New Biorb Life 30Ltr

[Junior Gent]

Hi all

Another newbie here. After having an interest in wanting fish for a while i got a Biorb Life 30ltr (square type) bought as a present. I just want to put out my ideas for stocking the tank to see what more expereinced keepers think. I want to start with a beta, (any ideas of variety would be appretiated) followed by a group of tetra's as i believe these are quick enough to keep away from the beta and are not normally fin nippers, and also a couple of arfican dwarf frogs. My wife is very keen on having a plec, but im not sure the tank is suitable as the filter only allows large stones or pebbles in the bottom, and im not sure what the beta will think of it.

What are people's thoughts on my ideas?

Im sure i could stock it further, if so does anybody have any ideas on what else i could add to enhance it?

furthermore can a Biorb life sustain live plants as i feel thats the correct way to run a tank?

Thanks

 

[Noahs ark6]

Hi.

A pleco would get too big for your tank, and would idealy like sand as the substrate. Tetras would go well with the betta

 

[pablothebetta]

Definitely not the plec, though a betta would be nice in there, I have a betta in a tank of similar size and I can say he appears quite happy in there compared to his old smaller tank. Warning, however. From my own experience, the ceramic media is terrible for tearing their fins, so I strongly advise that you cover over the pebbles with something such as the Biorb pebble range, or pretty much any other smooth pebbles.

As for the variety of betta, my personal favourites are halfmoon bettas. You will rarely see them in your average aquatics store, so you'd be best buying one online from a breeder if you're interested in getting one. You will probably find that buying from a breeder will also allow many more colour variations to ones you see in stores. Most store-bought bettas are veiltails, and often in blues, reds or blacks. They don't have the same level of finnage as some other bettas such as halfmoons, and while you would probably pay up to £20 (+ postage if required) for a single fish from a breeders as opposed to £5 from Pets at Home, you would be getting a "higher quality" fish, as some may put it.

A group of tetras with the betta would probably not be ideal in this tank, as the surface area is minimal and the shape doesn't allow for a great amount of swimming space for them, as tetras are highly active fish. However, you may wish to look into a group of microrasbora or ember tetras if you are determined to have something other than your betta. I would expect neon and other such common tetras would not be apropriate for the tank, especially if you have a betta in there too. Most bettas will usually get along with tetras, though some can be particularly agressive and not get along at all, resulting in injuries and ultimately to your tetras. Equally so, tetras can be nippy, so watch out for this.

Any bottom dwelling fish is ruled out in this tank as they all (corys, plecos, etc) do best with sand substrates which aren't possible due to the undergravel filtration and I believe that none would be apropriate anyhow due to space.

As for the live plants, the ceramic media and undergravel filtration doesn't provide much for plant life. From what I gather the lighting isn't the best for them either. However, some low-tech floating plants or plants such as java fern, anubias and mosses which need to be attatched to something (eg driftwood, though this could prevent access to the filter part) may be alright in there. Adding fertilizer or even CO2 if you can find a way would probably be a good idea.

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong (please do!), but I believe BiOrb ask you to change the filter cartridge. Filter media need not be changed unless it is falling apart, (in which case it is best to do so in stages)as it contains the beneficial bacteria which essential for the tank to function successfully. If you aren't quite sure about this 'bacteria', look up cycling an aquarium (I believe there is an article about cycling on this site). The BiOrb instructions barely scrape the cycling from what I remember and it is an essential proccess before adding any inhabitants, as it allows this beneficial bacteria that I mentioned to grow. So basically, make sure you cycle your tank properly before adding anything, and don't follow the BiOrb instructions

 

[Junior Gent]

Thankyou very much for the advice, my next move is to design my tank with accessories and plants etc then run a fish-less cycle. I plan to cover the filter media with polished pebbles to protect my beta. Thanks for the tip around beta varieties, he will be the centre peice of my tank so i want the best i can get. Im lucky to live near a very specialist fish store who i hope can get what i want, they have koi up to the value of £10000.

Do you believe there are no fish that could live along side a beta in a 30ltr tank then?

 

[Junior Gent]

Oh and Pablo, your entirely right about the biorb needing filter changes. And for the cost of the tank you would expect better advice on setting it up. As it suggests that you can add fish after one day of turning the filter on. Needless to say i doubted this and came on here for advice on cycling.

 

[pablothebetta]

Sounds like your on the right path

You could try a group of microrasbora (eg chili rasbora), ember tetras or some male endlers in there with him, its just that with the biorb being a different shape and having less horizontal swimming space and surface area, your a little more limited in stocking options than a regular 30ltr tank. Microrasbora, ember tetras and male endlers tend to stay smaller than most other tropical fish, for example, ember tetras will reach 2cm, whereas neon tetras will reach 4 or 5.

 

[ibizatunes]

I have had nothing but trouble with the biorb 60 life untill i replaced the filter completely and chanced from gravel to sand..... other people say the filtration on the biorb sucks and its does!!
buy some sand and buy a filter and but some really plants, low light ones only
I brought the Eheim 2411 Biopower 160, 1kg of aquarium sand, Anubias and java fern plants
Since then it has been perfect no dead fish in a 3 months, before i was lucky to get 3 weeks
Hope this helps
Here is a link to someone else with a similar experience
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/329694-bio-orb-60/

 

[pablothebetta]

I have had nothing but trouble with the biorb 60 life untill i replaced the filter completely and chanced from gravel to sand..... other people say the filtration on the biorb sucks and its does!!
buy some sand and buy a filter and but some really plants, low light ones only
I brought the Eheim 2411 Biopower 160, 1kg of aquarium sand, Anubias and java fern plants
Since then it has been perfect no dead fish in a 3 months, before i was lucky to get 3 weeks
Hope this helps
Here is a link to someone else with a similar experience
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/329694-bio-orb-60/

I must say, I would do similar if I had a BiOrb life, it's a lot harder on a curved BiOrb like my old one with the curved sides. They probably make rather nice planted tanks if you get rid of the UGF and can get plants to grow under the lighting