easy to maintain (Biorb Aquarium)

Member Name: judith_jamieson

Product:	Biorb Aquarium
Date:	19/06/09 (220 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: sylish and simple

Disadvantages: place carefully away from any sun - we nealy had a fire!

We have now used our biorb for 5 years with superb sucess and thouroughly recommend it. Fishkeeping is a fantastic hobby which brings much enjoyment but only if you manage the water and filter well - the biorb makes this job easy and we have had managed our fish with ease. First steps are that the biorb comes in either tropical or cold water boxes - the main difference is the thermometer for the tropical variety. It is tropical we use at the moment but should we wish to revert to cold water we can do so. Seemingly it can be used for salt water fish too as we recently asked about this in a pet store but it is best to seek expert advise if you plan to do this as the biorb can really only cope with 2 or so salt water fish at the one time.
The biorb is easy to clean - we use a hand pump and as advised only transfer about a bucket full per time so you are never really doing a whole tank at a time as it is better this way for the fish. The biorb company also sell a variet of gagets that will aid the cleaning process - we use the small green ball that cleans off algi on the sides if any grows. For aesthetic reasons only we wdded a volcano too again from the same company so it is up to you how much you want to spend but it can become quite addictive eg we recently bought black stones for the bottom too. You can also purchase a variety of coloured rims to match your decor.

There is one main thing that you must know about biorbs though and that is the danger of fires! Our biorb was at the back of our room - well out of the sun or so we thought but when we came back one winters day with the low sun we noticed a singed mark on our wall where the low sun had been focusing on our biorb and redirecting on the wall - we were lucky it wasnt a curtain or something and since then we have invested in blinds for the low sun winter days.The warning was on the box but to be honest we thought we had placed the tank well but obviously not well enough so please do be careful.

Some people say these is not enough oxygen in the biorb tank but we find the filter very strong and again the filter accessory is easy to replace but again remember to add these replacements along with the cartrages into your buget when concidering buying this. We change the filter roughly 2 times a month but it depends on your fish and how you feed them. Considering the cartrages it is important to note you can buy first aid ones should you find you have bought a new fish and introduced fin rot to your tank. We found this worked well but again worth remembering these additional costs should you be working to a buget.

Overall we love the biorb and think it is a nice addition to a modern home - it doesnt take too much effort to maintain - compared to the old traditional tank we had before - and we enjoy having it in our hojme.

Summary: excellent product to be enjoyed for years