What to Expect From Your Fed Ex Ground Shipment With Your BiOrb Products

Here at everythingbiorb.com we strive to provide the best customer service possible. As an online company, one of the areas we help customers with the most is shipping. We always do our best to ship out the orders we receive as soon as possible! Today we will be discussing the shipping process and what should you expect from the FedEx Ground shipping method. A lot of the items we ship with BiOrb will be shipped using FedEx. The BiOrb Aquariums such as, the Baby BiOrb, the BiOrb Halo 60 and the BiOrb 105 tank, will be shipped using FedEx. This is because of the size of the boxes. Additional items such as the BiOrb Ornaments such as, the BiOrb Black Pebble Sculpture,  BiOrb Spanish Dancer, BiOrb Clamshell Sculpture or the BiOrb Coral Sculpture, will also be shipped using FedEx. For the smaller items we sell such as BiOrb Service Kits, BiOrb Air Stones and BiOrb Cleaning Pads are all small, light, and cheap we use the Post Office (you can check out our post on USPS shipping here: Everything BiOrb Shipping Blog). However, we do have customers who order larger orders that we will upgrade to the FedEx Ground shipments. FedEx is more reliable for us and also comes with insurance on our end so that we are covered just in case anything goes wrong with the shipment. Also, FedEx Ground shipments are less likely to arrive damaged or get lost. In the end, if you buy a large order we will protect ourselves and you, our customers, by upgrading that shipping to make sure no problems arise.

Our Shipping Process

We are located in Lindon, UT, which is approximately 40 miles south of Salt Lake City, UT. The local hub for FedEx is in Vineyard, UT.  Vineyard is a neighboring city and the facility is less than 2 miles away from our location. Everything we ship with FedEx is collected and scanned by our local FedEx hub in Vineyard, UT and is then transported to you the customer.

Our Shipping Schedule

Our offices are open Monday through Friday from 9 Am to 5 PM MST. There are few exceptions pertaining to major holidays that FedEx observes. Those holidays include: New Years Eve, New Years Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. On the days that we are in the office we print all of the orders that we can before 2:00 PM MST in order to give us time to get the order ready for pick up. FedEx Ground is very reliable in regards to their pick up times – they show up around 2:45 PM and leave just after 3:00 PM.

When we arrive at the office at 9:00 AM we will print all of the orders that have come in since the last print of the previous working day. On Mondays that would include Friday after 2:00 PM up until the time of our first print on Monday. Later in the day we will do a final print at 2:00 PM in order to print all orders that came in after the first print of the day. Every order we print that day is then prepared for pick up by FedEx.

Tracking Information Updates

When we print your order using our software, a tracking number is generated. Our system will then immediately send you an email to give you that tracking number. However, the tracking number will not update until FedEx has picked up your order and scanned it into their system. As stated previously, they do not pick up from us until 3:00 PM MST. Therefore, the tracking should show that it has been picked up and in their system soon after 3 PM. Later in the evening you will see that it has made it to the hub in Vineyard and then tracking should continue to update as the package travels to your destination.  After the order is initially tracked, the tracking should update every 1 to 2 days as the package passes through FedEx hubs and gets scanned. However, there are times when the tracking fails to update every 1 to 2 days, although with FedEx this seems to be very rare. We advise patience because this can happen from time to time.  Having dealt with thousands of FedEx packages we don’t worry about a package if the tracking hasn’t updated until 7 days after it was picked up. Then we begin to fear that the order may have been lost.

Lost Orders

FedEx is very reliable, however, there is a chance that your order may get lost. FedEx loses less than .2% of all of our shipments. It is very rare that FedEx loses a package. We apologize if you are the unlucky customer whose order gets lost. We typically give the order 7 business days before we will ship out a replacement. (On lost orders we initiate a trace on the shipment and/or will file a claim). If by chance we do ship out a replacement order and both orders show up to your location we will figure out the best way for both parties to get the package back to us.

Notes on Shipping Process

  • We will print and ship your order as soon as we can. Our customer service and shipping departments focus on this task every day at work.
  • Shipping estimates from FedEx are for Business Days only. Business days are considered Monday through Friday.
  • Holidays are not considered Business Days and will add a calendar day to your shipment.
  • The day your order is picked up by FedEx does not count as a shipping day.
    • For example: If your order is on a Friday and the estimation is a 3 Day Shipment, then you order has until Wednesday to arrive to your location and be considered “On Time” and within their estimation window. Monday is the first “shipping day” and Wednesday is then considered to be the third “shipping day”.
  • Once we have processed your order and it has been picked up from our location the order is literally “out of our hands”. We are not FedEx. We ourselves are not in charge of what FedEx does with your package. We simply contract with FedEx and pay them on your behalf to have the order shipped to you. We give them the address we have been given and they get it to that address however they see fit. However,  if there is a problem with your order we will do our best to resolve the issue.

