Biorb Or Conventional Tank

bravehart

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My duaghter would like a fish tank for her birthday. Luckily we stumbled across this fantastic website and found out there is alot more to keeping fish than the local fish store tell you!
So she has come to the conclusion that she would like to keep tropical fish and we figured a 60L tank would be a good size. We are in an area where there is hard water.
I had heard from a freind about Biorbs and that potentially they may be easier to look after? There doesn't seem to be much mention of them on here. Any help deciding between a conventional tank and a Biorb would be much appreciated.
One other question springs to mind, she wants to keep the fish in her bedroom and I think her idea is to have soem live plants, is it ok to have the light switched off all night?

Tim
 
Hi Tim, what sort of fish are you intending on keeping?

My GF has a biorb for white cloud minnows and they are a little simpler to maintain as you just replace the foam cartridge on a regular basis, the substrate is used as the biological filter, it is a pourus, sharp substrate and would not be suitable for certain types of fish which burrow for food in the substrate, Cories would be a good example of this as they would continually damage their barbs and risk infection. It also depends on what you want to look at from an asthetics perspective. As a biorb is round you will get distortion of the fish inside depending where they are in the tank, I personally don't like this but that is just my personal preference.

You can keep live plants in a biorb, but they would need to be weighted down as again the substrate is large and not very compactable so plants would tend to float up out of it. The lighting with a biorb is also minimal thus limiting the type of plants you could grow in there, if you look in the planted tank section I am sure you will come across low tech setups in biorbs which look really nice.

The 'lights on' period is up to you really as long as plants get 6 - 8 (preferabley in a continuos period to promote photosynthesis) hours light a day then they would be fine. Plants actually need a dark period as well and this is better during the night for obvious reasons.

One other side note on the biorb is that direct sunlight can be magnified through them due to the shape and could cause a fire risk, s you need to think where it will be situated. i.e. not in the window cill etc.

Hope this helps a little.

Mark
 
My duaghter would like a fish tank for her birthday. Luckily we stumbled across this fantastic website and found out there is alot more to keeping fish than the local fish store tell you!
So she has come to the conclusion that she would like to keep tropical fish and we figured a 60L tank would be a good size. We are in an area where there is hard water.
I had heard from a freind about Biorbs and that potentially they may be easier to look after? There doesn't seem to be much mention of them on here. Any help deciding between a conventional tank and a Biorb would be much appreciated.
One other question springs to mind, she wants to keep the fish in her bedroom and I think her idea is to have soem live plants, is it ok to have the light switched off all night?

Tim


Were it me, I would opt for conventional rectangular tank.Smaller surafce area of biorb, means less oxygen exchange at the surface which in turn means fewer fish could be kept.Might also make installing proper filter a bit easier unless using sponge filter.
Plants need approx 10 hours of light per day for photosynthesis and turning them off of an evening is good idea.IMHO.
With enough plants,and few fish,, you might not even need a filter xcept perhaps for circulation but I will let others more expierienced with plants comment further.
 
Hi Tim, what sort of fish are you intending on keeping?

We have been advised that Tetras and Platys are good fish for beginners and thought we might introduce a couple of shrimp later on to help keep the tank clean.

Tim
 
My duaghter would like a fish tank for her birthday. Luckily we stumbled across this fantastic website and found out there is alot more to keeping fish than the local fish store tell you!
So she has come to the conclusion that she would like to keep tropical fish and we figured a 60L tank would be a good size. We are in an area where there is hard water.
I had heard from a freind about Biorbs and that potentially they may be easier to look after? There doesn't seem to be much mention of them on here. Any help deciding between a conventional tank and a Biorb would be much appreciated.
One other question springs to mind, she wants to keep the fish in her bedroom and I think her idea is to have soem live plants, is it ok to have the light switched off all night?

Tim


Were it me, I would opt for conventional rectangular tank.Smaller surafce area of biorb, means less oxygen exchange at the surface which in turn means fewer fish could be kept.Might also make installing proper filter a bit easier unless using sponge filter.
Plants need approx 10 hours of light per day for photosynthesis and turning them off of an evening is good idea.IMHO.
With enough plants,and few fish,, you might not even need a filter xcept perhaps for circulation but I will let others more expierienced with plants comment further.


