funky biorb filter

MisticAllie314

hey does anyone have a biorb? I think that maybe the filter sucks... Its under gravel and looks really sharp... but i dont think it does the job right. The water isnt oxygen depleted but... it feels like everytime i clean my gravel its like endless amounts of junk! From just two fish! I do weekly 25% water changes, and i clean the gravel with my siphon monthly. Uhg but i end up with so much water loss from endlessly cleaning this crap that i have to take a ton of water from my other large tank just to fill it up again!
I have living and fake plants, i dont over feed the fish... uhg... could this be the result of a bad filter?
Should I just add my own filter (like a 10i, tank is 8 gal) and forgot about the filter that came with the biorb and disable it? further more... im i the only one with this prob? lol

Pasfur

The filter you have is not intended to remove waste from the aquarium. It simply breaks down ammonia and nitrites and produces non-toxic Nitrate. The purpose is to create an environment the fish can live in, with regular aquarium care on your part.

The water changes you do are to reduce the Nitrate buildup and maintain the buffer system, so that pH changes do not occur.

This is an oversimplification, but i don't want to make this complicated. I would continue to change water, but do so every week. Pick a small portion of the gravel bed to syphon each week, so that you are not draining to much water.

By the way, if you are getting the amount of waste you say you are, then there are only 2 options. 1 - you are overfeeding. 2 - your fish selections are poor from the size aquarium you have.

Please tell me you don't have goldfish.
What fish do you currently have in this system?

cajunmomof4

I have an 8 gallon biorb stocked with 4 glo-fish and 2 serpa tetra that for the LIFE of me I can not catch to put back in my community tank. I modified my filter because I got sick of paying $10 bucks for a filter and kit of things I already have.
First I pulled out the sponge, under there is a little screen thing holding down carbon. remove the screen and dump the carbon. If you like to use carbon, add some new. I don/t so I added some gravel from one of my cycled tanks. over this I added a bit of filter floss, then I rinsed the sponge and put it back. Viola! stick it back in there and use it till the little teeth that hold in in place break off (and they will then thats when I buy a new one and start over. I really don't have tons of waste. But I do find that when I vac, the waste looks like lots because of the magnifying qualities of the biorb. When I look in the bucket its not so much.

MisticAllie314

thanks for the tip abt stocking the filter myself! ya 12 bucks for that is a rip... not too mention theres not enough media in it to begin with!
Anyways im starting to think that my mom overfeeds the fish on the weekend. I live in nj, and i stay at pa every weekend, and she feeds the fishies.
Because when i last syphoned... i actually pulled up whole blood worms o.O
Cuz I watch them eat when i feed em... i only give what they can eat in 3-5 minutes.
i asked her abt it and she says she may do that... well... solves that prob hopefully.
I have 1 dwarf gourami, and one spotted (male and female) I just recently moved them to my new 15 gal where they will stay. So I'll add new tankmates to the biorb soon... Im thinking maybe pygmy gouramis cuz they're smaller and should have adequate space.

cajunmomof4

If you want to keep your biorb cycled you will need an ammonia source while you are fishless. I think you can use a wee pinch of fish food daily. But you may want to ask someone who knows more. I find that a small school of tiny fish really look cute in a Biorb because they get magnified.

grace32

I am thinking of purchasing a Biorb 16 gal....is it worth the price and what is the problem iwth the filters i keep reeding about

grace32

I am new to fish tanks, a novice, thinking about a Biorb... what kind of fish do I need, and is it very noisy. Please help