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Oase Biomaster Users: Has anyone tried Concave upgrades?

BTW - I am going to (once I have time) extensively play around with my new 350 and see if I can work out what is going on.

I am (rather sadly) also going to get hold of an EHEIM Pro 5 and a yet-to-be-decided flavour of Fluval and start putting them through their paces as well.

I don't know what is wrong with me, really.
 
Mine seems to have made it worse 🫤 I’ve tried to refit it multiple times, but had enough for tonight now, so will see if it beds in. I left it for 30 mins, but soon as I nudged filter it purged loads off air, then I had to keep slanting it to remove more air. Will see if it improves 🤞

Biomasters seem to have some inconsistent QC or something, people saying their units were quiet and both of mines very noises, new plate improved the noise on mines as well as purging, others have the opposite effect…not sure what’s going on, I hope it somehow gets better pm your unit, might be worth contacting Oase and feeding it back to them.

BTW - I am going to (once I have time) extensively play around with my new 350 and see if I can work out what is going on.

I am (rather sadly) also going to get hold of an EHEIM Pro 5 and a yet-to-be-decided flavour of Fluval and start putting them through their paces as well.

I don't know what is wrong with me, really.

The search for as close to perfect for your needs, nothing wrong with that…can get pricey though. I can loan you Fluval 207 if needed.
 
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The search for as close to perfect for your needs, nothing wrong with that…
Somewhat obsessive according to my wife! I do love mechanics and technology, and I like to fully understand something's capability. Hence the incessant tinkering!

i can loan you Fluval 207 if needed.
That is very, very kind of you. And may take you up on that! Thank you.
 
Somewhat obsessive according to my wife! I do love mechanics and technology, and I like to fully understand something's capability. Hence the incessant tinkering!


That is very, very kind of you. And may take you up on that! Thank you.

I am similar and have been swapping out a fair bit of kit, it can certainly be fun tinkering 🙂. Of course, not a problem!
 
The Biomaster has very many rubber seals due to the complex design. This makes many entry points for air if seals are not perfect and/or the flow at inlet is somewhat restricted (such as partially blocked pre-filter). A seal that is water tight might not be air-tight.

Greasing all of the rubber seals with food grade silicone grease is the best (and lowest cost) first step to eliminating air purge problems. Might not work in all situations but worth a try for anyone who has not tried this already.
 
I am similar and have been swapping out a fair bit of kit, it can certainly be fun tinkering 🙂.
I'll let you count all the equipment (temporarily) in this aquarium. 😀 Just don't ask what the hell I am doing ....
IMG_1032.jpeg
 
I do love mechanics and technology, and I like to fully understand something's capability. Hence the incessant tinkering!
Me too. I’ve come to the conclusion that nearly all the external canister filters on the market have too many gimmicks. It’s not surprising we hear so many complaints of leaks and excess noise etc.
 
Here's a tip. If you've already checked all the typical seals (head gasket, hose adapter, priming pump), checked for any intake restrictions and it's still pulling in air, take apart the priming pump to lube the blue priming head. After lubing it, most of my air purging problems went away. Periodic lube application might be needed, especially with the larger 600/850 models as they have higher flow and more noise complaints.

There is a very large expanding spring inside the primer.

The blue priming head could possibly use a redesign to use a double o-ring seal.
 

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The Biomaster has very many rubber seals due to the complex design. This makes many entry points for air if seals are not perfect and/or the flow at inlet is somewhat restricted (such as partially blocked pre-filter). A seal that is water tight might not be air-tight.

Greasing all of the rubber seals with food grade silicone grease is the best (and lowest cost) first step to eliminating air purge problems. Might not work in all situations but worth a try for anyone who has not tried this already.
Good idea. I already have to grease the pre filter seal otherwise it does not seal correctly. I will grease up the main seal and also the Heater seal to see if this makes a difference.
 
BTW - I am going to (once I have time) extensively play around with my new 350 and see if I can work out what is going on.

I am (rather sadly) also going to get hold of an EHEIM Pro 5 and a yet-to-be-decided flavour of Fluval and start putting them through their paces as well.

I don't know what is wrong with me, really.
MFS = Multiple Filter Syndrome!
 
Be interesting to hear your thoughts on the Eheim and / or Fluval Bradders……
I’ve ran JBL’s, Eheim, TetraTec and manufacturers of external filters l can no longer recall in the past, none have behaved like my Oase 600, if it weren’t for the prefilter and integral heater l would have gone back to an Eheim Classic by now.