FedEx Money Back Guarantee

FedEx has a Money Back Guarantee on all of their Ground shipments. If your order does not arrive by the indicated day from FedEx then it is eligible for a refund. However, there are a few catches to this.

  1. In order for you, the customer, to receive a refund you will need to have paid for the shipping. If you did not pay for shipping then there is nothing to refund.
  2. FedEx does like to use excuses as to why orders were not delivered on time. They say that things that are out of their control such as weather are valid reasons for late deliveries. Which I can understand, its hard to deliver a package in a blizzard or if there is flooding. Sometimes they do get a little ridiculous with thunderstorms as being a reason a package was not delivered. The one instance I did not understand and did not agree with was they did not grant a credit/refund because one of their vehicles broke down. In my opinion this was under their control and their fault but they did not see it that way.

Therefore, there is a process for us to grant a refund for the shipping. Once you have notified us that your order did not arrive on time we will need to call FedEx to see if they will grant a credit/refund for the shipment. Once we get the word from FedEx we will let you know what they tell us.

PO Box Addresses

PO Box stands for Post Office Box, meaning the Post Office technically owns the box and very rarely, except in rural areas, does the Post Office allow other shipping companies, such as Fed Ex or UPS, to deliver to a PO Box. In these cases, we first try to see if the customer has a physical, or non PO Box address, or if they have a family member or friend who has an address that Fed Ex can deliver to.

International Shipping

Unfortunately we do not use FedEx for International Shipments

Damaged Items

This coincides with the lost packages in that if an item arrives damaged we are willing to replace the item for you. (Assuming we have the items in stock) We ask that you send us pictures of the damaged item via email: info@everythingbiorb.com

Once you contact us about the damaged item and send us a picture to our email, we will contact the manufacturer and determine the best method available to resolve the issue properly.

Tracking Shows Delivered But You Have Not Received It

There have been cases where customers have contacted us to notify us that their tracking shows that the item has been delivered, yet, they have not received the package

This is very rare with FedEx. They are typically very reliable in getting items delivered to the correct location. In fact, if they cannot find the address they will call us, the shipper, to verify the address and see if there is a need to correct the address. If your tracking does who delivered but you have not received the item the first we do is contact FedEx to initiate a trace for the shipment. They have up to 48 hours to investigate and respond to us. There has been times where they have found that a mistake was made and they were able to recover the shipment and correct it. Other times they have come back to tell us that they have checked and according to the driver the package was delivered to the correct location and there is nothing we can do about it.  In this case, we will deliberate with our supervisors and come up with the best plan to make sure we give you the best service possible. We are here to make things right for our customers.

Incorrect Mailing Address

We are all humans and can make mistakes. There are times when an incorrect address is given on an order. The nice thing with FedEx is that if the address is completely incorrect and does not exist they will contact us for a correct address. The downside is when they have to change the address they will charge a $15 fee. This fee is something that we will ask you, the customer, to cover since the error would have occurred on your end. Another problem is we have had customers give us an incorrect address which ended up being a real address and it was delivered to that location. At that point we cannot do anything for you. You will either need to re order the items or go to that address to see if you can get your items.

One way to avoid all of this is to double check your address before you complete the order. Another way is to look at the address on the email confirmation that we will send to you when you place the order. It is best to notify us as soon as possible so that we can try to fix the address before the shipment gets picked up. It is much easier to fix if the order is still here in our warehouse.

Posted in Biorb Articles, Biorb Care & Maintenance, Information Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,

What To Expect From United States Postal Service Shipping For Your Everything BiOrb Order

Here at everythingbiorb.com we strive to provide the best customer service possible. As an online company, one of the areas we help customers with the most is shipping. We do our best to ship out the orders we receive as soon as possible! We are going to explain the shipping process and what you should expect from the different methods of United States Postal Service (USPS).

Our Shipping Process

We are located in Lindon, UT, which is approximately 40 miles south of Salt Lake City, UT. The main hub for USPS is in Salt Lake City. Everything we ship with USPS is collected and scanned by our local Post Office in Pleasant Grove, UT and is then transported to and shipped from the Salt Lake City hub.

Our Shipping Schedule

Our offices are open Monday through Friday from 9 Am to 5 PM MST. There are few exceptions pertaining to major holidays that USPS observes. Those holidays include: New Years Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. On the days that we are in the office we print all of the orders that we can before 2:00 PM MST in order to give us time to get the order ready for pick up. USPS typically picks up from us sometime between 3:00 to 3:30 PM.

When we arrive at the office at 9:00 AM we will print all of the orders that have come in since the last print of the previous working day. On Mondays that would include Friday after 2:00 PM up until the time of our first print on Monday. Later in the day we will do a final print at 2:00 PM in order to print all orders that came in after the first print of the day. Every order we print that day is then prepared for pick up by USPS.

