Product Review Living with an Oase Biomaster

[Connswater]

I hate to be negative, but mine leaked after about 6 months, and was missing a screw, which I only spotted after a year. I also think there are issues with the heater in the filter. I 'fixed' the leak with an elastic band, new seals made no difference, for around three years I continued to 'Heath-Robinson' things, got fed-up and went back to a cheap and cheerful Fluval external 407.

Now I supplement with a ridiculously cheap All Ponds HOB, got fed up with the fiddly internal drawers/baskets in the HOB and replaced with a rolled piece of filter foam. Just so easy and effective and no trickle return. £25 or thereabouts. I wish now I had just used two of them when I set up 7 years ago. Externals are hard work as I get older, lugging out of the cabinet, dismantling and then finding it won't fire up without a hose being used to push water through. The old under gravels of my youth were such a doddle, sadly as I have said before, I find, hard water issue according to Darrel is to blame, under gravels useless for rooted plant growth. Hornwort, elodea, epiphytes and frogbit don't care. Suspect that with clever use of driftwood and rocks a really good scape could be created in hard water with a limited range of plants. Maybe a project I should try, low maintenance cheap and cheerful, with few plants in baskets growing emerged, I bet the water quality would be top notch.

I sometimes think I have bought kit that has cost me an 'arm and a leg' only to find a cheap HOB, a garden floodlight and some cheap fertiliser from the garden centre are all much better. I can't believe how good my £15 30 watt 3000K floodlights are according to the PAR and lumen app on my phone.

 

[Superpuma1]

Just an update to this review: I thought I would post about a recurring issue with the Oase and a recommendation for you to avoid getting into trouble if you are an Oase Owner.

I have two Biomaster 250s, one from June 2023 and one bought after that one leaked and needed an urgent replacement. Both have had the same failure on the inlet/outlet head; replacing that part has resolved the issue. As you can see from the image, there seems to be a weakness in some of the head units (or caused by the locking mechanism) that damages a tube and renders the unit leaky. This happened to me last night, and thanks to the previous issue, I immediately knew where to look and why it was leaking.

Luckily, I have two filters running for redundancy, so I am now waiting for a spare part. (Still not great as all my bacteria is just sitting in a bucket of water with no flow going across it). I am careful with all my equipment, never force anything and always ease things apart. So, it's a surprise to see two of these issues occur.

Many people do not have the option of running two filters. But for the cheap cost of ordering one of these parts and keeping the spare on-site, I highly recommend it. Once it fails, it is so disabling that you just need to be able to quickly replace it.

View attachment 217110

Super Thanks on this one Bradders👍.

I bought a spare inlet/outlet adapter months back after this post, dreaded the thought of a leak post maintaining the filter.

Last night the inevitable happened, 1hr post inlet filter clean l had a puddle all over the floor, my adapter was in the exact same state as the picture above, it really is an Achilles heel on these filters, l’d change the filter if there was a better option due to this.

New adapter and main seal ordered…….

 

[Bradders]

it really is an Achilles heel on these filters, l’d change the filter if there was a better option due to this.

There is definitely a weakness with this part of the Oase filter. I think it needs to be greased regularly to help, but looking at the part, it seems to be 'sheared' which I am not sure the grease will help with. What is your view?

 

[Superpuma1]

There is definitely a weakness with this part of the Oase filter. I think it needs to be greased regularly to help, but looking at the part, it seems to be 'sheared' which I am not sure the grease will help with. What is your view?

I think it’s difficult to make out what is actually causing it, some kind of misalignment with the internal ports when performing the locking operation, maybe a thicker wall is required on the adapter ports.


When l first put on the new adapter there was still a small dribble, removing, applying Vaseline to the main seal and then the adapter seals followed by reseating of the main seal fixed that……

 

[Superpuma1]

My Biomaster now sits in a tray, l’m taking no chances, not a good advert.
Just need another manufacturer to come up with a decent prefilter and internal heater…….

 

[Bradders]

Although this won't give you much confidence, I don't expect the Oase to suddenly spring leaks. I think all the main points of leak weaknesses are caused (or occur) directly after maintenance. But better safe than sorry!

 

[Superpuma1]

Although this won't give you much confidence, I don't expect the Oase to suddenly spring leaks. I think all the main points of leak weaknesses are caused (or occur) directly after maintenance. But better safe than sorry!

I agree entirely, it wouldn’t have been leaking if l hadn’t cleaned the prefilter, but it’s peace of mind.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

it wouldn’t have been leaking if l hadn’t cleaned the prefilter,

That is one of the issues with having a filter with lots of <"extra seals and gaskets">. Personally I'd always <"trade simplicity"> for more complexity.

I also think, to some degree it is always <"swings and roundabouts"> with filter maintenance, I like to open up the <"canister as infrequently as possible">, but I realise that that is often going to make it more difficult to remove the filter head etc. when I can't <"put off maintenance any longer">.

cheers Darrel

 

[Superpuma1]

Hi all,

That is one of the issues with having a filter with lots of <"extra seals and gaskets">. Personally I'd always <"trade simplicity"> for more complexity.

I also think, to some degree it is always <"swings and roundabouts"> with filter maintenance, I like to open up the <"canister as infrequently as possible">, but I realise that that is often going to make it more difficult to remove the filter head etc. when I can't <"put off maintenance any longer">.

cheers Darrel

Hi Darrel

Out of interest what is your go to filter?
In the past l’ve used externals by Tetra, Eheim and JBL. l think of the 3 l had a leak issue on the Tetra, no issues with the others.
Of the 3 l rated the Eheim Classic over the others, but the prefilter and internal heater of the Biomaster is the game changer, but if it leaks again l can see an Eheim Classic coming my way……

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Out of interest what is your go to filter?

I use a mixture of <"Eheim Classics"> (<"2113">, 2211, 2213) and <"Eheim 2224"> as external filters and <"Eheim Aquaball"> or <"Maxi-Jet"> as powerheads. I've had a few different <"RENA ones"> etc. but you can't spares for them.

The Maxijets I bought over 20 years ago (for wastewater work) and several are still working.

All my canister filters were bought second hand, some of the Classics I bought second hand ~20 years ago. One or two I've broken by dropping the canister during maintenance, but other than that it has mainly been broken impeller spindles. Ceramic is brilliant for wear, but it doesn't bounce.

I've bought a few <"Eheim Ecco">, again all second hand, but they have several design flaws and I'm not using them at the moment (and I won't buy any more). The <"EXperience range"> are much sturdier.

If money was no object I would use a stainless steel canister and <"Iwaki type pump">. The reasons are just longevity and the <"same simple arrangement"> as the Eheim Classics, just inlet, outlet and removable head.

cheers Darrel

 

[Aqua sobriquet]

It’s a shame Eheim discontinued the Classics with the built in heater. If my Biomaster starts leaking I’ll likely replace it with an Eheim Classic 600.

 

[Superpuma1]

Anyone on here use the current Eheim series with prefilter and heater? Opinions?