Perhaps for me it’s the glass surface skimmer l use that causes the problem. The skimmer can run fine for from two days to two weeks, then it starts….. Bobbing, sucking in air, the skimmer section completely sinking, but it’s for no apparent reason. Cleaning the prefilter, cleaning the skimmer section will sometimes stop it immediately, sometimes it won’t. It’s a case of farting around with everything until it stops, give it two days to two weeks and it starts again, bobbing, sucking air, spitting out air……..
 
I’ve had a couple of surface skimmers over the years and none of them worked reliably.
This was the first type I used many years ago. Sometimes it worked sometimes it didn’t but it never sucked in any air.
IMG_0980.jpeg
 
Perhaps for me it’s the glass surface skimmer l use that causes the problem. The skimmer can run fine for from two days to two weeks, then it starts….. Bobbing, sucking in air, the skimmer section completely sinking, but it’s for no apparent reason. Cleaning the prefilter, cleaning the skimmer section will sometimes stop it immediately, sometimes it won’t. It’s a case of farting around with everything until it stops, give it two days to two weeks and it starts again, bobbing, sucking air, spitting out air……..

Were the issues maybe due to changes in water level?
 
I went for an Airstone in the end, well, Limewood diffuser would be more accurate.
They don’t last that long but I make my own.
 
Perhaps for me it’s the glass surface skimmer l use that causes the problem. The skimmer can run fine for from two days to two weeks, then it starts….. Bobbing, sucking in air, the skimmer section completely sinking, but it’s for no apparent reason. Cleaning the prefilter, cleaning the skimmer section will sometimes stop it immediately, sometimes it won’t. It’s a case of farting around with everything until it stops, give it two days to two weeks and it starts again, bobbing, sucking air, spitting out air……..
It is odd. Looking at what we know, your Oase is capable of being vert quite - from 2 days to 2 weeks. If it was constantly ingesting air (like a hairline crack, bad seal) then it would likely be a constant issue, not intermittent. So could this be environmental as the source of the issue?

This may be worth nothing, when I was experimenting with my Biomaster in a large bucket I noticed the same air related noise in the main unit. I found out this was related to my experiment and the outflow was close to the intake and I can only assume that it was forcing turbulent air into the intake. I separated in/out tubes, and hey presto, the air issue was greatly reduced. I also experienced the problem (this time a lot more obviously) when I was testing air stones in my aquarium. Bubbles got dragged into the intake and air built up .

This a all a bit speculative, but worth sharing. The intermittent issue is quite interesting - i.e. if a seal was gone it would be gone all the time.
 
Hi all,
The Biomaster has very many rubber seals due to the complex design. This makes many entry points for air if seals are not perfect and/or the flow at inlet is somewhat restricted (such as partially blocked pre-filter).
That is the issue for me <"with a lot of filters"> too much complexity and too many gaskets.
I also experienced the problem (this time a lot more obviously) when I was testing air stones in my aquarium. Bubbles got dragged into the intake and air built up .
I'd never realised <"this was an issue"> until relatively recently. Looking back it was obviously naive, but I hadn't imagined that any-one <"would use the scaffold intake">(as supplied) without a sponge "cover".

cheers Darrel
 
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It is odd. Looking at what we know, your Oase is capable of being vert quite - from 2 days to 2 weeks. If it was constantly ingesting air (like a hairline crack, bad seal) then it would likely be a constant issue, not intermittent. So could this be environmental as the source of the issue?

This may be worth nothing, when I was experimenting with my Biomaster in a large bucket I noticed the same air related noise in the main unit. I found out this was related to my experiment and the outflow was close to the intake and I can only assume that it was forcing turbulent air into the intake. I separated in/out tubes, and hey presto, the air issue was greatly reduced. I also experienced the problem (this time a lot more obviously) when I was testing air stones in my aquarium. Bubbles got dragged into the intake and air built up .

This an all a bit speculative, but worth sharing. The intermittent issue is quite interesting - i.e. if a seal was gone it would be gone all the time.
Great response Bradders. I’m starting to think it may be something as obvious as plant growth starting to obstruct the inlet portion ( not the skimmer section ) of the glass skimmer, for info the inlet section is fully open.
I’m gonna trip the foliage and see how it goes…..
 
Great response Bradders. I’m starting to think it may be something as obvious as plant growth starting to obstruct the inlet portion ( not the skimmer section ) of the glass skimmer, for info the inlet section is fully open.
I’m gonna trip the foliage and see how it goes…..
Let me know how it goes!
 
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