# Oase Biomaster In America



## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

I like how someone finally thought of putting an actual handle on a canister filter in 2018.

UKAPS folk swear by these filters though so hopefully the price is good.

Edit: Can be purchased in the USA right now.
https://store.oase-usa.com/

Biomaster 
250 $199
350 $239
600 $299

Biomaster Thermo not on the site yet


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## swarley (Apr 12, 2018)

Being able to have the heater internal in the canister is great and also the easy pre-filter cleaning. Oase will be my go-to for straight up purchases, obviously sales and whatnot sways my decision making.


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## Cambrian Creature (Oct 28, 2011)

Good news. Oase aquarium products are now sold on amazon.com not just amazon.co.uk. 



https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_...ords=oase+aquarium+&rh=i:aps,k:oase+aquarium+


No word yet on the heaters. Most likely they have to be made for north american electricity (60 hz 120 volts) and pass various tests and certifications before they can be considered safe.


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## Vinster8108 (Sep 1, 2016)

Unfortunately I do not see the Biomaster Thermo's available. The all-in-one filter/heater is one of the best aspects.


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## DavidBlowie (Apr 20, 2018)

I emailed oase USA several weeks ago and they stated the Thermo ones are not available in the US.


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

DavidBlowie said:


> I emailed oase USA several weeks ago and they stated the Thermo ones are not available in the US.


Did they mention if they were going to get certification to sell the Thermo's in the US at all?


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## DavidBlowie (Apr 20, 2018)

They just said the therm items "were not available in the US." Nothing to if they planned to release them or what. Eheim also makes one but it isn't available in the US either. I have no idea why. I would love a heater in my filter.


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## DanConnor (Oct 20, 2003)

They are now available on Amazon US


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## Aku Sakana (Jul 27, 2017)

Anybody using one of these ? I found a few youtube videos and it seems like alot of sponges and not much bio . How's the flow after 4 weeks ?


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## Vinster8108 (Sep 1, 2016)

I've got mine already. Not running yet, but they are for sale in my local fish store


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## cl3537 (Jan 28, 2019)

Aku Sakana said:


> Anybody using one of these ? I found a few youtube videos and it seems like alot of sponges and not much bio . How's the flow after 4 weeks ?


I don't use one but I was seriously considering buying the Thermo 100 for my 17g, as my Hydro 200w inline failing makes me nervous, it really depends on which model you were considering. 

There are two columns on the biomaster, you can put more hel-x biomedia and less sponges in 2nd column before the output if you want to. The thermo series (with heater) is similar to traditional canister filters and doesn't have the removable prefilter sponge column.

This is definitely a premium filter, it is expensive but has features I don't see often in other canisters. It has a self priming feature and compartment to add water, you can add a heater, remove the prefilter sponge column for easy cleaning etc.

You can probably get more powerful filters for larger tanks especially at the $300 price tag for the Biomaster 600, I do wonder if you call around to stores if you can get these cheaper somewhere other than Amazon.

If you want more info I would check on the ukaps forum as mostly this is used in UK and by Europeans. 
Also the North America versions do come with 120v so not a problem for filter or heater.

This filter is like the Breville of Aquarium filters, great engineering and useful features but you gotta pay a premium price.


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

$30 premium for the Thermo version is actually really good.

Heaters:
150W
200W
300W


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## Discusluv (Dec 24, 2017)

I would like to try this filter for my discus tank. 
It looks like it has top-notch engineering.


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## Maryland Guppy (Dec 6, 2014)

Aku Sakana said:


> I found a few youtube videos and it seems like alot of sponges and not much bio.


Sponges are excellent bio-media, even in a sump.
It can eliminate all of the "heavy" items and filter socks.

All foam is not equal. Many break down quickly.
Poret foam is the only real win when it comes to durable foam.


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## Aku Sakana (Jul 27, 2017)

I like the filter but the prefilter looks like it would clog fast .






Sent from my SM-N910T3 using Tapatalk


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## gus6464 (Dec 19, 2011)

Aku Sakana said:


> Anybody using one of these ? I found a few youtube videos and it seems like alot of sponges and not much bio . How's the flow after 4 weeks ?


