written by on 05/02/2011
I bought a biorb life 60l about 6 weeks ago and I absolutely love it. It looks spectacular. Didn't kill my transferred goldfish. It does keep the water cleaner for longer and despite my sceptism the filtration system work well!! I havent changed the water yet and it looks crystal clean. I'm compelled to write this review because there is a lot of bad flak for these tanks out there and I think it's not entirely warranted. I don't have any affiliation with biorb.
The tank is not cheap but it's up there for innovation and style.
It should have come with a heater and the cleaning device for the price.
I'd recommend this tank.
written by Qq on 03/10/2010
I have Biorb30 with guppies, black phantoms, small danios etc. Did loose some cardinals but may retry now established. They seem happy/ healthy now I have made a few modifications. Found an extension and curve to put over bubble tube so water flows out-lot quieter and makes top more usable for fish. Jettisoned airstone-quieter and tube more transparent. Still plenty of circulation.
Bio lights are dim and wont support real plants hence ghastly plastic/silk ones. Ive got an anglepoise with Eco daylight bulb and timer nearly 7 hours/day. Plants in mini pots growing well, look lovely and so far almost no algae. I think growing plants are out competing it using nutrients from fish waste. Filter seems effective- no Ammonia, nitrite though I do siphon/replace bucket of water every 7-10 days and clean sponge in aquarium water. Be careful not to overfeed- easy in a small tank- rotting food and too much fish waste!
Not for real fish enthusiasts and I wish I'd got 60L but small fish happy, looks good. Bit overpriced. Not sure how long plastic will stay looking good- will repost and buy60 if it lasts
Written on: 20/11/2012
I have set up a new 60L BiOrb, the water flow from the bubble filter is quite forceful creating the water to bubble too much at the top / is turbulant. I have a fish waiting to be put inside fro an old BiOrb tank. Fish in a bowl at present. This has been several hours and the new BiOrb is turbulant??? What do I do
written by on 23/09/2010
I used to keep fish when I was younger and it was always so easy! I have had nothing but trouble with my Biorb. The fish never lasted long as the water balance easily became toxic to the fish. I spent 6 weeks backwards and forwards to the aquarium until eventually I have given in and sold it on.
I would not recommend this set up to anyone.
written by irmajune on 27/07/2010
I am not sure about the tank. It looks beautiful and you get used to the slightly noisey pump. Easy to clean with the wipes. Down side we have had out tank since April with 2 gold fish, we lost 1 fish within 2 months and replaced it, now this weekend the other 2 are ill. 1 died on Sunday ans the other one is hanging on but not sure for how long. We have had the water tested ans thats perfect,t he pump seems to be working fine too so we are not sure why they are dying but its been very upsetting.
Written on: 28/06/2012
ive lost 3 fish in 10 hrs and today i bought some more and 1 dies in 3 hrs ,im so fed up with it and the expence ,my friend says she s been told its the shape and the oxygen being low,i just might have to sell it as its a waste of time and money
written by on 26/05/2010
This is the worst purchase I have ever made in my life, I puchased the bio Orb life and have struggled to maintain fish for the last 4 months, 4 fish have died, I have followed the instructions and addded 1 fish for 28 days and have been feeding the fish 1 or 2 pellets a day. It seems the ceramic media holds all the waste, personally I think there is a fault with the product, it's too hard to clean, the plants etc are expensive and they don't tell you that you have to take them all out when cleaning the tank. The tank looks nice in white, however after a few days it is covered in brown algae. The tank is very expensive and expensive to run with the cost of changing the filter cartridge every 4 to 6 weeks.
written by on 30/01/2010
Poor design in terms if filtration mean that its is expensive to keep going and near impossible to keep fully clean.
written by on 11/01/2010
i have had a bio orb now for over 2 years. As a novice I started by putting in lots of fancy fish early before I fully understood the need to let the eco-system establish itself and they all died. Now, however, the tank is doing great, I have 2 angels, i guarami, 2 guppies, 8 neons and a large cleaning fish,and the Angel Fish are regularly laying eggs, so now have set up a hatchery to see if we can hatch any ou. The orb makes a very eye catching display in the corner of the room.
written by on 15/12/2009
I haven't had my biOrb, 30l, for that long (more than a month though) and so far it's working perfectly! For example, I am very happy about the filtration system in the tank, it keeps the water much cleaner than it would in most of the smaller aquariums. I don't have to do water changes too often and my fish really seem to enjoy exploring the tank...
