Customer Reviews

biUbe Aquarium with Halogen Light, Black, 9 Gallons

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I first read about this thing in the NY Times and the article was generally glowing. Of course they only interviewed the owner of the company for the story. The thing that sold me in the article was that this was a super sleek design. The picture on the cover of the box certainly makes one think this as well. With just a little more effort this could have been an artful design - but the company skimped and it's really just a plain aquarium with some accessories in the box. First as pictured here the fish would die within a few hours. You need a (not included) heater in order to keep the fish in this picture. The heater is a big ugly unit that attaches via suction cups to the back of the aquarium. The round shape only makes things worse - it tends to magnify the heater when looking at the thing from the front. They skimped - a better design would have been a built-in sleak heater along the bottom of the unit. With the addition of the heater there are now 3 power cables running behind the aquarium. These seem to be artfully Photoshoped out in the picture. 3 power cables does not equal elegant design. In an all in one unit like this why not have a single power cable into the head unit - that would have been sleak. The pump on this thing is loud, as we found out there are much quiter pumps than the one that ships in the box. Loud pump does not equal elegant design. Along with the three power cables dangling off the back, an air cable also needs to dangle out there. Again you don't see this in the picture - a much better design would have been to build the airpump and air cable into the top peice of this unit.

I ended up returning it. I next went to the most reputable aquarium store in the area and had them build up an aquarium with the same specs as this one. It ended up being quiter, cheaper and in the end sleaker. I think that it is possible to make a more artfully designed aquarium, but the biUbe doesn't come close.

Oh and the NYTimes gets 1 star for their article as well.

I have always liked low maintenance aquariums having had an Eclipse 6 on my desk at work. I like the Biube so much I'm planning on purchasing the Larger 16 gallon Biorb for another room.

The set up was quick and easy (By the way, the light kit or other available accessories plug into the small airpump that came with it as it is also a transformer (only a problem when the airpump eventally dies like they all seem to do in time). Also the airpump is a little loud but really functions well. And the set-up saves a lot of cord clutter.


The only thing I've not been as thrilled with is the plastic-esque stand is not as nice as it appears in pictures and pretty expensive for what it is. In fact its almost too short for my liking and the design of 2 flat boards and a metal tube as the support is well... just plain cheesy. Also it would be nice to have some storage areas in the stand as there is no shelf or compartment or anything to hide the airpump or store extra filters, supplies and fish food. The tank is very cool, but I'm having a carpenter build a nicer looking stand to showcase my fish.

I've only had it set up for a week but I've already gotten tons of compliments on it and my fish are still swimming! My recommendation is buy the tank but skip the stand. The tank is really a conversation piece with it's center column of bubbles!

I am new to this whole fish thing and struggled my first three weeks with high ammonia levels. No fish died but I felt at first I had to really watch it... almost to the point of obsession. The people at the fish store told me I could put 5 or more fish in the 9 gallon tank... that was my first mistake. I only put three large oranda's in and I still think this tank is over crowded. Also, it is hard to find the accessories to the biUbe tank. The stand is too unstable... I ended up putting it on a table. BUT, I feel the filtration system and the sleek, tall design are lovely.
My advice if you want this tank, is to start very slow and take several days to allow the tank to cultivate the beneficial environment. Wait to put in the fish in and DON'T OVER CROWD THIS TANK...

I have been keeping fish on and off for several years now and I have to say I love this tank. I knew it was 9 gallons but for some reason I was surprised by the size of it when I took it out. The filtration system is really great and I am happy the instructions talk about SLOWLY putting fish into the tank. When I first kept fish I wasnt aware of the nitrate rise when you first introduce them to the tank..so its nice to see they bring this to light. Overall I really enjoy this tank. I do not have the stand for it, mine is just on my table. I have small-ish fish in mine, tetras and danios, so I can fit a good shoal of them with my plants.

The drawbacks are that like others have said, the pump it comes with is noisy, but that is an easy fix. And if you set it up properly, there is a wait time to get all the fish you want..which is always the funnest part! But its less of a drawback because it is the proper way to stock a tank anyway. The filtration change packets are expensive but convienient. But a remedy to the expense is just buying them bulk on ebay.

I definitly reccomend this tank to others. My sister in law has the BiOrbe and she loves that as well.