Bio media nowadays is extremely efficient. You do not need to add 10lbs of stuff to a canister. Marine pure and brightwell xport bio is really good. One 1.5 inch cube of an xport bio block is enough for a heavily stocked 20g. Using this stuff plus a lot of sponges will keep the water crystal clear.


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## sick1166 (May 8, 2017)

if you go to ukaps.org and search forums on oase you will see that they also have problems I was ready to buy until talking to other members on that site about them


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## d2creative (Jan 24, 2013)

gus6464 said:


> Bio media nowadays is extremely efficient. You do not need to add 10lbs of stuff to a canister. Marine pure and brightwell xport bio is really good. One 1.5 inch cube of an xport bio block is enough for a heavily stocked 20g. Using this stuff plus a lot of sponges will keep the water crystal clear.


How would you set one up to handle a 150g? CAN just one handle 150g?


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## Aku Sakana (Jul 27, 2017)

Depends on your bioload but you would need a power head for sure. Most people run 2 smaller filters and a power head but with the ability to clean just the prefilter on the biomaster you may get enough filtration. 

Sent from my SM-N910T3 using Tapatalk


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## Aku Sakana (Jul 27, 2017)

I'm thinking of using the 600 on a 120 with a power head but my bioload will be low . I don't care for the look of an overstocked tank and I'll need another heat also, probably a cobalt 150 

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## Discusluv (Dec 24, 2017)

Anyone tried this filter yet? 
Would be so nice to have the heater/filter combination. 
Looks like the OASE BioMaster Thermo is now readily available at Amazon and other retail outlets in USA.


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## jcoulter (Mar 12, 2018)

Discusluv said:


> Anyone tried this filter yet?
> Would be so nice to have the heater/filter combination.
> Looks like the OASE BioMaster Thermo is now readily available at Amazon and other retail outlets in USA.


I indeed have one, is there any aspect in particular you were curious about? I wrote a little in my journal. Glad to answer any questions or provide photos of you like.


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## Discusluv (Dec 24, 2017)

Oh, thank you. 

How is the ease of maintenance? I would clean the mechanical frequently- at least once weekly, is it pretty easy to access?
Has the temperature been accurate? 
Flow as expected? Any issues with prefilter clogging quickly? 

These are my main questions at the moment.
Much obliged.


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## jcoulter (Mar 12, 2018)

Discusluv said:


> Oh, thank you.
> 
> How is the ease of maintenance? I would clean the mechanical frequently- at least once weekly, is it pretty easy to access?
> Has the temperature been accurate?
> ...


Full disclosure, I've only had it roughly a month, maybe six weeks?

The reviews and YouTube videos often talk about how easy it is to access the prefilter...That's one of the key selling points.

What may not be obvious is that the prefilter chamber is just as tall as the entire filter itself, minus perhaps an inch. Unless you have a very tall stand, you still need to pull the entire cannister out from underneath the stand in order to remove the prefilter. Still not as bad as completely moving the thing to the sink, at least.

So as far as ease of maintenance goes, it is definitely easier. And that's the point, right? Just not a magic pill...

One note, the first time I accessed the prefilter, I didn't fully close off the flow before doing so..., so probably a half gallon of water spilled out. I feel that's a mistake we all make sometime. Lesson learned none the less.

Temperature... I'll be honest, I don't actually monitor my tank water temp 😞 I would like to note though, that the little chamber for the heater seems to be proprietary to Oase. I.e, if this heater fails, I don't think I can fit some random heater in there. Let me know if this is a concern of yours and I can double check when I do maintenance tomorrow or Sunday. I think it is also a 300w heater, AND the "hole" for the heater is there whether you purchase it or not. If you don't purchase it, Oase merely provides you with a cap to prevent leaking.

Flow... You know how we always hear to have 5x the tank size in flow per hour, and also that companies always over-state their flow? The Oase I have is rated to have 350gph and I also have a Sunsun rated at 525gph. The Oase easily does double the rate of my Sunsun. I think Oase is true to their word with 350gph. But that's a complete guess.

