Biorb?

[x-sarah-x]

Hi,

i got a baby biorb the other day (yes i know many of you wont be a fan of them, but i needed something small to house a few fish) and i have a few questions...

the light gets really really hot, does anyone else find this??
also, im finding that i dont need a heater, the water in my tank in always in a safe zone according to the thermometer i have in the tank. even with out a heater, maybe because the light is so hot? does anyone else find they dont need a heater?

x

 

[Bebobb]

I find this with incandescent lighting produces heat. How ever flourescent lighting does not produce as much heat. If it is incandescent, then I understand, and you do not need a heater.

 

[Shred]

If the light is heating the tank then obviously the temperature is going to drop every night when the light is out, and this is no good for your fish.

 

[Truck]

If the light is heating the tank then obviously the temperature is going to drop every night when the light is out, and this is no good for your fish.

i agree...the lighting in the biorb is halogen isnt it? the heater wont come on unless it needs to so it will be benficial if the temperature does drop below 25-26
IMO the biorb is only suitable for shrimps which dont need a heater. i wouldnt put fish in it...its simply too small

 

[Bebobb]

If the light is heating the tank then obviously the temperature is going to drop every night when the light is out, and this is no good for your fish.

Mine does not seem to drop more than a degree overnight, it is probally the room tempature though. I would advise a heater in this situation

 

[x-sarah-x]

i left the light off overnight last night and took the heater out and this morning it was still the same temp, the heater never comes on because it already heated. maybe my room is just hot?

im only putting three endlers in there. there about 1.5cm max each so i wouldnt think this tank is too small? it says you can house 6 fish in there. even if you follow the 1inch per gallon rule, theres still room to spare.

ill keep the heater in there, i was just curious to know if others biorb lights go that hot.

 

[Bebobb]

I hope you have good luck with the tank.

 

[JSmails]

i left the light off overnight last night and took the heater out and this morning it was still the same temp, the heater never comes on because it already heated. maybe my room is just hot?

im only putting three endlers in there. there about 1.5cm max each so i wouldnt think this tank is too small? it says you can house 6 fish in there. even if you follow the 1inch per gallon rule, theres still room to spare.

ill keep the heater in there, i was just curious to know if others biorb lights go that hot.

Sorry I cant answer your last question but I would imagine your heater is best left in there for the winter when the room gets colder at night and the temp will come down at a quicker rate at night.

 

[Bebobb]

Yeah I agree, It is getting to be the dog days of summer.

 

[Truck]

i left the light off overnight last night and took the heater out and this morning it was still the same temp, the heater never comes on because it already heated. maybe my room is just hot?

im only putting three endlers in there. there about 1.5cm max each so i wouldnt think this tank is too small? it says you can house 6 fish in there. even if you follow the 1inch per gallon rule, theres still room to spare.

ill keep the heater in there, i was just curious to know if others biorb lights go that hot.

male endlers can get to 3 cm not 1.5

 

[shelaghfishface]

i have one and the lights DO get hot ! to the point that they melt the lid ive had 2 that did exactly the same thing ( both had the recomended reef one baby biorb bulbs)

when i had livebearer fry in mine i didnt use a heater as they dont mind , but now i have a betta and i have a 25w, i dont think he would be too happy with the fluctuations, and it will fluctuate slightly regardless of if it happens to be the same temp at the same time each morning,

 

[x-sarah-x]

i left the light off overnight last night and took the heater out and this morning it was still the same temp, the heater never comes on because it already heated. maybe my room is just hot?

im only putting three endlers in there. there about 1.5cm max each so i wouldnt think this tank is too small? it says you can house 6 fish in there. even if you follow the 1inch per gallon rule, theres still room to spare.

ill keep the heater in there, i was just curious to know if others biorb lights go that hot.

male endlers can get to 3 cm not 1.5

yer i know that but mine are tiny, ive had them 6 months now and for the 1st 4 months i had them in a 16gal on there own as i was worried if i put them in my community tank they would get eaten. They are still quite small and im not sure they will get any bigger, they keep getting chased thats why i need to move them from the community tank. Even if they get to 3cms IMO i dont think thats too big for 3 of them to live in the baby biorb. its only 0.2 gal short of that inch-gal rule (which i know a lot of people dont stick with anyway) so im happy with that, id rather that then one of my other fish eats them or they dies of stress.

 

[x-sarah-x]

i have one and the lights DO get hot ! to the point that they melt the lid ive had 2 that did exactly the same thing ( both had the recomended reef one baby biorb bulbs)

when i had livebearer fry in mine i didnt use a heater as they dont mind , but now i have a betta and i have a 25w, i dont think he would be too happy with the fluctuations, and it will fluctuate slightly regardless of if it happens to be the same temp at the same time each morning,

do they melt the plastic that sits between the light and the tank? can you buy replacement lids then? what did you do when this happened?

do you know if there are any other lights that fit that are ...well....less hot?

sorry for all the questions, im completly new to biorbs!

 

[shelaghfishface]

the bit tht gets damaged is the top part of the light unit ( white on mine) the bulb cover ( clear plastic) has also gone very brown and "burnt"
i havent done anything done mine,its up quite high so cant really be noticed, but its not a pretty sight
im almost sure the bulb is a 5 wt ( i could be wrong as i dont have the packaging) but it the only Biorb that uses this kind of bulb and fitting so as far as im aware its the only way to light it..

keep an eye on ebay, sometimes spare parts come up for sale for them, tho they are usually quite expensive, if it happens to you i wouldnt have any hesiatation getting reef one to replace it .. mines old now so i wouldnt be bothered.. keep an eye on how long u use the lights too, mine are on a lot more than they should be, my last one wasnt really used, evenings if that, but it still melted.

hope that helps

shelagh xxxx

 

[Floyds mum]

my dad has the 60L biorb and his light gets really warm, my sister has a coldwater tank and its at a tropical temp so depends on how warm/cool your room is. keep a record of the temps at night and during the day, if it stays the sameish then you probably dont need a heater but its always a good idea to have one in even if you dont have it plugged in.