longer but much shallower front to back, at 81 x 36 x 40 cm in 8 mm glass, which suits a panoramic layout. The 300 shares this tank's exact 51 x 50 cm cross-section and simply adds 50 cm of length. So the 170 is the compact way to get the deep, tall proportion, and the 300 is the same shape scaled up.