Wow! I really should google before commenting ,but the fact that this particular system has built in filter does not in my view change the fact that it is too small to get into to perform cleaning,biomedia on the bottom could over time become a place for food to collect and rot,and price for this system would allow you to buy much larger conventional aquarium.
 
Hi Tim and welcome to the TFF beginners section!

I agree with the others above that just about every aspect of the particular kit tank setup you are discussing can be found to have serious faults when examined by an experienced aquarist, except perhaps the cute shape and the fact that it can be brought home in one box!

If you were a typical complete beginner bouncing around with hardly any information to go on except maybe a random fish store employee, then a little tank kit like that might be ok... but as of now, you're not! You have stumbled, in my opinion, on perhaps the nicest, most friendly and amazing forum around. There are an amazing number of very experienced fishkeepers and specialists here but there is also a spirit of sharing somehow maintained most of the time. I myself am a "re-beginner" from the old days and have learned more than I ever imagined.

The tropical fish keeping hobby is one of the very best things you could hope to share with a son or daughter. Often it ends up being a lot of fun for the whole family. Its one of the few things these days that goes against the trend of faster, more, louder and all the normal daily stresses of school and work. And the process of -learning- the hobby can also be the beginning of the more calm, patient feel that the end product hobby itself has if you let it be. Anyway, that's my plug for you giving a shot at the patience it will take to gradually pull the good info out of the members here and gradually learn the hobby with your daughter.

Once you have an info source like this its easier to abandon the kit setups and work your way through the basic decisions of the individual equipment needed. One of the very first lessons is that contrary to what one might first think, more water volume is easier for beginners. This is because water chemistry changes take longer to happen in larger amounts of water. You have more time to see something bad happening. Also, more volume means more choices of fish and greater numbers of fish. Most beginners think their desires for numbers and species will be modest but its the case that things are more limited than one first realizes and each bit of added volume greatly increases the choices and flexibility.

Another very early consideration is whether to site the tank in the child's bedroom or elsewhere in the house. Often noise is not considered until too late. It can require somewhat more expensive equipment to maintain the more quiet bedroom a child might be used to sleeping in. On the other hand, a tank in one's own room is a great plus in many ways for a child. A tank needs to be away from direct sunlight. It needs to be protected from high traffic areas, like hallways, where it might be hit or knocked. It needs to be in a reasonable situation with respect to warmth or cold so that maintaining the correct tropical temperature won't be too difficult.

Since you've already been looking at the water volume of 60L/16G you are way ahead of the game: 57L/15G to 76L/20G is great in that it is larger than many, many of the small tanks we see beginners struggle with. But its also good in that it doesn't get so huge that extra help is needed in moving the raw tank itself and it won't be so hard to reach in to or to drain and fill. All these are things to think about. Plain rectangular tanks chosen at a standard size have many advantages, not least of which is a wider range of accessories that fit and work well with them. Height is also a consideration: some tall fish like angels need at least 17" height but in general tanks that are not as high as that are easier to maintain and have better surface area for their size. Surface area is the prime determinant of gas exhange (water movement at the surface is also quite important.) Fish need oxygen and plants need CO2 not to be driven off to much, so its a balance. The type of light and wattage becomes important for success with live plants so that's another little decision that gets in your way initially.

I'll leave you with all this to read and discuss and I'll also give you your first homework assignment if you want: read three articles in our Beginners Resource Center: the Nitrogen Cycle, the Fishless Cycle and the Fish-In Cycling situation. Don't worry if they don't all make sense yet, there will be plenty of time to work on them. I believe there might be a good Tank Startup article there too by Miss Wiggle but I can't remember the title.

