Biorb Flow 30l.

Would a Biorb 30l be any good for a Betta/shrimp tank? I know the shrimps won't be a problem but the Betta?
My Mrs has found one going really cheap and would like advice before jumping on the Betta wagon.
The are other options for stock, clearly, but a Betta will be my first choice.

You are an absolute diamond!
I wouldn't consider a spherical tank for any fish, especially one with a labyrinth organ.
I had the same thought with using my existing media to help seed.
That's a shame with the shrimps, going slightly off topic, is there anything that could cohabit with a Betta?

Alex, if you look on ebay for Biohome gravel by Tynevalley you will see he has "invented" a gravel especially for biohome/orbs. He claims it will eventually use up ammonia
He has also done a video on Youtube explaining why he thought of it and howw to use it.
I don't have a bio orb but I did buy the gravel for my small filters and it appears to work well.

Just a thought.

That is a good buy, have you seen how much they cost new?

I assume it is second hand? If it is, the filter box could be well used so I'd definitely replace what's inside.

Just looked on their website, and they do make a 15 litre tank. Did the seller say it was a 30 litre? If he did, do you have any comeback for mis-advertising? (Though I don't think that would apply to second hand itmes on bidding sites  )

And I would also make some careful measurements as manufacturers often quote the entire thing as the volume, including the thickness of the glass and the air gap you have to leave on top of the water. It could turn out to be 11 or 12 litres if they do that.
Hmmm, just googled the tank and it comes up on Pets at Home where they do give the dimensions, unlike reef-one. They say it is 32 x 31 x 21 which works out as 14.112 litres - and that will be the total size so the water volume will be 11 to 12 litres. Or even less once you put the media on the bottom.

I'm not sure there are any fish that can be kept in a tank that small, not even a betta  And I'd be concerned about shrimp with the style of filter as baby shrimps will be sucked into the substrate.

However........ Now you have the tank, have good look at it. Would it be possible to change the filter? The manual says it is powered by an air pump. Is it at all possible to replace the whole filter set up with a sponge filter connected to whatever the air pump connects to inside the tank? The manual doesn't show that very clearly. By sponge filter I mean something like this. This type of filter is highly recommended for shrimps and fry. It would allow you to use a thin layer of sand on the bottom, freeing up some space.
Then get some shrimps.


You would have to cycle a sponge filter of course. But if you could find some way of running it in the main tank for a couple of weeks it would get some bacteria in the sponge, though you'd still need to do a fishless cycle afterwards to build up the bacteria numbers. The good news is that you wouldn't need 3ppm ammonia for just shrimp, 2 ppm or even one would be enough.

Is it an optical illusion, or does it look quite big sitting next to your 120 litre? You have measured it to check?
Looking at all the substrate/media and decor, there must be some way to make more room inside. If you could find some way of filtering the tank without using the box and having to have a lot of substrate as the biological medium, you could get more space by using a lot less substrate. A HOB filter would be ideal, but not with the lid on the tank 
And with careful selection of decor, you would still have room left. But fish are a definite no. There is nothing that would be happy in that volume. Survive perhaps, but not thrive.
But as I said, shrimps would be fine, just not with an undergravel filter sucking the baby shrimps down into the substrate.

Woo hoo I can hear myself think.
From what I can see there is slight gap underneath the pump cage. Do you think it would be possible to manipulate some sponge media to fit the gap?
I've also had another thought of carpeting the substrate in Java Moss, would this stop the larvae or new hatchlings from becoming casualties?

The shrimp tank is out the window as well. The Mrs says they creep her out.
All though she did redeem herself by getting me a nano tetra one 30l. So the Betta tank is back on I've got a very good idea of how to set it up and will post in the gallery once I've got it sorted.

I'm not going to be able to have snails either because they're "ewwww" according to my oldest lol.