For your last question, I haven't noticed my prefilter clog whatsoever, but...... I've also cleaned it every other week (was medium dirty? Sorry for the poor description here) and I also immediately used 30 ppi material (bought this separately... comes with 60 ppi I think). Honestly I'm half-debating putting the finer media back in because of how easy it is to clean.

Let me know if any more questions 🙂 i'm stopping now because I feel like I'm rambling lol

Edit: Btw, this thing has a handle that feels legit sturdy. No worries whatsoever about picking it up while full of water. Good quality materials.


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## Discusluv (Dec 24, 2017)

jcoulter said:


> Full disclosure, I've only had it roughly a month, maybe six weeks?
> 
> The reviews and YouTube videos often talk about how easy it is to access the prefilter...That's one of the key selling points.
> 
> ...


Excellent thank you for the feedback! The reason interested in the accuracy of heater is am thinking of putting on my 60 gallon discus tank. Needs to be able to hold temperature above 82 degrees.


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## GAquarium (Jul 18, 2013)

I've got the Biomaster 250 Thermo. It replaced a six-year-old Rena Filstar XP2, which I hated because it was always developing a leak. I couldn't trust it when I left on vacations. 

At any rate, I really like this Oase filter. I've got the heater set at 77, my house is usually between 72-74, and the tank thermometer reads between 76-77 in the farthest corner from the outflow pipes. Not having a filter in the tank really tidies things up. If Oase is right, it also keeps the tank temp more consistent because you're raising the temp of the whole tank, not just the water nearest the heater. 

I've also set mine up by getting rid of the blue sponges in the canister, filling those trays with bio media that I had loaded in the trays of my XP2 along with a bag of charcoal I had laying around, and left the fine sponge as the last stage of filtration.

I cannot say enough good things about this filter. I only wish the pre-filter came with a coarser sponge. You can buy 30ppi pre-filter sponges, so that may be in the near future for this. As with all of these filters, the in-flow/out-flow pipes are ugly. However, you can adjust the flow rate on the Biomaster's plumbing.


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## Discusluv (Dec 24, 2017)

GAquarium said:


> I've got the Biomaster 250 Thermo. It replaced a six-year-old Rena Filstar XP2, which I hated because it was always developing a leak. I couldn't trust it when I left on vacations.
> 
> At any rate, I really like this Oase filter. I've got the heater set at 77, my house is usually between 72-74, and the tank thermometer reads between 76-77 in the farthest corner from the outflow pipes. Not having a filter in the tank really tidies things up. If Oase is right, it also keeps the tank temp more consistent because you're raising the temp of the whole tank, not just the water nearest the heater.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the feedback. It doesn't matter, in my case, how unsightly the in-flow/out-flow is. Bottom of my list of priorities. Sounds like the flow, access to filter, and temp control is good-- this filter may be on the near horizon. Thanks again


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## AcidGambit (Aug 30, 2018)

I really like mine as well. You can buy different size foam for the pre-filter if you're having trouble with it clogging prematurely. It does use a proprietary heater, so I bought another one as a spare before I realized that my LFS stocks them! Also, the foam blocks sit in trays, so you can customize them using media bags or by cutting your own foam. I insta-cycled it by replacing the foam in one of my trays with a bag of biomedia from my old Eheim filter.


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## varanidguy (Sep 8, 2017)

Discusluv said:


> Excellent thank you for the feedback! The reason interested in the accuracy of heater is am thinking of putting on my 60 gallon discus tank. Needs to be able to hold temperature above 82 degrees.




Couldn’t you crank it to say 84-86 degrees and attach it to a thermostat?


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## AcidGambit (Aug 30, 2018)

varanidguy said:


> Couldn’t you crank it to say 84-86 degrees and attach it to a thermostat?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yes. The heater power cord is separate from the power cord for the filter motor.


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## Discusluv (Dec 24, 2017)

varanidguy said:


> Couldn’t you crank it to say 84-86 degrees and attach it to a thermostat?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yes, good point, @varanidguy.


