Bradders
Member
There comes an irrational time in an aquarist's head when money becomes a little looser, and the urge to upgrade becomes stronger. It is both wholly irrational and unnecessary, but nonetheless, it exists and the aquarist marches forward into the land of 'new and shiny' - and becomes slightly less wealthy in the process.
As you have guessed, this has occurred to me and the latest Biomaster2 becomes my next plaything-like project. Despite having Alan Partridge protesting inside my head (shouting "They have rebadged it you fool!") that does not deter nor stop me from clicking purchase. Its done now, and we all have to just deal with it.
This post will be split into two, with this part more about unboxing and a few early observations, and the second part (after some play time) focused on the unit actually in action.
I do like Oase filters and have 3 of them operating right now. The primary focus of a filter is to make the water inhabitable and healthy for fish - which is part cleaning and facilting the keeping the pathogens at bay. Each of the Oase units does this without any problems. So when you match the primary function to the delivery, what's not to like? The rest is just bells and whistles to pick at.
From my previous review, you will know that one of my key observations is more about capacity than flow - although the flow was called out as that does seem to be well below advertised rates, even with near-zero head height. So both these areas will be covered again in part 2, especially in regards to flow, which is promising between 12% and 25% increases for the Biomaster2. I'll also take a look at the new part upgrades supplied, which include pipework and head-unit improvements. There is no point talking about media capacity, as the size and shape of the Oase has not changed. If you had 8 litres of capacity before, then you will have 8 litres of capacity now. This is probably because larger capacity means a complete engineering overhaul, and that is going to be expensive. But it remains a bug-bear of mine and hopefully something that will get addressed.
Lastly, I'll also provide some opinions on what really matters and whether certain aspects of the Biomaster2 make it a must or a must-not. I'll position this as people new to the Biomaster range, and those looking to upgrade. Most of that in Part 2.
No surprise that the box has been updated (they squeezed in a "2" and elected some new hues) but the rest of it is quite vanilla in look and feel. It's the inside that counts, and there have been a few changes. The main unit looks the same but there is some new pipework which comes with some curves (rather than those flow-destroying right-angle fitments) and it's a lot clearer than the previous opaque version.
It's good that the pipes curve and are more 'invisible' than previous versions - so let us chalk this up as a small positive straight out of the box. But you are slightly nagged that the actual hose supplied is still the same lurid brown as before. I am not quite sure of the thinking behind this. I mean, if you are going to make the pipework more transparent, why still connect it to a brown-looking pipe? Even more disappointing is that the peripheral pipe parts (intake grill, pipework support) are still the old design. So you have this halfway house of most of it being an improvement, but the rest of it remains very visible inside/outside the aquarium.
There is no doubt there has been a commercial decision here, to upgrade just enough to make it perform better but not complete that upgrade in totality. The good side is that you can see how the flow would be improved, which as mentioned before, only adds to the effectiveness of the filter. An effective filter is primarily what we want.
Filtration is a funny thing, and much discussed on forums. Even I have been obsessed with them due to my deep technology passion. But the truth of the matter is that if your filter can turnover at least 2x your aquarium per hour then you are not going to run into much trouble in terms of filtration. The smart thing to do for larger tanks is to then add a separate (and highly controllable) flow device which deals with the distribution of oxygen and nutrients. I partner my Oase with the AI Nero and everything is just fine, meaning that there is good flow (read adequate for effective filtration) through both the filter and excellent flow distribution through the aquarium water column.
I think we need to get outside of the mindset that flow needs to be solely supplied by the filter. In the planted aquarium, the filter is a very good adjunct to the rest of the environment. Let the filter filter, and let the flow devices deliver the nutrients. But I do get frustrated with filter makers who insist on posting flow rates obtained in absolutely perfect conditions - it just seems a little misleading. NOTE: I would be changing my view on filter flow/throughput in a fish-only aquarium. There, you are relying on your filter to do everything and thus the more passes over lots of biomedia, the better off you are.
Comparing the beautiful Chihros lilly pipes I have with the plastic curved pipes within the Biomaster 2, there are two differences. Firstly, the increased diameter of the pipes and secondly the amount of grill openings on the intake. I can remember looking at the Chihiros' intakes and outlets in Aquaiurm Gardens and eyeing them up with much suspicion. Hand rubbing chin thoughtfully, I was thinking "can you really force 800-1000L + per hour through those little holes"?
