Newbie With Biorb

[kismet]

Silly me - I've had three aquariums (and a few betta bowls) since I was 17. I set them up, added untreated, untested water with success (or dumb luck).

Now after a 15 year hiatus, I'm establishing a 10 gallon Biorb aquarium. I followed their instructions on setting it up and bought two fancy guppies, one of whom is still living. At one week, one died as the ammonia level peaked (I was ill-informed about the cycling process); at four weeks the ammonia level was still quite high, and by the 5th week, the LFS recommended replacing 1/2 the water. I did so and also changed the filter (I think I should've just squeezed out the sponge instead). At six weeks the ammonia was less but still too high. A knowledgable friend with a koi pond recommended that I remove 3 gallons and replace with 3 gallons of her water. I tested her water and there was no ammonia at all. At 48 hours I tested the water and it's gone from 1.0 ppm ammonia to 0.5.

Guppy is still living, altho he's at the top of the Biorb quite a bit (when I turn the light off, it's not unusual to find him at the lower levels) ?? I'm now feeding him just every other day.

I'd appreciate any feedback, predictions, further advice about what I've done so far.

 

[WILDER]

You shouldn't be touching the filter sponges, all you clean is the filter floss or matting once a week.
The sponges don't need touching for ages yet you go by your water stats when to touch them.
You need to read up on a cycling tank.

How many gallons is the biorb.
As there not many fsh you will be able to keep in it.
Boirb look nice but are awful for keeping fish as there round.

 

[Plecs&Puffers]

Hiya

Have heard alot of people having problems with Biorbs - Purely through the undergravel filtration system they come with.
Also i have heard because they are rounded with a special type of glass if the sun hits it it literally heats the water up to ridiculous temperatures as i had a friend who lost her fish because of that. So just some friendly advise to keep it out of the sunlight & keep an eye on the filtration - as it gets blocked alot etc etc

Hope your fish survives the Cycle. Maybe add some oxygenating stones/air pump to keep the tank really well oxygenated to help the fish cope with the cycle.

Goodluck with the tank

 

[kismet]

Thanks - It's an 8 gallon Biorb (I said 10 incorrectly above). The filter appears as only a sponge, and the LFS suggested squeezing it out when I replaced half the water (not that I really trust them - they also suggested replacing the ceramic media). I have been reading up on cycling (altho I should have read more when I started). Since I've been in "remedy mode" I'm looking for info and input on what I've done so far and suggestions, even if it's just "waiting it out."

I don't intend to have more fish than recommended for the Biorb and perhaps less than the recommended.

You shouldn't be touching the filter sponges, all you clean is the filter floss or matting once a week.
The sponges don't need touching for ages yet you go by your water stats when to touch them.
You need to read up on a cycling tank.

How many gallons is the biorb.
As there not many fsh you will be able to keep in it.
Boirb look nice but are awful for keeping fish as there round.

 

[WILDER]

I would stop squeezing the filter sponges till the tanks cycled, you will be losing beneifical bacteria.

http/www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/cycling.htm

 

[shelaghfishface]

i also have the biorb, and dont have any problems at all with it, i dont change the filter( or squeeze it),i do a 60% water change once a week-then 10 the next week.. i only keep 1 siamese fighting fish in there and dont intend putting anything else in there with him.( have been thru the cycling process tho just the same as with any other tank)

THE BIORB MAKERS RECOMMEND THAT YOU CHANGE THE FILTER EVERY 4 WEEKS-i havent done this as i just cant see the point at all,if this needs to be done of course then i will


all the good bacteira in a biorb is in the rough substrate, so dont go cleaning that whatever you do,
fish should also only be added at a rate of 1 every 28 days as the filtration is nightmareish,do regular tests and changes on it.
keep your eye on the temprature too as the lights can make it way higher than the heater means to go( and sunlight as someone says)
the book that comes with the biorb i must say is a very good guide
as with any other tank if you get problems you should do water changes-where nitrites,ammonia are concerned,then retest and do again if need be,if things are high dont add anymore fish till you have gotten the levels sorted out,

other than that i wish you luck,let us know how you get on and post a pic for us to see

shelagh xxx

 

[kismet]

What size Biorb do you have? My manual indicates either 3 goldfish or up to 12 small tropical for this tank, so I can't imagine having just a betta in there, altho the baby Biorb seems good for that. Promotional material for the Biorb indicates the shape allows for more fish than one would typically allow in another type of tank.

The manual also recommends changing the filter every 4 to 8 weeks with a 30 percent water change at that time.

Anyhoo, I did follow the manual, except they don't tell you that your first fish will die, which had never been my experience with previous aquariums, so I thought something must be wrong until I talked to one knowledgable person at the LFS (she seems to be my best contact there). Also, the aquarium was taking longer to cycle than the manual stated.