I am a very lazy pet owner and hate maintaining fish tanks which is what made me consider this one. It was advertised as a "low maintenance" tank on another site. I basically just loved the look of the tanks. I purchased 2 of them. They are much bigger then I expected but that is a good thing. It was very easy to set up and so far have not really required any maintenance. I bought my own round tables from a local store versus getting the Biube/orb stands as I read reviews that they are not worth it. My tanks are beautiful and have added a very cool element to my living room. I have huge TV, but the tanks have turned into the focal point when I have company. The only downfall is the picture is a little misleading. It just shows this beautiful tank and side steps the fact that there are cords involved. There are the cords for the tank itself and then for the most part, you will need a heater which is never displayed in pictures and a thermometer. I have had a hard time hiding all the cords, but other then that, I am very please with my tanks.

OK I saw this tank at my Mom's and it was very pretty. A year later I got one and I had it up for about 8 months until I replaced it as I was frustrated with it during the cleaning process. I actually found myself dreading the cleaning a week before I actually had to do it. So I got rid of it. The cleaning of the tank is a pain in the but. You have to lift the filter out from the bottom of the tank and before you do so you have to distrupt decorations, rocks, etc that sit on or near the plastic filter covering and pad, so that you can lift the pad out. So all of the debris gets stirred up and teribly dirties and clouds the water. Also the filter replacement pads, which need monthly replacement are about $10.50 each with out shipping included and they are NOT readily avalable in most pet stores. Really pricey ouch... The tank needs to have a heater to it unless you are going to keep only gold fish, as they hibernate and don't need a heater. This means the addittion of another cord. Without the cords the tank is sleek, clean, cool, and hip looking. But you already see the unsightly lighting cord, which is magnified by the rounded glass tank. Now you will need a heater (for any tropical fish) and you will have the cord from the heater too. If you don't mind cords go for it. Also the tank is really NOT equiped for nine fish (traditionally one per gallon maxium)as nine fish just overload the filter system. The filter struggles to keep up with the demands of the dirty water. If you want to keep ONLY 4 or 5 fish, ok but that should be the max in this tank. I now have a sea clear tank and an
eclipse 3 hood/light combo. They are awesome. I love the new set up and changing the filter is a snap!!! By the way I have has fish tanks for 25 plus years and don't mind upkeep or cleaning. Just hated the Biube filter system. Good luck

The chord to plug the light in, which you can see in my picture is at the top of the tank, is literally 2 feet long...you will need an extension chord as the smaller chord makes it hard to plug it in the wall unless you are extremely close...you can see mine is stretched at the moment... you may need a heater as well. Other than that its very nice and i have some tropical fish, with no heater, and they are doing fine in this tank

I have had the biUbe tank for about 9 months now and am not pleased at all. Sure, it looks great but it has not been a safe, happy environment for my fish. I have just mollies in there and although they were considered almost adult sized at the time, many were sucked into the filter and died. Also, I would have loved to get a Pleco to balance the aquarium (they are great for eating the algea that builds up) but because of the rough rocks on the bottom of the tank this is impossible. The shape of the aquarium does distort the fish slightly but that doesn't bother me. What bothers me is my fish dying. Also the accessories are quite expensive. I would not recommend this tank to anyone.

I bought a BiUbe in April and since then I had 4 sea anemones, 2 cleaner shrimp, 1 fire shrimp, 2 star fish, 2 damsel fish, and many corals die! For starters, the light unit that comes with this tank is not strong enough for the animals. I bought both the IntelliLight and have the original light and neither work well enough to keep the animals alive. Next, it doesn't come with the other helpful accessories such as a powerhead. The cleaning for the unit is a bit of a hassle because you can't arrange the rocks anywhere near the center because then you have to move them to change the filter. I'm going to sell my unit and look towards a NanoCube. Yes, its pretty, but that's about it.

I decided to turn my Biube into a nano reef tank. First, I pretty much gutted everything out including the filter, air pump, and and the tube the bubbles ride in. In order for this to work without the filtration unit, lots of live sand and live rock need to be added. I added 20 lbs of live sand, and 18 pounds of live rock to the biube. I then stuck a powerhead and a small heater behind the live rock in the back ( my tank sits in a corner). Last I purcahsed a Coralife Nano lighting unit with daylight & antinic bulbs. I cut and modified the top a little to get more light in the tank with the new lightning unit. I did not add a protein skimmer, so a 20% water change should be done every two weeks. I Got a good clean-up crew, and it was good to go. I love the way the live rock, and fish look in this tank. I like the biube alot and may purchase another.