biOrb Jellyfish tank

[bfleming0009]

So... Exhale & I are giving the biOrb Jellyfish tank a try. Since a lot of people seem to be interested in the process and whether or not it is really possible to keep Jellyfish alive for more than 3min in a biOrb tank we're documenting the process here.

 

Here's what we've done so far, purchased the following:

1) Mega biOrb tank from PETCO

2) Glass Gems

3) 50watt Aquarium Heater.

 

More to come...

 

This is a continuation from this: previous thread.

[hahaximmaxfish]

This should be fun...

[lasongo]

Interesting/Great idea. Good luck.

 

Monterey Bay Aquarium has jellies on exhibit with the same idea as ya'll are doing, albeit on a much bigger scale. Two pics below of two of their tanks from my last visit.

 

Keep us informed how it goes.

[hahaximmaxfish]

Interesting/Great idea. Good luck.

 

Monterey Bay Aquarium has jellies on exhibit with the same idea as ya'll are doing, albeit on a much bigger scale. Two pics below of two of their tanks from my last visit.

 

Keep us informed how it goes.

Yeah, the shedd has this same thing to.

[bfleming0009]

Here are a few pictures so far.

 

 

biOrb setup on the shelf. Filter assembly in place with included rocks. Still needs the glass marbles/gems.

 

[hlander]

Can't wait to see this progress!

[Battle Born]

hey guys, do you have any plans to extend the bubble tube? I read that the water level should be even to prevent bubbles from getting trapped in the jellies. maybe you could buy a bubble tube for the 16g biorb and trim it to size if it's too big. just a thought, not speaking from any experience.

 

Edit: DOH! I see that you DO have the 16g biorb. I was thinking it was 8 gallons.

[johnmaloney]

good luck to you!

[zjharva]

[hahaximmaxfish]

aww! thats so cute!

[Exhale]

Well,

 

We've started the cycle with good ole cockroaches of the sea... Damsels. We are making sure the tank has some sort of cycle to it before we go and put a few hundred dollars of jellyfish in it.

 

Also we were at the Fish Den in Denver today and they do carry jellyfish but they looked really sad and about dead. So we are going to risk it with an online supplier. The bioOrb is an old school system of an undergravel filter system and really I think the filter material it uses is concrete from some back parking lot chipped to smaller pieces. We've also extended the tube section so no bubbles can get under the jellyfish. One less turkey baster tube in the house.

 

On to more fun things, feeding the crayfish I got to the hitchhiker mantis shrimp which has grown from the size of a knuckle of your pinky finger to the size of a twinkie lol.

 

We should have jelly fish in a week or so between the chem cycle and the live fish cycle it should be well on it's way for the test. If not we have a REALLY $$$$ Goldfish bowl.

[jeirdo]

Definitely excited about this...keep us posted!

[bfleming0009]

hey guys, do you have any plans to extend the bubble tube? I read that the water level should be even to prevent bubbles from getting trapped in the jellies. maybe you could buy a bubble tube for the 16g biorb and trim it to size if it's too big. just a thought, not speaking from any experience.

 

Edit: DOH! I see that you DO have the 16g biorb. I was thinking it was 8 gallons.

 

Yeah, sounds like the bubbles can be a real problem. The going plan is to cut a turkey baster down to the desired length and stick it in the end of the bubble tube to extend it. We found a baster that is roughly the same diameter. See picture Don't know if this will be a permeant solution but it works.

 

[zjharva]

you guys ordering off of jellyfishart.com?

[bfleming0009]

Latest pictures of the tank:

 

 

you guys ordering off of jellyfishart.com?

 

Yeah, most likely... Trying to see if a local fish supplier can special order them for me any cheeper.

[Exhale]

So what do you all think for Jelly fish?

 

Moon -

 

Or

Blue =

[Mustang Boy]

i have a question isnt that heater a potential snag hazard wouldnt it be better to use some kind of exernal heat source like heat tape used for reptile enclusures and have it hooked to a temp controler that you could stick in the bubble tube to keep it out of the way of the jellies. now unless you can get to the bottom of the "bowl" to place the heat tape it wont be the prettiest thing but i think it would be alot safer for the jellies

 

oohh yea and i vote for blue

[Battle Born]

I'd personally get the moon jellies. I PM'd you guys about a slightly cheaper supplier I found. $30 for 3-4" inchers.

 

I found a poster on youtube who owns a jelly tank. I've asked him to join the forum so hopefully he'll come share some knowledge!

[johnmaloney]

try the smallest you can get at first....small specimens of most inverts are hardier than the larger ones...not sure how it works with jellies. Just excited so I wanted to post.

[Fishfreak218]

Go for the blue ones!!!! I <3 those jellies.

this should be interesting.. def. bookmarking this thread.

 

Also, like mustangboy said... I feel like that heater could be a hazard to the jellyfish (rips and burns) but then again.... you're the one who did the research so what do I know.

