Looking to spoil your fish by giving them a nice, roomy bowl to swim in?
Or maybe your fish is outgrowing its current bowl and is ready for an upgrade?
Great!
I’ve put together a list of the top big goldfish bowls – with my review of each one.
There are a lot of bowls on the market, but these picks have some distinct advantages.
Also:
I tell you everything I used to set up my own bowl for a healthy, thriving little underwater world!
Enough said – let’s dive in!
A Quick Comparison of Our Favorites
Image | Product | Details | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Our Top Pick |
|
Koller 3 Gallon Plastic Fish Bowl |
|
Check Price |
|
CYS EXCEL Glass Fish Bowl |
|
Check Price | |
|
BiOrb Large Acrylic Bowl |
|
Check Price |
1. Koller 3 Gallon Plastic Fish Bowl
If you’re looking for an inexpensive goldfish bowl that is large enough to hold a good bit of water, this is a good choice for you.
The bowl doesn’t come with any bells or whistles – it’s up to you what you want to put in it.
Here it is all set up on my desk (with Wally looking just as cute as ever):
There’s an “upgraded” version available that includes a filter and color changing light.
It’s called:
Koller Products AquaView 3-Gallon Aquarium with Power Filter and LED Lighting
I really really love this bowl because it’s a really nice all-inclusive kit.
And it also holds 3 gallons, so nice and large to boot.
The color changing LED is really fun, and it fits the bowl very well (while preventing fish from jumping out).
2. CYS EXCEL Glass Fish Bowl
This beautiful bowl comes in several sizes, depending on your needs:
The glass is thick and sturdy so it can hold water – thicker than most bowls you will ever come across.
For me this has been a big concern, because some large glass fishbowls might hold water for a time, then burst unexpectedly after a few weeks due to the weakness of the thin glass – which would be a total nightmare for you and your fish.
So:
I wouldn’t be comfortable with anything thinner than this one.
Yes, glass is more breakable than plastic.
But it’s probably the safest material you can use – it also has no risk of weird chemicals that might leach into the water with time or exposure to heat.
It’s really hard to trust exactly what materials people use during the manufacturing process of even so-called “fish-safe” products like large plastic goldfish bowls, which is why acrylic – or better yet, glass – is worth considering.
Also…
… No worries about discoloration over time.
Finally, a huge advantage of this particular bowl is (in my opinion) the massive opening at the top.
Larger openings have the advantages of allowing for more oxygen exchange at the surface of the water, as well as being easier to maneuver around in with your hands while cleaning or decorating.
One note about glass bowls:
Don’t allow them to get direct sunlight.
Not only can it cause the bowl to experience drastic swings in temperature which can stress the fish – it’s a fire hazard (the glass can act like a condensing lens).
If you want to put it in an area that gets occasional direct sun, my advice is to put some kind of a screen on the side of the bowl that the light would come in.
Better safe than sorry! 🙂
3. BiOrb Large Acrylic Bowl
If you’re looking for a spacious bowl for your goldfish to swim around happily in, the BiOrb is an excellent option.
The smallest size is 4 gallons.
But it gets even larger – even 8 or 16 gallons!
In fact, that just might be the biggest fish bowl available on the market.
This bowl is just awesome for several reasons:
Firstly because… acrylic 🙂
Acrylic is more than 10X stronger than glass and offers even more clarity than glass or plastic.
It also comes with everything you need to get started, such as porous filtration media, aeration tube, LED light and an air pump (even some beneficial bacteria to kickstart the cycle).
The assembly is actually pretty cost-effective compared to buying everything separately and piecing everything together yourself – especially considering the number of gallons you are getting for the price.
BiOrb bowls come with a black or gray base/lid.
There’s also a white version called the BiOrb Halo.
It’s modern look is perfect for a home or office.
Some observations:
Because the filter cartridge area is located at the bottom, using sand on top of polyfiber pad would not be practical.
I would personally opt to use Seachem Matrix at the bottom as it doesn’t need to be replaced regularly – and performs better than any other porous media I’ve come across.
The next thing I would do would be to pack this thing with plants, especially nutrient-hungry plants like Hornwort.
Read More: Top 6 biOrb Aquarium
How I set Up My Large Fish Bowl
Equipment I used:
- Koller 3 gallon fish bowl
- Undergravel bowl filter
- Adjustable air pump & airline tubing – for the filter
- Thermometer & heater
- Caribsea Crystal River aquarium sand
- Polyfiber aquarium pad
- Seachem Matrix (at the very bottom)
- Matrix Carbon (in the filter cartridge)
Plants I used:
- Anubias nana petite (foreground)
- Anubias Barteri (midground)
- Bacopa/moneywort (background)
You don’t have to go as complex as I did on the substrate part.
Instead of 3 layers, you could just do Seachem Matrix or regular gravel on top of the undergravel filter plate.
I had it set up like that for a while but switched to this as I found the sand was easier to clean. Also unless you mix some heavier pebbles in with the Matrix, it doesn’t do as great a job of holding down the undergravel filter.
To keep it from getting sucked under the filter plate:
I cut a circular piece of filter pad with two slits for the tube attachments to go through.
The Seachem matrix is underneath everything at the very bottom.
Why?
It has a big surface area that allows for a bigger colony of bacteria to grow.
One thing I tried was having pothos on the lip of the bowl attached by a piece of plastic coated frame-hanging wire:
It grew lots of roots in the bowl, which gave it a “jungle” feel.
