# Oase Biomaster 350 Thermo - Flow too strong?



## SOulGirL (19 Mar 2022)

Hi everyone, 

just got this filter a couple of weeks ago and I'm wondering if anyone with a 60p finds it has too strong of a flow?
I am using a reducer with 13mm Lily pipes but even still the plants are really swaying...
Waiting for your feedback! Thanks


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## Konsa (19 Mar 2022)

Hi 
can you post a video of the full front of the  tank?
Regards Konstantin


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## SOulGirL (20 Mar 2022)

Hi, sure. Just need to turn the lights on....sec please


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## SOulGirL (20 Mar 2022)

Don't have many plants now on the left or back left cause it was a lot worse on those, but you can notice the rotala in the back really swaying and it was a lot more violent when I had more plants in that area of course. 
Also, notice the trembling of the lily pipe, never had this before lol. Guess the filter is too strong. You can notice this better in the 2nd video.
I was thinking of getting a Eheim tap to reduce the outflow a bit so I can make it a bit more smooth. Let me know what you think. Thank you!

Video 1:

Video 2:


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## Konsa (20 Mar 2022)

Hi
Im not using the Oase 350 but your flow seems good to me  and not too strong at all.
Have in mind that once plants grow in they will reduce the flow a little too. 
Regards Konstantin


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## bazz (20 Mar 2022)

Flow looks good to me, could do with a few more fast growing stems, even if only a temporary measure.
Cheers!


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## SOulGirL (20 Mar 2022)

bazz said:


> Flow looks good to me, could do with a few more fast growing stems, even if only a temporary measure.
> Cheers!


Looks a lot softer than it is because the left zone is now pretty empty, cause believe me, it was way stronger on the plants in that left area.
Been having a lot of issues with the plants and already lost a bunch of them, so not gonna invest anymore until I see some improvements in the ones I still have. Thanks for your input!



Konsa said:


> Hi
> Im not using the Oase 350 but your flow seems good to me  and not too strong at all.
> Have in mind that once plants grow in they will reduce the flow a little too.
> Regards Konstantin


Hi, wish you could have seen it when I still had the plants in there. They were bending to the flow, not really gently swaying. 
I know they will reduce the flow once they grow, but the thing is that especially the left middle and back ones were really getting bashed, lol.
Something I think is also contributing to the strong flow is that the outflow pipe is reduced cause I'm using 13mm lily pipe there, so...the water comes out of it with even more strength.

You can see in this picture, the plants that were most affected by the strong flow. I placed some arrows to indicate what I mean.


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## erwin123 (20 Mar 2022)

Have a look at the flow in George Farmer's 60p.


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## Konsa (20 Mar 2022)

Hi
I keep SAP Puffers and they like flow so my tanks are quite turbulent. Never bothered my plants tbh.
I understand that you are frustrated atm and doubt everything but more likely is that your troubles are due to immature substrate lacking microbal colonies,  low or fluctuating CO2 and strong light.
Its worth to try to get some cheap(free) easy fast growing stems cuttings from felow hobbyist and some floating plants just to bump the plant mass.You can remove those later once tank matures. Did you lower the light and try to tune the CO2?

Regards Konstantin


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## SOulGirL (20 Mar 2022)

erwin123 said:


> Have a look at the flow in George Farmer's 60p.



Yep, mine seems about the same or maybe a bit stronger...


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## SOulGirL (20 Mar 2022)

Konsa said:


> Hi
> I keep SAP Puffers and they like flow so my tanks are quite turbulent. Never bothered my plants tbh.
> I understand that you are frustrated atm and doubt everything but more likely is that your troubles are due to immature substrate lacking microbal colonies,  low or fluctuating CO2 and strong light.
> Its worth to try to get some cheap(free) easy fast growing stems cuttings from felow hobbyist and some floating plants just to bump the plant mass.You can remove those later once tank matures. Did you lower the light and try to tune the CO2?
> ...


Indeed frustrated I am... 
I did lower the light and increased the co2 but most of the plants were too far gone I'm afraid...
Starting to lose hope with this tank to be honest.


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## Konsa (20 Mar 2022)

Hi 
Unfortunately the changes you made will require a little time to have effect as the plants will need to adapt to those.Keep removing the debris you see and stick to your maintenance.
If you are in UK PM me your details and I will send you some floating plants and whatever I can trim out of my low tech.It won't be much but will help to increase the plant mass in the tank.
Regards Konstantin


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## SOulGirL (20 Mar 2022)

Oh that is very kind of you, but I am actually in Portugal. 
I do realize that it takes time to notice any difference, but it does affect you when you put so much money and heart into something, only to have it fail... 🥲
The only good thing I have going is that I have no fish yet, and that makes me feel a little bit more relaxed. Wouldn't dare to experiment too much if I had any life inside the aquarium.

Actually, I do have a little fellow there that I couldnt bring myself to toss away. Guess he is one of the so called "pest snails"?


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## Nick potts (20 Mar 2022)

As above, the flow looks good to me, I have more flow going through a 40 ltr tank to just give an example, and it hasn't had any effect on plants, if anything I have thought about adding more when the plants were really overgrown.

Patience is key in this hobby (and that is coming from someone with virtually 0 myself). Keep the co2 high and bring the lights right down, this will give you some breathing room if you are having algae issues etc time, and if your still not happy with the flow, maybe a spraybar would be a good idea?


