Bradders
Member
Just for comparison, would it be helpful to anyone if I post a video of me dealing with trapped air in my Oase 250?
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Oase Biomaster Users: Has anyone tried Concave upgrades?
- Thread starter Bradders
- Start date
Bradders
Member
Yes, I think they have "upgraded" there filters since to deal with this. My filter was from June 2023.
Bradders
Member
Just an update.
- The concave filter head under plate should be arriving today, well, so Royal Mail have states anyway!
- The concave motor upgrade has been delayed for delivery. (Just a note that Pete at Riverwood Aquatics has been providing updates and great customer service. Awesome!) As soon as received from Oase, it will be sent to me.
Bradders
Member
Some people have asked me what the flow on an Oase 250 looks like. I am doing some maintenance today, so I took a short video of how it looks through a spray-bar.
I got my concave head upgrade today.
Installed and I can now hear myself think in my living room again. The reduction in noise was immediate and has decreased throughout the day as it's bedded in from the initial tear-down.
It isn't silent by any means but I've got no more noise caused by cavitation in the impeller housing anymore, and in general the filter is no more noisy than other ambient sounds from appliances in my house now, just a low hum which is far easier to tune out like the original Filtosmart 100 I had on this tank before.
I noticed two things:
1) There was no need to rock the unit back and forth, it just purged all the air by itself in one go.
2) It looks to me there is still room/cutouts for a venting unit (which I haven't got) so it's entirely possible that it could be even quieter.
I can't comment on increased flow as my tank is small (APS 90L) so I've never noticed I've been lacking previously.
Best of all my partner mentioned how it was so much quieter since I installed so I might be in the clear to keep it 😎!
Installed and I can now hear myself think in my living room again. The reduction in noise was immediate and has decreased throughout the day as it's bedded in from the initial tear-down.
It isn't silent by any means but I've got no more noise caused by cavitation in the impeller housing anymore, and in general the filter is no more noisy than other ambient sounds from appliances in my house now, just a low hum which is far easier to tune out like the original Filtosmart 100 I had on this tank before.
I noticed two things:
1) There was no need to rock the unit back and forth, it just purged all the air by itself in one go.
2) It looks to me there is still room/cutouts for a venting unit (which I haven't got) so it's entirely possible that it could be even quieter.
I can't comment on increased flow as my tank is small (APS 90L) so I've never noticed I've been lacking previously.
Best of all my partner mentioned how it was so much quieter since I installed so I might be in the clear to keep it 😎!
Bradders
Member
Well, that sounds like a great success for you!
I also installed the concave underplate today but did not have the same result - mainly because my unit was previously quiet anyway, so there was little difference. Probably 2-3dB, according to my sound DB Meter., so it slightly improved. It did seem to purge the air by itself, but when I tilted it, it found some more and expelled. Lastly, and as expected, I can't see much improvement in the flow, which I suspect is simply at the unit's maximum capability. But it's great to hear that the noise and purging issue for @Smidan is fixed!
I think I will have to wait for the concave motor plate upgrade to understand whether the unit sees an overall improvement. I suspect both the head and motor plates could be a good combination, but I don't expect the flow to jump suddenly by massive amounts. Furthermore, the new filter pipe with more holes and larger holes is bound to make a difference by decreasing the need for maintenance slightly.
Aqua sobriquet
Member
Mines fairly quiet but I did have to do a small mod.
What’s the modification?
Aqua sobriquet
Member
I jammed that little piece of white plastic arrowed in the picture. It stopped most of the vibrations coming from the impeller.
Thanks. I could see it, but wasn’t sure what you’d used. I thought it might have been a flat piece of elastic.
Aqua sobriquet
Member
It’s a piece of soft plastic from some type of container, can’t remember where from.
There were complaints about impeller noise so Oase Introduced the modified head with a plastic bar to add pressure to the impeller mount. My 350 was quite quiet to start with but then became noisy so I added this small bit of plastic and it’s been fine since.
The head and impeller housing are a bit too thin in my opinion and just not up to stopping excessive impeller vibration.
There were complaints about impeller noise so Oase Introduced the modified head with a plastic bar to add pressure to the impeller mount. My 350 was quite quiet to start with but then became noisy so I added this small bit of plastic and it’s been fine since.
The head and impeller housing are a bit too thin in my opinion and just not up to stopping excessive impeller vibration.
Aqua sobriquet
Member
One thing I’ve never understood about canister filter design is placement of the impeller housing. Every canister filter I’ve owned has had a flat underside on the head. Perhaps I’m wrong but I always thought the underside should be at least slightly conical, with the impeller at the highest point. Any trapped air would then surely be drawn up by the impeller and expelled quite rapidly?
The Biomaster presents a slight challenge as the impeller is in one corner but surely it could still be done?
I do wonder if the people that design these things ever actually end up using them? Just my thoughts.
The Biomaster presents a slight challenge as the impeller is in one corner but surely it could still be done?
I do wonder if the people that design these things ever actually end up using them? Just my thoughts.
Sobriquet,
Can I make an observation?
You are calling it "plastic bar to add pressure " when actually it is a "venting element" (see 1.05 s in Smidan video).
It is suppose to have a gap between propeller shaft and the bar, that space which you filled with the white plastic. There, the water goes into the propeller and creates suction which trough the empty inside of the plastic bar, will suck the air from the other side of it, which is above that point, that is the reason for the L shape.
What do you think?
FrozenShivers
Member
Hmmm...didn't know these upgrades existed, just got a Biomaster Thermo 250 and it's far noisier than my Fluval 207, sigh.
Bradders
Member
If you download DB Meter from the App Store, or you have a DB meter, how loud is it registering?
The below is one of my Oase 250’s with the phone right next to the unit when taking the reading. Interested to get a comparison.
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Aqua sobriquet
Member
It’s an interesting thought. All I can say is that my 350 became noisy and adding a bit more pressure on the pump housing by adding that little bit of soft plastic made a noticeable reduction in the noise. I would say it was back to when it was new.
Bradders
Member
Well, here is a turn-up for the books!
I have just removed the concave head plate. The flow was visibly slower than the previous head plate. I did not even need to measure/flow-test it, you could just see it.
I assumed I must have done something wrong so I took it apart again, even cleaned and then refitted. Still the same slower flow. I then refitted the old type head plate and normal flow was restored.
I don't know if I was doing anything wrong, but two slow/careful fittings and then a reversion back to old (where it was good) meant that I am perplexed what this upgrade is meant to achieve!
I have just removed the concave head plate. The flow was visibly slower than the previous head plate. I did not even need to measure/flow-test it, you could just see it.
I assumed I must have done something wrong so I took it apart again, even cleaned and then refitted. Still the same slower flow. I then refitted the old type head plate and normal flow was restored.
I don't know if I was doing anything wrong, but two slow/careful fittings and then a reversion back to old (where it was good) meant that I am perplexed what this upgrade is meant to achieve!
Aqua sobriquet
Member
As far as the plate is concerned it’s just to allow any trapped air to be more quickly expelled. The description says:
“This newly crafted concave filter head plate is designed to effectively direct air bubbles towards the motor head. This reduces air pocket build up and raises the water level which promotes motor efficiency and reduces the occurrence of noisy air expulsions.”
Rocking the filter does the same thing, albeit probably not as well?
Bradders
Member
Yes indeed. However, for me at least, I was not expecting promotes motor efficiency to mean that flow was visibly weaker.
I very careful installed and reinstalled, checking instructions on the way. I do think the air expelled quicker, but I was not expecting a slow down in flow at all!