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## jcoulter (Mar 12, 2018)

varanidguy said:


> Discusluv said:
> 
> 
> > Excellent thank you for the feedback! The reason interested in the accuracy of heater is am thinking of putting on my 60 gallon discus tank. Needs to be able to hold temperature above 82 degrees.
> ...


What do you mean exactly? Attach it to a thermostat?


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## varanidguy (Sep 8, 2017)

jcoulter said:


> What do you mean exactly? Attach it to a thermostat?




An external temperature control device. Something like an Inkbird.


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## theDCpump (Jul 22, 2016)

- BioMaster series *FOAM tray tips.*

The media trays with Blue foam can actually fit the Oase orange tighter PPI foam (2x orange stacked make up for the one Blue foam block). 
The trays with blue have a bypass GAP near the tray edge. Once orange foam is in the original BLUE tray there is not much of a gap. You'll see.

I think there are people modifying the PreFilter for more intake without the restriction. Some BioMaster users are reporting a choking action on the intake if the fine prefilter is not serviced soon enough.
The main pump will be asking for more flow.

Also, there are adjustable dials on the intake/outake which tweak flow ratios. 
The pump runs at full power, but by slowing the flow (by restriction it), the water may build pressure inside and that leads me back to the Bypass GAPS in those Blue trays. 

Thermo users report damaged heaters, which may be due to users not using the correct prefilter in harmony with service times.
People are starting to wonder if the lack of service (pre-filter cleaning) leads to the reported gulping for air sound that may introduce a zone where the heater is slightly UNsubmerged.
This may lead to a glass heater vs air issue.
Not a bad design, just some attention to tank loads vs running it with tight original foam in the PreFilter.

Oase sells 3 prefilter foams. Black, blue, and the open orange.
**Either we run tight prefilter foam and get to the prefilter sooner, or find the right harmony of foam layering throughout to make this Biomaster series run correctly to match each personal tank. 

The filter is built very well, and even Eheim double-tap QD hose connectors can be introduced for users that still love them.
The filter mod ideas are starting to come in as this filter is gaining popularity in the states as well as the UK.


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## EdWiser (Jul 14, 2015)

https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/oase-biomaster-thermo-external-filter.41568/

Here is the Oase thread on Ukcaps


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## mboley (Jan 26, 2018)

I bought the 600 thermo model and did every modification suggested by the Pimp my Filter guy. 

-replaced the 1/2" intake pipe within the prefilter chamber with larger diameter 3/4" pipe and drilled larger and more holes. In addition, replaced finer foam with the coarser blue foam.

- I moved the orange medium foam from the top to the bottom chamber( first chamber after pre filter) and topped that with finer filter media, last one being 100 micron. So now flow goes through course, medium, and the fine before hitting bio media.

-in the middle trays I replaced the sponges and plastic bio material with Hydroton clay media. And in the top tray another layer of mechanical. A layer of carbon pad or poly filter is an option here too.

- finally I drilled larger holes in the spray bar.

Some caveats. So far it's working great but its only been seven weeks. I'm sure I increased the flow substantially but I did not measure it; I do plan on doing that. Also, some have questioned whether Hydroton is an efficient bio media, but I've had success with it and it's dirt cheap and widely available. I can tell you that it cycled my new Amazonia Light/ power sand 50 gallon tank in 2.5 weeks with the help of some seeded Hydroton from another tank. I am monitoring Nitrates closely. So far readings are staying steady at 25-30.

Regarding the heater, it works well and holds a steady temperature. I think the mods may have made the filter a little noisier; their is a humm.

Did I make it better with my mods? I'm not sure yet, I don't have enough experience with different cannisters to say, it's the first one I've owned. I've been a reef/ sump guy for the past couple decades and used a sump on my first planted tank. All in all, I'm happy with it so far.


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## Cambrian Creature (Oct 28, 2011)

When servicing this filter it is a good idea to unplug the heater and let it cool off before unplugging the main filter. Hot water damage to the baskets could occur even though the heater has a thermostat. I think this is also the case with normal inline heaters as they could make the tubing soft from the filter being turned off and potentially cause a leak over time. This was not the issue with Eheim thermo-filters as the heater and pump were on the same power cord.


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