Biorb Question

[HollieDahhrlinn]

How do i change the filter in my biorb,
where can i get a video showing me how to?

 

[Mark Hewitt]

Greetings! Newcastle-upon-Tyne eh? Very good to not only see someone from the UK, but someone local too! I live in Chester-le-Street btw.

Sorry I don't have an answer to your question . It's an under gravel filter in those tanks I believe? I did consider the 15 litre BiOrb you had for my first tank but dismissed it as being too small and the bigger ones for being physically too big while still having a relatively small water holding capacity.

Mind you, the 25 litre tank I ended up with wasn't much better.

What makes you think you need to change the filter? Just in terms of you are supposed to change it every so often? Because if you do then you'll have to put the tank through another cycle again.

edit: I googled and found this: hope it helps

My problem came when it came to changing the filter. In reality it is relatively easy to change. The bubble tube fits onto the filter (twist it in a clockwise direction and it clicks into place), which then twists into place on the base of the tank (when twisting in a anticlockwise direction.). So the bubble tube will twist in both directions, one way to remove the filter and the other way to remove the tube. I, unfortunately chose to twist it in the anticlockwise direction, which meant that almost the entire contents of the filter was released into the tank. So remember to twist the bubble tube the right way, and if like me you do manage to empty the entire contents of the filter into the tank, make sure you don't change a larger volume of water than usual as this will disrupt all the bacteria and so on that are part of the reason the tank is easy maintenance. What you would have to do is make the water changes more frequent so the fish, bacteria and the water itself have a chance to adapt to the new conditions.

 

[HollieDahhrlinn]

Yeah nice to see someone local.
Well just a routine change, i want sure how to do it.
I was thinking about cutting the old sponge in half and replacing half the old sponge and half the new sponge then i wont have lost 'all' the good bacteria built up.

I got the biorb because of space. its was quite expensive and looks nice.
i cant fit a tank where i currently have it placed any bigger than this one. its desktop set up at the minute.
thanks for taking the time to google it.

 

[Mark Hewitt]

Yeah nice to see someone local.
Well just a routine change, i want sure how to do it.
I was thinking about cutting the old sponge in half and replacing half the old sponge and half the new sponge then i wont have lost 'all' the good bacteria built up.

The usual advice is not to change a filter unless you absolutely have to. My original 25L tank said change the filter sponge every 3 months, but the guys at PAH Durham just said they only say that to sell more filter sponges, and actually you can keep them in there for years and you only need to change them if it physically gets gummed up or breaks down.

I got the biorb because of space. its was quite expensive and looks nice.
i cant fit a tank where i currently have it placed any bigger than this one. its desktop set up at the minute.
thanks for taking the time to google it.

The small BiOrbs do look nice, but the bigger ones look a bit unwieldy I think. I was tempted by them at first but ruled them out on the basis of price. Good to see you didn't put a goldfish in there, mind!

 

[HollieDahhrlinn]

OH NO GOLDFISH! Far too small in my opinon.
Some people put 1 or 2 in with no thought to move them as they grow
So i dont need to change the sponge?