Hello all!
I am new to the site, and recently acquired a (free!) biorb 15. Decided to adventure into converting it into a little pico coral tank as we already have 3 freshwater tanks of various sizes. My husband and I are also setting up a 40g breeder (in the supply gathering stage) now that were settled into our own house! Growing up my family had a 125g tank for about a decade but I haven’t had any salt systems since. I learned a decent amount through my teens with that one but would still consider myself a beginner since this is my first solo project. Any and all advice is appreciated!!
Current state: the orb is cycling with some live sand and rock that I confiscated from a friend. Ammonia is on its way back down and planning a water change in a few days. I noticed an asterina star hitchhiked.... Haven’t decided if I’m going to let it stay or not. Thoughts?
As for the logistics of a biorb itself, I dissected and removed the under gravel filter thing by unscrewing the bottom and cutting off the large basket from the actual plug with the airline connection. Then I put it back together and sealed around the new mini airstone plug. I kept the airflow in so the orb has some circulation. It seems to have a nice flow up the middle (the air bubbles) and water gently flowing down the curved sides. I’m waiting for some dry rock to arrive so I can build a scape around it and see how the flow and bubbles go. I’m a little worried about it disturbing the future corals, so well see if I keep the air or not. (Also it’s in my home office and the constant bubbling is moderately annoying) If anyone has any feedback and experience on flow or air and picos, I would greatly appreciate it as well. I’ve never done a tiny tank before so I’m heavily in research mode!
I am new to the site, and recently acquired a (free!) biorb 15. Decided to adventure into converting it into a little pico coral tank as we already have 3 freshwater tanks of various sizes. My husband and I are also setting up a 40g breeder (in the supply gathering stage) now that were settled into our own house! Growing up my family had a 125g tank for about a decade but I haven’t had any salt systems since. I learned a decent amount through my teens with that one but would still consider myself a beginner since this is my first solo project. Any and all advice is appreciated!!
Current state: the orb is cycling with some live sand and rock that I confiscated from a friend. Ammonia is on its way back down and planning a water change in a few days. I noticed an asterina star hitchhiked.... Haven’t decided if I’m going to let it stay or not. Thoughts?
As for the logistics of a biorb itself, I dissected and removed the under gravel filter thing by unscrewing the bottom and cutting off the large basket from the actual plug with the airline connection. Then I put it back together and sealed around the new mini airstone plug. I kept the airflow in so the orb has some circulation. It seems to have a nice flow up the middle (the air bubbles) and water gently flowing down the curved sides. I’m waiting for some dry rock to arrive so I can build a scape around it and see how the flow and bubbles go. I’m a little worried about it disturbing the future corals, so well see if I keep the air or not. (Also it’s in my home office and the constant bubbling is moderately annoying) If anyone has any feedback and experience on flow or air and picos, I would greatly appreciate it as well. I’ve never done a tiny tank before so I’m heavily in research mode!