[Exhale]

Heater, if we go with Moon's we do not need a heater being they need to be kept at 55 - 60. But we are also looking at other ways to heat the orb.

 

Thanks for everyone's well wishes!

 

We have asked Jellyfish Art Direct to help us out and send us some jellyfish to show it works to all the members of the Nano-Reef Community. We will let you know what they say.

 

- A

[Battle Born]

Hey guys, picked up a biube today! hopefully I'll have this bad boy cycling soon. just want to make sure I'm %100 clear on everything first. It's my first tank! (wish me luck)

 

If at all possible, do you think you could measure your bubble tube for me?

 

allow me to think out loud for a second...

16g life = 25" tall

12g life = 23" tall

16g biorb = 20.5" tall

Biube = 18" tall

 

I expect that the taller tanks will have longer bubble tubes, but I can't find any dimensions online. These longer tubes could be a pretty clean solution for our needs. I've emailed a few suppliers about exact dimensions so hopefully I'll get some replies soon.

 

I'll measure my biube's tube when I take it out of the box later. just for reference

 

Edit: took some rough measurements before work today.

tube is about 11", with a 1.5" gap to the bottom of the light. It doesn't look terrible, but could probably stand to come up a bit. The tank will be seen at a slightly upward angle from the couch so I want to make sure it looks full, and of course give the jellies some extra room.

anyways, it doesn't look too bad so I think I'll start cycling while I'm working out the small stuff. gotta go buy some water.

 

(pardon the mess)

[jhoss]

My high school has started doing nano reefs in all the science rooms. One science teacher wanted jellyfishes but found them too hard to keep. This topic could definetley open up a new window. Good luck to you guys, I will definetly follow this forum it is very interesting. :)

[bfleming0009]

i have a question isnt that heater a potential snag hazard wouldnt it be better to use some kind of exernal heat source like heat tape used for reptile enclusures and have it hooked to a temp controler that you could stick in the bubble tube to keep it out of the way of the jellies. now unless you can get to the bottom of the "bowl" to place the heat tape it wont be the prettiest thing but i think it would be alot safer for the jellies

 

oohh yea and i vote for blue

 

 

Heater, if we go with Moon's we do not need a heater being they need to be kept at 55 - 60. But we are also looking at other ways to heat the orb.

 

Thanks for everyone's well wishes!

 

We have asked Jellyfish Art Direct to help us out and send us some jellyfish to show it works to all the members of the Nano-Reef Community. We will let you know what they say.

 

- A

 

The jellyfish we're looking at seem to be a specific warm water breed. The recommend temp is 77 degrees. The ones that are native to colder waters, as Andy said 55 - 60 degrees are more difficult and expensive to keep since they require a chiller. We're not going to go there lol - At least as long as i'm paying for this project ;-)

 

As far as a snag hazard - That seems to be a legitimate point, at least in my mind. I haven't gotten a definitive answer on how much a risk it could pose to the jellies. jellyfishart.com seems to use a very simular heater to what we're using. We've been in contact with them about this project, and I believe they are following this thread. I will get in contact with them specifically about the heater snag risk and any mitigation techniques.

 

-Bryan

 

 

Hey guys, picked up a biube today! hopefully I'll have this bad boy cycling soon. just want to make sure I'm %100 clear on everything first. It's my first tank! (wish me luck)

 

If at all possible, do you think you could measure your bubble tube for me?

 

allow me to think out loud for a second...

16g life = 25" tall

12g life = 23" tall

16g biorb = 20.5" tall

Biube = 18" tall

 

I expect that the taller tanks will have longer bubble tubes, but I can't find any dimensions online. These longer tubes could be a pretty clean solution for our needs. I've emailed a few suppliers about exact dimensions so hopefully I'll get some replies soon.

 

I'll measure my biube's tube when I take it out of the box later. just for reference

 

Edit: took some rough measurements before work today.

tube is about 11.5", with a 1.5" gap to the bottom of the light. It doesn't look terrible, but could probably stand to come up a bit. The tank will be seen at a slightly upward angle from the couch so I want to make sure it looks full, and of course give the jellies some extra room.

anyways, it doesn't look too bad so I think I'll start cycling while I'm working out the small stuff. gotta go buy some water.

 

Looks good. I'll try to get you a measurement tomorrow on our bubble tube. As I said in a previous post we just stuck a turkey baster tube that was cut down to the desired length in the end of our bubble tube... It's not the most elegant solution but it works & honestly to the casual observer you can barely tell it's been modified.

[Mustang Boy]

is the base removeable from the orb? iff so you could easily hide the heat tape like used for reptile cages on the bottom of the orb and then use a temp controller to turn it on and off and you could hid the temp controller sensor in the bubble tube im betting.

 

there was a member on this forum who recently used reptile heat tape stuff for his small pico tank with great results