Pothos takes out nitrates and helps purify the water.
Aesthetically I prefer it without 🙂
But since I only put relatively slow-growing plants at the bottom I felt like it was a good idea to have a heavy nutrient-feeding plant.
If I did it over again I would use something fast-growing like Hornwort in the bowl instead to help purify the water.
However:
It’s not mandatory.
Frankly the charcoal filter seems to do a great job at preventing ammonia spikes in case of overfeeding (I’m not the only one spoiling this little guy)!
My last note on this setup is that I started having some issues with brown algae after about 4 months of it being set up.
Some Ramshorn snails wouldn’t be a bad idea to help nibble on the diatoms – or aesthetically intrusive as a larger snail.
I wouldn’t have to worry about little Wally eating them up like I would my big monster goldfish in my large tanks.
Final Thoughts
What kind of bowl you choose for your goldfish depends on your individual preferences for material, as well as how many gallons you want your fish to have.
I always say the bigger the better, as more water volume dilutes the waste and allows for greater stability for your pet.
Don’t forget that it is highly recommended to use a filter for your fish bowl – no matter how big or small.
The good news is they aren’t expensive. 😉
So, what do you think?
Have you been trying to find a large bowl for your fish?
What kind of setup do you have (or want to have)?
Leave your comment below to share your thoughts!
I have two fish very happy in a plastic bowl no filter but I’ve had them for year and half but now I think they need a bigger bowl as the are growing!
Thanks for sharing!
Is the firs bowl round or like a drum,and what is the filter in the first one
It is round. The filter is a Penn Plax undergravel bowl filter.
Are there any drum shaped fish bowls that are larger than 2 gallons,if not,then does the killer distort the fish,and is Wally live and well?
I don’t know of any. The Koller 3 gallon has some distortion (all round bowls do), but not nearly as much as the smaller bowls. The bigger the bowl the less distortion you get. It kind of bugged me at first but then I got used to it and actually ended up liking it because it makes the fish look huge when they swim to the back and you can see them really well 🙂 Yes Wally is alive and well. He has changed colors to white and grown a bit. He currently lives with a black moor buddy.
Thanks,but will the filter fit in a fishbowl drum? Because that’s what I plan on getting,and cool setup
And are they in the same tank or different,and what kind of goldfish is Wally,he is adorable
Yes it does fit a standard 2 gallon drum. And yes they are. He is is a ranchu. (^_^) Got him from Walmart last year!
First off I would just like to say that you have a very nice website, there seems to be quite a bit of good information, and you do seem to know quite a bit about goldfish. However, the is a definite problem with keeping goldfish in any bowl under 30 gallons (I have only seen a few bowls this size, and are typically quite expensive). This is due to the fact that all goldfish produce more waste than most other fish, which in turn leads to more ammonia, which is toxic. There is also the issue of size, goldfish get large (up to 16 inches, bigger for comets). Even if you stunt the growth of a goldfish’s outsides, the internals will continue to grow, which will kill off a goldfish in about two years, and when you consider that a healthy goldfish can live for 16 years it is quite sad. I hate to sound negative, especially to people getting into the hobby, but such bowls should be reserved to betas, nano fish, or shrimp (provided they are heated and have filtration of some kind). Like I said, I do really like you cite, it is very easy to navigate, and has some good information. I hope I don’t come across as an arrogant person.
Hi Garhett, thanks for your comment and phrasing it without coming across arrogant or rude just because you have a different opinion. Thank you also for your kind words regarding my site. I respect your right to have your opinion and respect you for sharing it the way that you did. 🙂 I probably won’t change your mind, but here are my replies to your points below:
1) “This is due to the fact that all goldfish produce more waste than most other fish, which in turn leads to more ammonia, which is toxic.”
– I have found that ammonia in a cycled tank is usually due to insufficient filtration or lack of filtration/water changes altogether. All tanks are much smaller water volume than what fish have in the wild, which is why it is only a matter of time before they all become toxic without filtration or water changes. I talk more about this in my post on tank size.
2) “There is also the issue of size, goldfish get large (up to 16 inches, bigger for comets).”
– Please see my post on how big do goldfish get.
3) Even if you stunt the growth of a goldfish’s outsides, the internals will continue to grow, which will kill off a goldfish in about two years
– The 9 oldest goldfish in the world were all stunted, please see my post on stunting for more details.
Thanks for stopping by and for voicing your thoughts in a polite manner!
I’ve really enjoyed reading on this site. I am a goldfish lover. Mine, who’s name is Splash is somewhere around 14 years old and he, (??? not really sure of his gender) is quite beautiful. His bowl is five gallons and has a traditional round shape. He adds great beauty to my living room. I would love to find a 10 gallon bowl of the same shape but don’t know where to look. Suggestions?
Thank you…chris
I think you might have to look into the biOrb 8 gallon to find something similar to what you have in mind, they are the only ones I know of that make bowls that large.
My kid won a goldfish and he got ammonia poisoning. We are currently trying to treat him and as we wait for him to start swimming again. We are trying to figure out a good tank. We don’t want anything big. We want it big enough to scoop out the fish and possibly fit one more. We want the tank to fit on a table/desktop. Any good ideas? We saw Some half moon style tanks and round one with a filter in the middle called a bettaflo. Will those work just like your fish bowls you posted? I’m thinking 3-5 gallon size.
Thank you for all the advice you share on your website as there are lots of people out there that try to get us scared by having smaller tanks for our goldfish.
You might want to check out this post 🙂