Good luck and again, welcome to TFF,
~~waterdrop~~ :)
 
waterdrop has pretty mcuh covered everything so i will just add my 2cents

If you are truly wanting a fish tank go for a Jewel Record 60 or similar rectangular fish tank, you will get much more out of the hobby and have many options in regard to livestock, plants and decor,

However If your wanting a decorate object with a very minimal number of pretty fish and options then by all means go for the biorb
 
waterdrop has pretty mcuh covered everything so i will just add my 2cents

If you are truly wanting a fish tank go for a Jewel Record 60 or similar rectangular fish tank, you will get much more out of the hobby and have many options in regard to livestock, plants and decor,

However If your wanting a decorate object with a very minimal number of pretty fish and options then by all means go for the biorb


Thanks for all your considered replies. We were only considering the Biorb because we had heard it would be easier to look after, but as you say, I think we will get much more out of it with the rectangular tank.

Tim
 
Ok, seeing as you added me as a friend, I assume you realise I like biorbs? :lol:

Mark has said it all well but I'll add my bit. Firstly I'll start by saying throw away the instructions that come with these lovely tanks. The instructions are dire imho and not to be regarded as an indication on the best way to run a biorb.
These tanks can be a success if you stock lightly with small slim bodied fish - 1cm of adult fish length per litre of water max.
The ceramic media that these tanks come with is very good to start off with. It does trap some of the food and poop, but with regular weekly maintenance of 10% water changes and regular vac'ing of the media it can be easily maintained.
The fish that are suitable for this tank are a little restrictive for the exerienced fishkeeper, but you can run a beautiful tank nonetheless.
As I say, small slim bodied fish - a single male betta on it's own, hengels or harlequin rasboras, male platy, minnows, endlers, chili rasboras and once matured 5 months or so - tetras like neons, cardinals or such are all good fish for the biorb.
Bottom dwellers like cories are a no go as they need a larger footprint and the media can damage their barbels.
Rounded pea gravel the size of a garden pea or slightly larger can replace the ceramic media and is easy enough to do if the time is right for you.

I wouldn't be put off the biorb personally. I had my first trop tank as a 30L and had cardinals and neons in it and it was a beautiful tank to watch and enjoy.

However, a Juwel Rekord 60 is a great tank too.

Check this out for a great little deal
HERE :D
 
comes down to personal preference - - do you want a tank that has a larger footprint but more stocking options, or a smaller footprint for a small stocking?
 
They are so groovy the 30L biorbs though. I often have a hankering for another one :lol: I had the baby biorb and liked it when I converted to sand with a small internal, bogwood and anubias with green neons in but I wouldn't have another as it's simply too small. The 60L orb was a nice size and I tried a fair few different things with it but the scaping was an issue with me and the 30L orb or the biube wins hands down - especially the biube pure :D I guess once you've got the orb bug you can't help but love them for something different :lol: I'd still prefer a 30L orb over even my stylish Fluval Edge to be truthful.
 
They are so groovy the 30L biorbs though. I often have a hankering for another one :lol: I had the baby biorb and liked it when I converted to sand with a small internal, bogwood and anubias with green neons in but I wouldn't have another as it's simply too small. The 60L orb was a nice size and I tried a fair few different things with it but the scaping was an issue with me and the 30L orb or the biube wins hands down - especially the biube pure :D I guess once you've got the orb bug you can't help but love them for something different :lol: I'd still prefer a 30L orb over even my stylish Fluval Edge to be truthful.

I do like the idea of the Biorbs, but I think for our first tank we will stick to the conventional. On a seperate topic I can't seem to see the pictures of your tanks. Not sure if it might be a firewall thing at work or....?
 
As attractive as it is, there is nothing like a rectangular tank. The other problem is once you start this, you want to get more fish. The larger the tank you can get the better off you are.

:hi:
SH
 
I do like the idea of the Biorbs, but I think for our first tank we will stick to the conventional. On a seperate topic I can't seem to see the pictures of your tanks. Not sure if it might be a firewall thing at work or....?
It must be a firewall as I know the pics are there on photobucket. I don't delete any of the fishy pics as they're on so many forums :lol:

I think you're doing the right thing by going for a conventional cornered tank tbh. I started my tropical fishkeeping with a 30L biorb but was lucky to find a place that is biorb specific to give me decent info and I could ignore the rubbish info that comes with the tanks themselves.
If you aren't careful you'll end up with tanks all over the place instead of table lamps :lol: like someone I know :blush: ;)
 

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