Turns out that this is hard to find out from manufacturer websites. The ADA glassware does come in different sizes and tells you the litres per minute, but many of the others don't mention this at all - and not all glassware is built equal. I could be wrong, or I could be right. And the only way for me to scratch this itch is to do a flow test at some point between the two. I am not sure I can be bothered, but it really is nagging away at me like my dogs at dinner time.
There does seem to be a narrative that there was some work done above and beyond what I mentioned above. A YouTube response from Oase stated, "All the filters got a complete redesigned and widened outlet to increase the waterflow. The biggest one in the family (BioMaster 850) also received an improved impeller/rotor". So, there is some hope and in Part 2 I'll have a look at the impeller and compare it to the one in the 850 v1 - as well as trying to get some water test date by filling up a bucket.
It might take me a few weeks to get this all completed, but if any of you want me to test anything specific while I do this, then please let me know! If I am going to go down this stupendous exercise, I might as well do everything everyone wants.
Speak soon - Bradders.
As you have guessed, this has occurred to me and the latest Biomaster2 becomes my next plaything-like project. Despite having Alan Partridge protesting inside my head (shouting "They have rebadged it you fool!") that does not deter nor stop me from clicking purchase. Its done now, and we all have to just deal with it.
This post will be split into two, with this part more about unboxing and a few early observations, and the second part (after some play time) focused on the unit actually in action.
Don't you like Oase a little too much?
I think that is probably true, but that does not mean I cannot separate the good from the bad - or be objective in my views. For example, I love my Dog Ernie to bits, but that does not mean that his ripping up of my favourite tech or licking @George Farmer's leg wound goes unpunished. The dog comparison is quite poor as no matter what faults Ernie has, I still can't help forgiving him when he gives me 'the eyes". However, this forgiveness does not carry through to inanimate objects like filters, and won't until they become sentinial.I do like Oase filters and have 3 of them operating right now. The primary focus of a filter is to make the water inhabitable and healthy for fish - which is part cleaning and facilting the keeping the pathogens at bay. Each of the Oase units does this without any problems. So when you match the primary function to the delivery, what's not to like? The rest is just bells and whistles to pick at.
Getting into it
This section is probably a waste of both my time and yours, as you are only getting a look-ahead of what is going to be written anyway. But for those who like a little bit of pre-amble, knock yourself out below. And also understand that I don't care that I might be wasting your time. Sorry, I am just that sort of middle-aged person.From my previous review, you will know that one of my key observations is more about capacity than flow - although the flow was called out as that does seem to be well below advertised rates, even with near-zero head height. So both these areas will be covered again in part 2, especially in regards to flow, which is promising between 12% and 25% increases for the Biomaster2. I'll also take a look at the new part upgrades supplied, which include pipework and head-unit improvements. There is no point talking about media capacity, as the size and shape of the Oase has not changed. If you had 8 litres of capacity before, then you will have 8 litres of capacity now. This is probably because larger capacity means a complete engineering overhaul, and that is going to be expensive. But it remains a bug-bear of mine and hopefully something that will get addressed.
Lastly, I'll also provide some opinions on what really matters and whether certain aspects of the Biomaster2 make it a must or a must-not. I'll position this as people new to the Biomaster range, and those looking to upgrade. Most of that in Part 2.
At last, he actually starts to review
After wasting two minutes of your precious reading time, I'll now commence dissecting the Biomaster2. It's worth calling out that I am not sponsored by Oase and will write all my own opinions - no matter how much some may disagree. It will be honest at the very least.It arrived in a box
Well, that's a good start. It did indeed arrive supplied by our wonderful sponsors Aquarium Gardens with a little help from DPD. I can't fault this combination of supplier and delivery team so can only recommend that you consider them for your next (potentially partner-splitting) purchase. They both do what they say on the tin, and even glassware turns up to me in one piece.No surprise that the box has been updated (they squeezed in a "2" and elected some new hues) but the rest of it is quite vanilla in look and feel. It's the inside that counts, and there have been a few changes. The main unit looks the same but there is some new pipework which comes with some curves (rather than those flow-destroying right-angle fitments) and it's a lot clearer than the previous opaque version.
It's good that the pipes curve and are more 'invisible' than previous versions - so let us chalk this up as a small positive straight out of the box. But you are slightly nagged that the actual hose supplied is still the same lurid brown as before. I am not quite sure of the thinking behind this. I mean, if you are going to make the pipework more transparent, why still connect it to a brown-looking pipe? Even more disappointing is that the peripheral pipe parts (intake grill, pipework support) are still the old design. So you have this halfway house of most of it being an improvement, but the rest of it remains very visible inside/outside the aquarium.
