A nice fish tank that doesn't take to much room up (Biorb Aquarium)

Member Name: enlightened_one

Product:	Biorb Aquarium
Date:	17/01/07 (7194 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Looks Fantastic

Disadvantages: The guide says leave for 24 hours before adding fish, it needs to be atleast a few days

My BiOrb Review.

I got a surprise from my kids; they decided to buy me a fish tank for Christmas.

They had spent quite a bit on the set up, including two plants, a fancy ornament and a stand for the BiOrb to sit on.

The BiOrb

This was the BiOrb 30 which is the latest in the growing range from BiOrb. Made from strong clear acrylic with a capacity of 30 litres of water, when full it weight is about 60+ pounds, and is ideal for most types of fish. The BiOrb are comes in a variety of eight colours. The first thing we did was unpack all the extras I got in this pack; I was very impressed with all the extras which included; A Guide, Cartridge system, Air pump, Led Light, Tropical Heater pack, Water preparation chemicals, and Feng Shui pebbles, and ceramic media. The BiOrb gives you a perfect 360 degree view and it gives you a great view of the fish.

Guide

A pretty good guide on how to look after your BiOrb and your fish, there is also a section on how to clean you BiOrb, a list of the parts in the BiOrb box. Information on pump installation and filter cartridge installation. Also covers what to do with adding the water and adding your fish, and also how to install the LED light and heater. The guide also has a very good "Frequently asked questions" section, which covers all problems you may come across.

Easy change filter cartridge system

This is meant to be so easy to use all you have to do is change the filter every few months; it's very easy to fit. It comes with a long tube with a lid on the bottom that you screw into the filter cartridge. You then place the filter system into the bottom of the BiOrb and place it in the cage at the bottom and turn to lock into place.

Air Pump

The air tube is already installed into the BiOrb at the base and all you have to do is connect the end to the pump. The pump is then plugged into the main BiOrb transformer.

LED Light

The light is very easy to fit, the bulb was already installed and all I had to do was plug the wire from it to the BiOrb transformer. It comes with a switch so it can be turned on and off without unplugging from the transformer.

The Heater

The heater is easy to install, it comes with two suckers that you attach to the inside of the BiOrb. The wire is attached to a plug and just plugs into a extension, I personally recommend a surge proof extension.

Water preparation chemicals.

This was a great addition; it balances out your tap water that you have placed in the BiOrb. I presume it because of the chlorine and other elements that are present in our water.

Feng Shui pebbles

Even my BiOrb needs to have positive energy; a happy BiOrb gives happy fish?

Ceramic media

I think it's a type of lava rock; it looks nice in the tank anyway.


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That's all the TECHNICAL out of the way….Lets get started with the Setup

We started to set this up last Sunday and took around half hour and that included the making up the stand. The stand was very easy to make it consisted on two bases and three legs, easy to follow directions and was built in 5 minuets.

Firstly we made up the filter and placed it into the base of the BiOrb and locked it into place. We then added the lava rock (which has to be washed) as instructed in the guide, and then went on to fit the heater onto the suckers, this was not as easy as it says in the guide, took a few attempts to fit but we got there in the end.

We then placed some extra things we bought, two live plants and some very bright small lava rocks (washed) to give some colour. We had also gone and bought a nice ornament a "Grecian Goddess" which sits over the tube where the bubbles are pumped out; this hides the plastic tube very well. We also added the real plants as it more beneficial to the fish. I connected all wires ready to be plugged in to the transformer, but first we had to fill it.

I found the best way to fill it was to place it on the stand and place the setup where you really want it, you don't want to have to move the BiOrb when is full as it weighs around 130 pounds, I got the hose pipe connected to the tap as filling it up via jugs would have taken a long time. You fill the BiOrb about 2 inches above the bubble tube as directed in the guide. After everything is done we could then switch it all on :).

When we switched on the BiOrb the whole thing came to life, the light LED light worked fine and the pump started to pump the air through the tank. We then added the Water preparation chemicals, which helps to settle the tank down. The guide tells you can add fish after 24 hours, but I asked at Aquamania and they suggested I should leave it at least a week to let it all settle down. After about two hours of running, the water started to be a cloudy; I was told by Aquamania that this would happen as it's the filter cleaning itself etc. after a few days it had become very clear and I was looking forward to putting some fish in.

I had to wait a week looking at a fish tank with no fish in it; well today I went and got two fish (hurray). The guide tells you not to add more than a few fish in the first few weeks as the fish and the filter have to get use to the conditions, and also Aquamania suggested I only put a few fish in the BiOrb in case something went wrong and minimise my money loss, as tropical fish are not exactly cheap.

I went to Aquamania and got two nice looking Dalmatian Sailfin tropical fish, which are a lovely black with speckles of white on them and when I saw them I just had to have them. I could have got eight neon's but everyone has them :)

At last I have some fish in my BiOrb. I have to take a water sample and if everything is fine I am going to add two more next week.

So as a newbie to indoor fish keeping I am well impress with the BiOrb, as I said earlier the BiOrb comes with everything you need to get your self up and running….In fact on the box it says just add water and fish.

According to the manual for the Biorb you should never have to clean the system if you keep to there guidelines, and if you ever do need to you have to keep 1/3 of the original water and never clean the media with tap water only the water from the BiOrb.

I'll keep this up to date with any new information or problems I come across (if any).

Thanks for reading my reviews, and thankyou for rating them.

Tashi Delek (May everything be well)

enlightened_one © 2007

****Review is also on Ciao****

Summary: I have always wanted a fish tank and this fits the bill