Biorbs Gravel/media Please Read If You Have 1!

[The chilly dipper]

to all those who read this,do so very carfully if you have a biorb.

DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES CHANGE OR THROW AWAY THE ORIGINAL CERAMIC MEDIA FOR THE BOTTOM OF THE TANK!!!!!!!!!

this is essential for the correct filtration of your orb.
the special media that comes with the orbs is such that the lava rock provides a bigger surface area for the good bacteria to break down waste.

if you have a flat layer of average gravel and smother the filter,this orb will never fully cycle for you as mine isnt for me.

the circumference of the biorb is such that a 1 inch layer of gravel will never house enough bacteria to "eat" your fishes waste totally. because the area of the orb is far greater than the base of the orb. also remove the zeolite from your filter.

use only large pourous lava rock and do the substrate change slowly over time as to allow the bacteria to move over to the new substrate.

if your having trouble cycling or keep getting mini cycles.. this may be why.

thanks guys
the chilly dipper
biorb owner

 

[Tizer]

lol

 

[The chilly dipper]

lol

im really starting to hate them mate lol waste of money ..cant wait to get a proper tank

 

[Tizer]

One thing thats worth a mention is that the gravel you are talking about is probably THE best biomedia out there, its rough surface area is crazy big and the bacteria do manage to colonise it very easily. If you actually cycled the tank properly and allowed the bacteria to build up, you could actually use it in an external filter on a new tank. All be that a bit of a pointless process now

 

[The chilly dipper]

One thing thats worth a mention is that the gravel you are talking about is probably THE best biomedia out there, its rough surface area is crazy big and the bacteria do manage to colonise it very easily. If you actually cycled the tank properly and allowed the bacteria to build up, you could actually use it in an external filter on a new tank. All be that a bit of a pointless process now

my orb is cycled ish but the gravel is fine and not good for the filter , i didnt realise this till last night.

so i did some research and punched myself lol

 

[Tizer]

So if you dont have the biorb gravel in there, what exactly is holding the bacteria for you to believe your tank is cycled..ish?

 

[The chilly dipper]

So if you dont have the biorb gravel in there, what exactly is holding the bacteria for you to believe your tank is cycled..ish?

its really small tank gravel i got it cos i didnt know anybetter and the tank was second hand so he never gave me the bio orb media.

i say cycled ish cos ive gone through the ammonia and nitrite spikes but still remains ammonia every now and then.

 

[Tizer]

Tank gravel wont hold any significant amount of bacteria, is there a sponge in the bottom? if there is there might be a colony of bacteria building up there but i wouldnt be too sure. What fish are in the tank, how often do you water change? Sounds like a bit of a mess if you are getting ammonia readings.

I would be tempted to take any fish back that you have and put some of these in it

Sounds like you need a fresh start Im sure after a few weeks reading on here you will come up with a plan

 

[The chilly dipper]

Tank gravel wont hold any significant amount of bacteria, is there a sponge in the bottom? if there is there might be a colony of bacteria building up there but i wouldnt be too sure. What fish are in the tank, how often do you water change? Sounds like a bit of a mess if you are getting ammonia readings.

I would be tempted to take any fish back that you have and put some of these in it

Sounds like you need a fresh start Im sure after a few weeks reading on here you will come up with a plan

lol you make me pi** lol haha nice fish i mite actually get some lol

i water change every other day,50% and i have 3 calico fantails and a blacmoore in there.

its an undergravel filter im sure its not working properly due to the gravel being too small

 

[KkAaNnEe]

Yeah you are correct, you cannot use any other substrate in the bottom, saying that, you can use ALFAFROG which is the same thing and can be purchased on eBay for a couple quid.

I actually took the internal undergravel system out of my Biube, but tbh I never had any problems with the tank, and I felt the filter was actually pretty good. Considering you have four goldfish in there, the filter would never win anyway...

 

[The chilly dipper]

Yeah you are correct, you cannot use any other substrate in the bottom, saying that, you can use ALFAFROG which is the same thing and can be purchased on eBay for a couple quid.

