well i started off with buying the baby biOrb. this in itself was an experiment as i wanted to have a tank in my bedroom and study but wasn't really thrilled about the little tanks that I had which were non-filtered. i also wanted to get away from doing every 2-3 day water changes. i guess i really liked the packaging of the baby biOrb and all it's marketing on it: the ease of the filtration system, looks, less maintenance, endless possibilities with type of fish, etc. it was small enough and yet nice enough that i could have on my night bedstand.
for what it was, $60 price at petsmart (other places have it over $70 like petco and other websites, and the most inexpensive was petsmart for these biOrbs; however, i bought the mega biOrb from petco which was least expensive due to the free shipping deal i got that i couldn't get from petsmart - i rarely see these in the store (the 8 gal or 16 gal) but i guess you can ask at the store if they will order it for you and you can pick up at the store without having to pay for shipping.) the mega biOrb was $170 for 16 gal tank.
the great thing for me is that you have everything you need - except for plants - right out of the box. if you are looking for a nice way to upgrade your favorite male betta or start a sorority female betta tank, i think you should consider in your shopping these tanks.
*****
my baby biOrb, the water is super clean and crisp and it's been going on for almost a month. mind you, i did change the filter and completely had to start over the cycling because last week i had a scare with Isabel, who was visiting in the baby biOrb with Peaceful and Pearl, that I put some meds in there because of Isabel's cloudy eyes scare. all is well, with Peaceful, Isabel, and Pearl today. no more cloudy eyes and I totally wanted to upate the girls living arrangements to a good filtration system. since the baby biOrb worked well for me, I wanted the 16 gal tank and upon some advice here that it was okay to have a sorority bettas tank, i went with it.
*****
all biOrbs come with a lighting system, ceramic multi-size rocks (not gravel), filter, chemicals to start up the biological and dechlorinization of the water, the water tube, air pump, air stone, electrical device that plugs the light and air pump to one socket, a cleaning square.
here's the deal:
the filter is good to clean up stuff that flows through there; not really a biological filter. hence, you will need to swap out the filter every 4-8 weeks. i am assuming if you do water change every 2.5-3.5 weeks of 20-30% you can make that filter last 8 weeks. i bought 12 filters for $99 as each filter on it's own is like $10 or so. the more you buy, the more you save.
the ceramic media is where your bacterial will grow. this is your biological filter. you can buy more ceramic media if you need to ($11 a bag; the baby biOrb comes with 2 bags; and the mega biOrb comes with 4 bags).
buying living/natural plants will help out in creating good bacteria. so i have bought lots of top fin small and large plants. they range from $4 for small to $10 for large variety. i also have purchased some fake plants for color and variety as well.
i bought a siphon cleaner tube for $10.
and of course, i bought some extra API stress coat and stress-zyme products. the filter kit that you get from biOrb at $10, comes with a filter, a packet of each stress coat and stress zyme, a cleaning pad, instructions so you don't really need to buy these but i want to do some water changes in between filter changes that i thought it would be good to have.
i went crazy this weekend and bought some of the nicer feng shui stones from biOrb in rainbow, green, and fire red. i also bought a biOrb stand because i will want to move either the baby biOrb or the mega biOrb and put them closer together - i also think i want to free up my bookshelf table once i get my work area in order to place my computer, keyboard, printer, etc.
*****
i really think the biOrb will become low maintenance once you can establish the proper chemical/biological balance (cycle) in th tank.
*****
with regards to water flow, the fish don't even feel it. i noticed when i did the filter thing with the 2 gal tank that i had, the bettas had a hard time swimming around the current (and i set the current to the lowest possible) and it didn't even filter well.
with the biorbs, the fish can swim freely around, above, and below.
the only thing, is that for a male, i can see that maybe the bubbles that flow to the top of the surface, may dissuade him from making a bubble nest. the bubbles from the filter are more pronounced in the baby biOrb than in the mega biOrb. also the baby biOrb's air pump is a bit noisier than the mega biOrb, which is quiet - you can barely hear it. what a difference.
*****
the only thing that will be hard is when you have to clean the filter at the bottom - if you place your plants just right and without interfering with the lay of the plants, then you shouldn't have an issue; but unless if you don't anchor your plants well within the ceramic media, you'll have a challenging time cleaning around with the siphon tube or switching the filter and loosening your plants around where they will float up to surface.
Now, you have to update your signature! LOL
and of course, when doing the filter change, it recommends doing like a 30-40% water change.