Another good point about this is that my fish seem more 'accessible', I use to talk to them and spend lots of time getting to know them, they seem to react to my voice more already.
I would indeed want to have a much bigger aquarium later in my days with more and bigger goldfish species. But for now, this is working for me and I can't afford anything bigger. It's so nice having some more inhabitants in our little apartment! And this aquarium made it look much nicer at home (:
written by on 27/10/2009
I have been running 2 Biorb 60 ltr's for the past 4 years and have had no problems at all. The only thing I didn't like was the noisy pumps supplied so I bought 2 new quieter ones. My mum has a 30ltr with 2 small goldfish in it and she has had no problems either.
written by on 31/08/2009
The Bi-Orb Aquarium a great tank as disabled means it is right size to manage have 2 gold fish and with light on its lovely to watch even though lots of people dislike them i have had mine 2yrs and love it only down side can be cost of replacements as live in hard water area the plastic lid which was blue now white so have to order new tops also with light changing a bulb means unscrewing etc but on the whole the good out ways the bad
written by on 04/06/2009
I love the way the Bi-Orb Aquarium looks - it's completely unique and really a pleasure to look at!
written by on 04/10/2008
I have a bi-orb 60 litre I feed my huge goldfish on caterpillars out of the garden, they love them and they are free. The aquarium is a doddle to look after just follow the instructions.
Written on: 11/11/2008
Am I the only person having problems? I have been unsuccessful with this, i stopped using it for one year, recently set it up again, with new stones etc, and already one of the fish have died?
Written on: 05/12/2008
I have also had two fish die. But not both at the same time, about 4 months apart. Gold fish and a cloud.
written by on 21/07/2008
Bi-Orb Aquarium is pretty good overall for novices, but I cannot get many fish in it.
written by on 22/04/2008
As a salesman in zoological shop I was always repudiating clients from sphere aquariums.
Written on: 02/01/2011
I found this review not helpful because the reviewer has obviously never kept a Biorb and doesn't know what repudiating means. the tank is very easy to keep clean with minimal work. I have had the same gold fish and minows in my Biorb for 7 years and have never even tested the water quality. Following the instructions and changing the filter and 1/3 water every 2 months is all that is needed!!
written by on 11/04/2008
Bio-Orb is an attractive but, ultimately, inaffective starter tank which obtains a premium price in the market.
1. Surface area of water restricts number of fish that can be kept abd the size of the orbs restrict fish movement.
2. Poor value for money - there are many larger tanks available that give a newcomer to fishkeeping a better quality aquarium for considerably less money.
3. Build quality - the orbs are very easy to scratch, both inside and out, and the parts will require regular replacement.
4. They are difficult to keep clean; large water changes will become quite regular.
written by cussen on 02/03/2008
No cleaning...the tank with 2 small fish is as clean on day 1 as it is on day 31.
written by cloud9 on 17/11/2005
My husband recently bought me a Bi-Orb Aquarium. It is beautiful to look at once the plants, fish and bubble tube cover/ornament are in, and it can be purcased in a 30 litre or 60 litre version. You can use the Bi-Orb for coldwater fish, or Tropical fish if you add a heater.
I wasn't sure whether to opt for the Bi-Orb or the Bi-Ube, so I did some research and found a lot of information from other Bi-Orb and Bi-Ube owners.
