Im back after ten years! But with a hated biorb

[emilythestrange]

Ok so I’m back…. I got rid of my 100ish litre tank 10 years ago and now we’ve bought a 15 litre biorb life led….. after knowing it’s harder to keep the stats stable on a smaller tank and they are hard to clean etc etc

So I’m guessing I just disregard the instructions on the biorb set up (the initial water conditioner and the other weird liquid you add after a day)

I know I need to cycle the tank first - I remember using liquid ammonia ?

What else do I need?
Water conditioner
I’m between whether having a few guppies / Enders. (how many is too many.? Just male of course) Or one betta.
I’m gonna need a heater (any suggestions which won’t ruin “the look” too much?!?)

The tank comes with some stones for the bottom. Am I best using these if they are meant to be used for part of the media type? Or can I use sand ?

 

[Essjay]

The Biorbs of all shapes and sizes have an undergravel filter - those stones are the biomedium of the filter. There's also a cartridge which used to contain a bit of sponge and a carbon-zeolite mixture. If it still does have a section with black and white bits, I suggest you somehow cut it open and throw those particles away, maybe fill it with a bit more sponge. The white bits are zeolite and they are there to remove ammonia. You add ammonia to cycle the the tank but instead of feeding bacteria, the zeolite removes it. Until it's full then it stops working. In my opinion, zeolite has no place in an aquarium except perhaps, maybe for emergencies.

If you want sand on the bottom, you'll need to get another filter.


This is the fishless cycling method using ammonia

Cycling Your New Fresh Water Tank: Read This First!

Cycling Your First Fresh Water Tank What is Cycling and Why is it Important? Fish waste, and especially fish breathing, plus uneaten food and other organic matter breaking down in a tank all produce Ammonia. This can quickly become toxic to fish if it is allowed to build up to any measurable...

www.fishforums.net

What are you planning to keep in this 15 litre/4 gallon tank? Realistically it's only really suitable for a betta or shrimps.

 

[emilythestrange]

Yes most probably a betta or small group of endlers / 3 male guppies ?

I wasn’t going to put in the media in the bottom until I’ve realised it’s meant to be used …

Ok thanks I see why they sell the filters to you every 4-6 weeks and tell you that you can put fish in after a few days based on the instructions …

 

[Essjay]

The other reason they say to add fish after a few days is because, according to instructions I've found, they tell you to add a 'biological booster' which is most likely 'bottled bacteria'. Many of these products say you can add fish straight away, which is not recommended as some don't work and the ones which do work take longer than a few days to make a tank safe for fish.


To be honest I wouldn't put guppies or endlers in a 15 litre (4 gallon) tank. There are very very few fish that would work in a tank this size.

 

[Ram419]

To be honest I wouldn't put guppies or endlers in a 15 litre (4 gallon) tank. There are very very few fish that would work in a tank this size.

Maybe if they are small (fry) but once they grow you really need do need them in a larger tank.