I guess I just must be patient - I tested the ammonia level a bit ago, and it's between .5 ppm ammonia and .25 ppm, which is an improvement from yesterday.

this is stressful

i also have the biorb, and dont have any problems at all with it, i dont change the filter( or squeeze it),i do a 60% water change once a week-then 10 the next week.. i only keep 1 siamese fighting fish in there and dont intend putting anything else in there with him.( have been thru the cycling process tho just the same as with any other tank)

THE BIORB MAKERS RECOMMEND THAT YOU CHANGE THE FILTER EVERY 4 WEEKS-i havent done this as i just cant see the point at all,if this needs to be done of course then i will


all the good bacteira in a biorb is in the rough substrate, so dont go cleaning that whatever you do,
fish should also only be added at a rate of 1 every 28 days as the filtration is nightmareish,do regular tests and changes on it.
keep your eye on the temprature too as the lights can make it way higher than the heater means to go( and sunlight as someone says)
the book that comes with the biorb i must say is a very good guide
as with any other tank if you get problems you should do water changes-where nitrites,ammonia are concerned,then retest and do again if need be,if things are high dont add anymore fish till you have gotten the levels sorted out,

other than that i wish you luck,let us know how you get on and post a pic for us to see

shelagh xxx

 

[kismet]

Thanks! I should have done more research up front, but I'm sticking with it. And I'm hoping they make improvements to the filtration system (eternal optimist).

What do you mean by keeping an eye on the filtration and its getting blocked a lot??

Fortunately, the Biorb is in my windowless office (there are tube skylights, which scatter light, and I draped voile scarves over them, so no problem with direct or even very bright indirect light.

I do have an air pump going - I do continue to notice the guppy at mid level when light is off, but at top level when the light is on - does this mean anything?


thanks again, everyone, for responding.

Hiya

Have heard alot of people having problems with Biorbs - Purely through the undergravel filtration system they come with.
Also i have heard because they are rounded with a special type of glass if the sun hits it it literally heats the water up to ridiculous temperatures as i had a friend who lost her fish because of that. So just some friendly advise to keep it out of the sunlight & keep an eye on the filtration - as it gets blocked alot etc etc

Hope your fish survives the Cycle. Maybe add some oxygenating stones/air pump to keep the tank really well oxygenated to help the fish cope with the cycle.

Goodluck with the tank

Thanks for the link!

[URL="http/www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/cycling.htm"]http/www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/cycling.htm[/URL]

 

[shelaghfishface]

hia. i have the 30litre one.yes the recomendations are fine, but like i said the fish just have to be added slowley to give the filter a chance to catch up..( i had a nitrite problem for almost a week with 1 fish imagine if it was at full capacity to start with-thats why they die)
i have never had a blocked filter so cant help you on that one.
the betta was a choice,he likes it this way so im happy
most of my fish in my other tanks and biorb drop to a lower level when the lights go off even the babies,
not everyone loves the biorb,and lots of people can find faults with them.
just stay on top of testing and water changes and you wont have any more problems than we do with the traditonal tanks.. heres cracker in his biorb--- put a pic on when you have a spare min xxxxxxxxx

 

[kismet]

A beautiful betta in a beautifully furnished Biorb!! No wonder he doesn't want mates! And after all, bettas are the ultimate introverts

I'll play around with the camera and see what I come up with soon to take a pic of my lonely lil guppy...

hia. i have the 30litre one.yes the recomendations are fine, but like i said the fish just have to be added slowley to give the filter a chance to catch up..( i had a nitrite problem for almost a week with 1 fish imagine if it was at full capacity to start with-thats why they die)
i heres cracker in his biorb--- put a pic on when you have a spare min xxxxxxxxx

 

[kismet]

I'm back and hopefully on track with the cycling process ... after doing a 50 percent water change two weeks ago, the ammonia gradually rose again to .25; I did a 30 percent water change, and now for the first time I have had ammonia at 0 for five days Nitrites and nitrates have remained steady at 0 as well, and I'm wondering why I'm not seeing nitrite levels raise??? Should I still expect that this will occur? How long at 0 ammonia before I can bring in another fish? I still have the sole surviver of the two I started with six weeks ago and he's doing well.

and BTW, how do I upload a photo to post? I found a post describing it, but I was not successful

thanks!

i also have the biorb, and dont have any problems at all with it, i dont change the filter( or squeeze it),i do a 60% water change once a week-then 10 the next week.. i only keep 1 siamese fighting fish in there and dont intend putting anything else in there with him.( have been thru the cycling process tho just the same as with any other tank)

THE BIORB MAKERS RECOMMEND THAT YOU CHANGE THE FILTER EVERY 4 WEEKS-i havent done this as i just cant see the point at all,if this needs to be done of course then i will


all the good bacteira in a biorb is in the rough substrate, so dont go cleaning that whatever you do,
fish should also only be added at a rate of 1 every 28 days as the filtration is nightmareish,do regular tests and changes on it.
keep your eye on the temprature too as the lights can make it way higher than the heater means to go( and sunlight as someone says)
the book that comes with the biorb i must say is a very good guide
as with any other tank if you get problems you should do water changes-where nitrites,ammonia are concerned,then retest and do again if need be,if things are high dont add anymore fish till you have gotten the levels sorted out,

other than that i wish you luck,let us know how you get on and post a pic for us to see

shelagh xxx