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## Nick potts (20 Mar 2022)

SOulGirL said:


> Guess he is one of the so called "pest snails"?



Looks like a pond snail, lots would say a pest but i don't mind snails and have tons in all my tanks, they will help clear up debris and decaying plant matter etc


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## SOulGirL (20 Mar 2022)

Nick potts said:


> As above, the flow looks good to me, I have more flow going through a 40 ltr tank to just give an example, and it hasn't had any effect on plants, if anything I have thought about adding more when the plants were really overgrown.
> 
> Patience is key in this hobby (and that is coming from someone with virtually 0 myself). Keep the co2 high and bring the lights right down, this will give you some breathing room if you are having algae issues etc time, and if your still not happy with the flow, maybe a spraybar would be a good idea?


Well, in that case I guess I'm gonna leave it as is. Guess I'm overconcerned for nothing really...
I was just worried that the flow being too strong could be hurting the plants instead of being a good thing.



Nick potts said:


> Looks like a pond snail, lots would say a pest but i don't mind snails and have tons in all my tanks, they will help clear up debris and decaying plant matter etc


Yeah I think he is super cute and just couldn't remove the poor thing from there. He has been through a lot as the tank cycled and still he resisted hehe


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## dw1305 (20 Mar 2022)

Hi all,


SOulGirL said:


> Actually, I do have a little fellow there that I couldnt bring myself to toss away. Guess he is one of the so called "pest snails"?


Looks like it might be <"_Radix balthica_">.

cheers Darrel


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## SOulGirL (20 Mar 2022)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Looks like it might be <"_Radix balthica_">.
> 
> cheers Darrel


Indeed!! It does look like that's it


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## Andy Pierce (20 Mar 2022)

SOulGirL said:


> Don't have many plants now on the left or back left cause it was a lot worse on those, but you can notice the rotala in the back really swaying and it was a lot more violent when I had more plants in that area of course.


Flow looks ok to me.  The plants won't be bothered and may even develop better root systems in response.


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## SOulGirL (20 Mar 2022)

Andy Pierce said:


> Flow looks ok to me.  The plants won't be bothered and may even develop better root systems in response.


Guess I'll just leave it then. Several people say that the flow is good as it is, so who am I to doubt you all?  Thanks for the help!


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## Hufsa (21 Mar 2022)

Adding to what all of the above have said, if your filter is still quite new and squeaky clean, you will lose a little bit of flow as everything gets worked in and gunked up. So long term flow will usually be slightly less than setup flow anyway. Its much better to have extra flow that you can mitigate somewhat down the road than to be underpowered, easy to decrease, not so much to increase 😊
Its always scary starting up, but I think you will get through


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## Matti (21 Mar 2022)

SOulGirL said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> just got this filter a couple of weeks ago and I'm wondering if anyone with a 60p finds it has too strong of a flow?
> I am using a reducer with 13mm Lily pipes but even still the plants are really swaying...
> Waiting for your feedback! Thanks


I have the 250 on my 55l and the flow was too strong for my gouramis. I changed the lily pipes to Aquario Neo flow reliever, now its's perfect. The Neo flow also has the skimmer which works like magic!


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## SOulGirL (21 Mar 2022)

Hufsa said:


> Adding to what all of the above have said, if your filter is still quite new and squeaky clean, you will lose a little bit of flow as everything gets worked in and gunked up. So long term flow will usually be slightly less than setup flow anyway. Its much better to have extra flow that you can mitigate somewhat down the road than to be underpowered, easy to decrease, not so much to increase 😊
> Its always scary starting up, but I think you will get through


Hi, yeah it is brand new and I do believe it will lose some flow in the long run, but still seems a bit strong to me. 
But I actually thought the same thing you're saying when I got it, better to have too much and reduce it than not having enough.  Thanks for your nice words, I hope I can have a beautiful tank in a few months!



Matti said:


> I have the 250 on my 55l and the flow was too strong for my gouramis. I changed the lily pipes to Aquario Neo flow reliever, now its's perfect. The Neo flow also has the skimmer which works like magic!


Hi, I don't have animals yet so that's not a concern at this point, but I do think it will be a bit too strong for fish. Especially since I'm thinking of adding small fish species.
My lily pipes are brand new too, they're from Viv and they weren't cheap and I actually really love them. Wouldn't want to change them quite so soon. 
I purchased this tap from Eheim that I can use if the flow actually turns out to be too strong, so guess that's always an option.


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## Hufsa (21 Mar 2022)

Throttling the filter a bit is an entirely viable option, make sure only to throttle on the output side of the filter, aka not on water going into filter but on water going out of filter. Some manufacturers have guidelines for how much the filters can be throttled, but I think as long as you stay below 40-50% or so you will likely be fine. It just makes the pump work a little bit harder


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## SOulGirL (21 Mar 2022)

Hufsa said:


> Throttling the filter a bit is an entirely viable option, make sure only to throttle on the output side of the filter, aka not on water going into filter but on water going out of filter. Some manufacturers have guidelines for how much the filters can be throttled, but I think as long as you stay below 40-50% or so you will likely be fine. It just makes the pump work a little bit harder


Yes, that was were I was planning to add it. The outflow  
I'm leaving as is for the time being and will make use of the tap if it turns out to be too much, especially once I add fish to the tank. 
Thanks again!


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