Superfish Start 70 Tropical Kit Review: A Complete 60 cm Aquarium for Beginners

Introduction

The Superfish Start 70 is an all-in-one tropical aquarium kit built around a 60 cm tank, and it ranks among the most affordable tanks of that size you can buy. Instead of selling a bare glass box, Superfish bundles in the equipment most new keepers would otherwise have to research and purchase separately: a filter, a heater, and a starter set of maintenance essentials.

That completeness is the real story here. First tanks rarely fail because of the glass. They fail because a piece of equipment was missing, undersized, or bought twice. A kit that arrives ready to fill removes a lot of that friction.

This review covers what the Start 70 includes, where it performs well in practice, and the trade-offs worth understanding before you commit.

Who the Superfish Start 70 Is For

Sixty centimetres is the practical sweet spot for anyone who wants a proper planted aquarium without the footprint of a 4 ft tank. The proportions work: the tank is long enough to build a real composition in, tall enough to show off a layered scape, and shallow enough that you are not filling it with substrate by the bucket.

It makes sense for first-time keepers who want a single purchase to cover the essentials, and for more experienced hobbyists who want a low-tech planted tank that stays easy to live with. The kit is also a strong match for calm, low-flow species such as bettas, where a gentle filter setting and a moderate light level matter far more than raw output.

The tank comes in two finishes for the rim and hood, black or white, and both use the same glass and the same equipment.

Whichever finish you choose, the kit is aimed at the same buyer: someone who wants the equipment question answered in one purchase and would rather spend their time on plants, hardscape, and livestock than on comparing filter specifications.

What Comes in the Box

The kit covers the equipment side of setting up a tropical tank:

• A 60 cm lidded tank with a fitted hood and rim
• An internal filter
• A heater
• A net
• A thermometer
• A tap water purifier
• A bottle of beneficial bacteria to help start the filter

What is not included is just as important: fish, water, substrate, hardscape, and plants. Those are your own choices, and they are where most of the setup budget goes.

The hood is designed to stay on. It has a feeding hatch, so daily feeding does not require lifting the lid. Inside, one LED strip is fitted as standard, with a clearly visible slot for a second strip should you want more light later.

Main Strengths

The headline strength is value. The complete kit sells for around £100, which is remarkable for a 60 cm tank that arrives with filtration, heating, and lighting already solved.

The filter is more capable than the price suggests. It moves 400 litres per hour and is rated for tanks in the roughly 100 to 200 litre range, so there is plenty of headroom in a 60 cm setup. Inside there is activated carbon alongside mechanical sponge filtration, and the sponge is fine enough to keep the water clear. A controller lets you dial the flow down, and a spray bar spreads the return across the surface. At full speed the surface movement is brisk while the rest of the water column stays gentle, which is exactly the behaviour you want with slow-swimming fish. Turned to its lowest setting, the flow is mild enough for a betta.

The filter is also easy to hide. Placed in a back corner behind plants, and with a dark background behind the tank, it all but disappears.

The lighting is deliberately moderate rather than bright. A single strip is enough to run a low-tech planted scape and to keep red stem plants looking their best, and it is a comfortable level for fish that dislike intense light. If you want more, Superfish offers upgrade strips separately, one pure white and one combining white and red, and neither costs very much.

Finally, the proportions. The tank is 60 cm long with a sensible depth and a decent amount of height, which is the combination that makes aquascaping possible without making maintenance a chore.

Things to Consider Before Buying

The included lighting is the main limitation to plan around. One strip is well judged for a low-tech planted tank, but it is not a high-output light. Over pale sand, too much brightness invites algae, so the moderate output is arguably a feature rather than a flaw. Still, if your goal is a demanding, high-light aquascape, budget for the second strip or an upgrade.

Flow is adjustable but not infinitely so. The lowest setting suits bettas, and the spray bar keeps the surface moving without blasting the tank, but very delicate long-finned fish in a small volume will still appreciate plenty of planting to break up the current.

The kit stops at equipment. Plants, substrate, hardscape, water, and livestock are all down to you, and they add up. Planting heavily from the start is the approach that works best, so it is worth setting aside a realistic budget for plants rather than treating them as an afterthought.

If you prefer an open-top look, the hood is where the lighting lives, so removing it means buying a separate 60 cm light unit. That option exists and is worth knowing about, but it is not part of the kit.

Finally, a new tank is still a new tank. The beneficial bacteria included in the box helps, but it does not remove the need to test the water and respond to what you find.

Setup and Stocking Notes

The included bacteria is meant to be used at the point the tank is filled and the filter is running. From there, the sensible routine is to test for ammonia and nitrite the following morning. If either shows a spike, change around 50 percent of the water and keep testing and changing until the readings settle. This is a fish-in cycle, and it works reliably as long as it is not rushed.

Gradual stocking is the safer path, especially for anyone new to it. Start with a single fish, then add a couple more over the following week, and continue in small steps until you reach the number you actually want. There is no benefit to doing it all at once.

New wood is worth expecting a little mess from. A slight tint in the water and small fungus growths on the wood are both common in the first days. Brushing them off and changing part of the water resets things quickly.

Planting heavily from day one pays off in several ways at once. More plants means less algae pressure, more cover for fish, and a tank that looks finished sooner. Floating plants are a useful addition over bright sand because they shade the substrate and soften the light reaching the bottom.

Lighting and Long-Term Flexibility

The hood ships with a single LED strip installed and a slot ready for a second. That gives you a clear upgrade path without changing the tank itself. The two optional strips, one pure white and one mixing white with red, are inexpensive additions, and the white and red version is the one to consider if you want stronger colour from red plants.

The practical question is how much light the tank needs. With one strip, the water stays well lit, a low-tech scape grows happily, and the sand does not become an algae magnet. That balance is the reason the single strip is the right default for most buyers.

For anyone set on an open-top aquarium, the alternative is a separate 60 cm light unit that sits over the rim. It is a sleek option and a genuine upgrade, but it is a separate purchase and a different way of running the tank. Neither route is better in the abstract. It depends on whether you want the lid or the open silhouette.

Buying Advice

The Start 70 makes the most sense as a first aquarium or as an affordable second tank for a low-tech planted setup. Around £100 buys a 60 cm tank with filtration, heating, lighting, and a starter set of maintenance items, and the individual components are genuinely usable rather than throwaway placeholders. The filter has real capacity, the light suits the kind of tank most people actually build, and the included bacteria gets the cycle moving.

Buy it with realistic expectations. This is a moderate-light, gentle-flow kit, and it is excellent within those boundaries. If you want a bright, high-energy aquascape or an open-top display, the tank still works, but you will be adding lighting to get there.

For anyone who wants a planted tropical tank that is easy to set up, easy to maintain, and kind to calm fish, the Start 70 is a straightforward recommendation.

Conclusion

The Superfish Start 70 gets the fundamentals right. It is a well-proportioned 60 cm tank with a filter that has genuine headroom, a heater, lighting that suits a low-tech planted aquascape, and a feeding hatch that keeps daily maintenance simple. At around £100 for the complete kit, the value is hard to argue with.

Its limits are clear and predictable: the included light is moderate, the flow needs adjusting for the calmest fish, and plants, substrate, and hardscape are down to you. None of those are reasons to avoid it. They are simply the things to plan for.

If you are setting up your first tropical tank, or you want an affordable planted tank that does not demand much, the Start 70 is a sensible place to start.