There is no doubt there has been a commercial decision here, to upgrade just enough to make it perform better but not complete that upgrade in totality. The good side is that you can see how the flow would be improved, which as mentioned before, only adds to the effectiveness of the filter. An effective filter is primarily what we want.
A note about flow
Over the years, and moving more into planted aquariums rather than fish-only, I have come to a point of clarity when separating filtration from flow. If you expect your filter to consistently turn over 10x your aquarium, then you had better have a medium or small-size aquarium. My 250L Oase ScaperLine would need a filter delivering ~2,500L per hour to meet that requirement. Frankly, most filters can't do that in a lab let alone with real-life usage. (For those interested, my calculations show that I am turning over 3.5 to 4 times the water volume per hour via my Oase v1 850).Filtration is a funny thing, and much discussed on forums. Even I have been obsessed with them due to my deep technology passion. But the truth of the matter is that if your filter can turnover at least 2x your aquarium per hour then you are not going to run into much trouble in terms of filtration. The smart thing to do for larger tanks is to then add a separate (and highly controllable) flow device which deals with the distribution of oxygen and nutrients. I partner my Oase with the AI Nero and everything is just fine, meaning that there is good flow (read adequate for effective filtration) through both the filter and excellent flow distribution through the aquarium water column.
I think we need to get outside of the mindset that flow needs to be solely supplied by the filter. In the planted aquarium, the filter is a very good adjunct to the rest of the environment. Let the filter filter, and let the flow devices deliver the nutrients. But I do get frustrated with filter makers who insist on posting flow rates obtained in absolutely perfect conditions - it just seems a little misleading. NOTE: I would be changing my view on filter flow/throughput in a fish-only aquarium. There, you are relying on your filter to do everything and thus the more passes over lots of biomedia, the better off you are.
A note about pipework
To be honest (rather than my usual lying self) I have had suspicions about Lilly pipes above and beyond aesthetics. It's not the concept of a smooth and laminar-like flow, but moreover, whether they restrict the actual peak output from the more powerful filters due to pipe design.Comparing the beautiful Chihros lilly pipes I have with the plastic curved pipes within the Biomaster 2, there are two differences. Firstly, the increased diameter of the pipes and secondly the amount of grill openings on the intake. I can remember looking at the Chihiros' intakes and outlets in Aquaiurm Gardens and eyeing them up with much suspicion. Hand rubbing chin thoughtfully, I was thinking "can you really force 800-1000L + per hour through those little holes"?
Turns out that this is hard to find out from manufacturer websites. The ADA glassware does come in different sizes and tells you the litres per minute, but many of the others don't mention this at all - and not all glassware is built equal. I could be wrong, or I could be right. And the only way for me to scratch this itch is to do a flow test at some point between the two. I am not sure I can be bothered, but it really is nagging away at me like my dogs at dinner time.
The early concern
Tea in hand, I sat back and had a good look at the Biomaster2 and had a thought. They have made the pipes more curved, and the head-plate and filter in-take pipe (attached to primer) have already been supplied as an upgrade over the last 18 months - and most Oase users have already bought and installed them. So unless Oase have actually 're-egninnered flow' then many of us could be in for a very nasty shock. (The sort of shock you get when you realise how much cheese has increased in cost each time you visit Tesco).There does seem to be a narrative that there was some work done above and beyond what I mentioned above. A YouTube response from Oase stated, "All the filters got a complete redesigned and widened outlet to increase the waterflow. The biggest one in the family (BioMaster 850) also received an improved impeller/rotor". So, there is some hope and in Part 2 I'll have a look at the impeller and compare it to the one in the 850 v1 - as well as trying to get some water test date by filling up a bucket.
So, all to play for then?
There is not much else to say in Part 1 - it's now time for me to put the thing into production use, take some measurements and write up how it performs in comparison to V1. Has the V2 had some engineering inside the head? Does it output more in flow than V1? And, is it really worth the upgrade or good for someone new taking a look at Oase? I'll also look at the air burping issue and see if that has improved. (But when you think about that, CO2, oxygen-rich water and a closed system means that air has to leave somehow - so maybe it is what it is?).It might take me a few weeks to get this all completed, but if any of you want me to test anything specific while I do this, then please let me know! If I am going to go down this stupendous exercise, I might as well do everything everyone wants.
Speak soon - Bradders.