All the information on fish keeping really isn't for the faint hearted, and if it is something you have never done before, then don't think it is as easy as just getting a Goldfish from the funfair and hoping it survives.
The people in the various forums are passionate about fish-keeping, and you can guarantee that any help you may need will be available to you.
Before I visited the various forums I had no idea what cycling the tank meant, or that the PH had to be at a certain level, that you had to check for levels of Nitrogen, and that the filter media should never be cleaned using products such as washing up liquid (like we did when we were kids with Goldfish - my poor Goldfish - no wonder).
It took me 24 hours to prepare the Bi-Orb before I could introduce any fish, as the water has to be at the right temperature, and the PH Levels have to be right too. It was recommended that I add 2 - 3 small fish in the first month. Too many and the waste produced from them would have raised the Nitrogen levels to a dangerous level. It is done slowly so that the filter media has chance to work and catch up with the Nitrogen levels in the tank.
So far my tropical fish have survived, and I don't think they would have if I hadn't taken the time to look for advice. If you are thinking of purchasing one of these beautiful aquariums and don't have much experience, I would highly recommend you visit the forums at http://www.thinkfish.co.uk/ There are lots of other forums and websites that will offer advice and inspiration too, but I found the thinkfish website to be an excellent resource for everything I needed to know.
I highly recommend the Bi-Orb to anyone, from beginner to the more advanced fish-keeper.
Written on: 18/11/2005
cloud 9......are you on one? Because from your most interesting and happy review, you certainly seem to be!
<br>
<br>I looked at your link and find that a 120 cm tank is recommended for goldfish but doesn't state how many.
<br>I have 3 fish - 1 goldfish and 2 shubunkins in a clear plastic "tank" that once lived at the bottom of a fridge and measures 41 X 23cms - which size, from another source, seems to be suitable for about a third of a goldfish, but I do change the water every other day. This is accomplished by putting the "tank" in the sink and running the cold tap.
<br>
<br>I share my food with them as I have read in the past that anything we can eat, goldfish and shubunkins can. They get a treat now and then - a chopped worm - and are thriving.
<br>
<br>I'm a kind of fish myself....a cheapskate!
Written on: 11/10/2008
I have a 30L Biorb and don't think they give nearly enough information on how to set it up and introduce the fish properly.
<br/>
<br/>Mine are now thriving but it has been a bit trial and error and to the cost of a few fish, which isn't right, I appreciate you can always lose a few when adding to a new tank but I have taken advice from shops I have purchased at etc., and STILL got it wrong. To be honest I find that most aquarium shops don't seem to have much 'time' for the BIORB enthusiast. My tank is now settling well with 2 tetras, 1 guppy, 2 x flag fish and looks good. I personally LOVE the tank, however, I now want to keep more fish with a bigger range so am looking round for a bigger and more practical tank. BIORB say to look on their tanks as 'LIVING LAMPS' and quite honestly I think that is true, its a lot of work and not really for the 'beginner' as they seem to market towards. However having said all that it is a fantastic addition to any room.....I LOVE my LIVING LAMP.
<br/>
<br/>Kay
<br/>Bristol
Written on: 22/11/2005
Hello Bertie,
<br>
<br>It sounds like you are in desperate need of a bigger tank, and whatever you feed your fish must make them superfish if they can survive a cold running tap into their make-shift tank :))) It takes a brave person to chop up a worm, and no matter how much I love my fish, I just couldn't envisage me doing that, so mine will just have to survive on boring pellet food and the ocassional live brine shrimp. I hope you manage to find a tank big enough as your fish seem to live a life of luxury and may well grow to be huge. If that is the case, I would recommend at least a 60 litre capacity tank for 3 to 4 golfish/shubunkins.
<br>
<br>Good luck :)
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As rated by our community of reviewers
Meghu's Comment
Written on: 03/09/2013
Choosing the right kind of fish for your aquarium is very important as there are different kind of fish which prefer different environment.