I actually took the internal undergravel system out of my Biube, but tbh I never had any problems with the tank, and I felt the filter was actually pretty good. Considering you have four goldfish in there, the filter would never win anyway...

over stocked?
theyre not as messy as gold fish they are smaller at the mo if this makes any difference to ammonia excretion.

 

[KkAaNnEe]

Yeah you are correct, you cannot use any other substrate in the bottom, saying that, you can use ALFAFROG which is the same thing and can be purchased on eBay for a couple quid.

I actually took the internal undergravel system out of my Biube, but tbh I never had any problems with the tank, and I felt the filter was actually pretty good. Considering you have four goldfish in there, the filter would never win anyway...

over stocked?
theyre not as messy as gold fish they are smaller at the mo if this makes any difference to ammonia excretion.

Im not the golfish police or anything and I didn't wanna sound rude, but those goldfish will outgrow that tank... I'd just about put four platies in it let alone goldfish which could probably end up growing to 5+ inches.

 

[fluttermoth]

over stocked?

Yes, massively; you're supposed to have 40l per fish with a minimum tank size of 100l for goldies.

theyre not as messy as gold fish they are smaller at the mo if this makes any difference to ammonia excretion.

But fantails and black moors are goldfish; just fancy varieties. That's like saying chihuahuas aren't dogs
If you keep them in there for much longer they wil become stunted and sick, you need to get them into a biggger tank ASAP.

Growing fish need far more space than an adult fish of the same size.

 

[The chilly dipper]

over stocked?

Yes, massively; you're supposed to have 40l per fish with a minimum tank size of 100l for goldies.

theyre not as messy as gold fish they are smaller at the mo if this makes any difference to ammonia excretion.

But fantails and black moors are goldfish; just fancy varieties. That's like saying chihuahuas aren't dogs
If you keep them in there for much longer they wil become stunted and sick, you need to get them into a biggger tank ASAP.

Growing fish need far more space than an adult fish of the same size.he advice you guys are giving me

right then its settled i will get them a bigger tank as soon as i can.
alot of people dont like these bio orbs, im getting to be one of those people too.


sorry about the gold fish - fancy fish mix up and for not being nasty too a appreciate the advice you are giving me.

as for the picture... is that your fish in there cos he is a monster!!!!!
i didnt realise the humble goldie could turn into a carp lol!!!!

i will address the issues raised as soon as possible
is there a reference to just how much water a fish needs?
i have heared somthing about the size of the tail or somthing but i cant remember what it was...

do you guys recognise this??

cheers
dipper

 

[fluttermoth]

right then its settled i will get them a bigger tank as soon as i can.
alot of people dont like these bio orbs, im getting to be one of those people too.

Good chap

sorry about the gold fish - fancy fish mix up and for not being nasty too a appreciate the advice you are giving me.

as for the picture... is that your fish in there cos he is a monster!!!!!
i didnt realise the humble goldie could turn into a carp lol!!!!

It's not my fish, no; it's pic I 'borrowed' to demonstrate why 120l isn't 'too big' for a goldfish tank I don't keep goldies anymore; only in my mum's pond; I can't be bothered using all that tank space and filtration for one or two fish.

i will address the issues raised as soon as possible
is there a reference to just how much water a fish needs?
i have heared somthing about the size of the tail or somthing but i cant remember what it was...

do you guys recognise this??

cheers
dipper

There are all sorts of different 'rules' and guidelines people come out with for stocking; the most common one is 'one inch of adult fish per gallon' (I prefer 'one inch of adult fish per 12 square inches of surface area' myself), but that only works for small, tropical fish. Coldwater fish are a whole different matter; they need far more space as their metabolism runs so much more slowly. For anything that grows to over 3 or 4 inches, then you need a tank at least four times the length and twice the width and height of the eventual, adult size of the fish not the size it is now. In all these cases, that's standard lenght of fish; that excludes the tail.
But all these things are to be taken with a pinch of salt, and are no more than general guidelines only, to give newbies some idea of what stocking they're looking at in whatever size tank they have.
Stocking levels are something you get a feel for with experience.