Tracking Information Updates

When we print your order using our software, a tracking number is generated. Our system will then immediately send you an email to give you that tracking number. However, the tracking number will not update until the Post Office has had the chance to pick up your order and scan it into their system. As stated previously, they do not pick up from us until approximately 3:00 to 3:30 PM MST. Therefore, the Post Office still needs to transfer the package to their sorting facility in Pleasant Grove, UT and then scan it into their system. Typically, the Post Office scans in the orders around 8:00 or 9:00 PM MST. At this point you will be able to check the tracking on the USPS website. After the order has been initially tracked the tracking should update every 1 to 2 days as the package passes through USPS hubs and gets scanned. However, there are times when the tracking fails to update every 1 to 2 days. We advise patience because this can happen from time to time. In my personal experience with helping customers I have seen a package not update for up to 7 days. The package left our location and was scanned in that night; the next time the tracking was updated was the scan they perform once the order is delivered. Having dealt with thousands upon thousands of USPS packages we don’t worry about a package if the tracking hasn’t updated until 7 days after it was picked up. Then we begin to fear that the order may have been lost.

Lost Orders

USPS is very reliable, however, there is a chance that your order may get lost. The Post Office loses less than 1% of all of our shipments. We apologize if you are the unlucky customer whose order has been lost by the Post Office. We typically give the order 7 business days before we will ship out a replacement. If by chance we do ship out a replacement order and both orders show up to your location we ask that you write “REFUSED” on the 2nd package that shows up and give it back to the postal worker so that it comes back to us. If not, contact us and we will find the best way for both parties to get the package back to us.

Notes on Shipping Process

  • We will print and ship your order as soon as we can. Our customer service and shipping departments focus on this task every day at work.
  • Shipping estimates from USPS are for Business Days only. Business days are considered Monday through Friday.
  • The day your order is picked up by USPS does not count as a shipping day.
  • Therefore, if your order is a 2-Day Priority Delivery shipment and you order on a Friday then your order has until Tuesday to arrive to your location and be considered “On Time” and within their estimation window. Monday is the first “shipping day” and Tuesday is then the second “shipping day”.
  • The only USPS Money Back Guarantee service is the Priority Mail Express method. All other methods, including Priority and First Class, do not come with a money back guarantee. This means that if they do not deliver your package within the “Estimated Time Frame” they will not give you your money back unless it was a Priority Mail Express shipment.
  • Once we have processed your order and it has been picked up from our location the order is literally “out of our hands”. We are not the Post Office. We ourselves are not in charge of what USPS does with your package. We simply contract with USPS and pay them on your behalf to have the order shipped to you. If there is a problem with your order we will do our best to resolve the issue. We have had instances where an order was addressed to New York and 3 calendar days later, but only 1 business day later, a customer called angry because his order was in Puerto Rico. The order ended up arriving within the 3 business day time frame. (Which also means it was considered to be on time) Why did his order go through Puerto Rico to get to New York? We don’t know; ask the post office. We were accused of changing his shipping address and we would never do that. It does not make sense for us to ship any order to any other address than what we are given. That would only cause us more problems and we would not stay in business very long.

Once we ship your order the amount of time it takes to get to you will depend on the service that you requested and the performance of the Post Office.

Shipping Methods

Priority Mail Express® Priority Mail® First-Class Mail®
$$$ $$ $
1-2 Days or Overnight2 1-3 Days3 Estimated 1-3 Days

Priority Mail Express

We do not offer this shipment as a standard shipping method that can be chosen upon purchase of your order. The only instance we have used this method is when a customer has requested their order to be shipped using Fed Ex Overnight or Two Day shipping and the customer only has a PO Box address.  PO Box stands for Post Office Box, meaning the Post Office technically owns the box and very rarely, except in rural areas, does the Post Office allow other shipping companies, such as Fed Ex or UPS,  to deliver to a PO Box. In these cases, we first try to see if the customer has a physical, or non PO Box address, or if they have a family member or friend who has an address that Fed Ex can deliver to. If PO Box is the only option and the customer needs the item either overnight or in two days, we will then ship the order using this method. Again, it should be noted that all shipping days are business days only and the day the order is picked up is not counted as a shipping day. Therefore, if the order is placed and picked up on Friday and is a 1 day shipment the order will not be expected to arrive until Monday. Also note that this shipment method is the only USPS delivery method that comes with a money back guarantee. Therefore, if it does not arrive at the specified date, you are eligible to receive a refund.

Priority Mail

If you want your order soon but do not need it the next day then the Priority Mail option from USPS is a sensible option for you. Priority Mail says it takes 1-3 business days and typically arrives within that time frame. However, this shipping option does not come with a money back guarantee. This means that if the Post Office does not deliver your package within the 1-3 days that it shows on their shipping estimated delivery date, then they will not offer a refund for the shipment. Therefore, if your order is shipped on Monday and the Priority Shipment said it was a 3 day shipment, you should expect the order to be delivered to you by Thursday, with Thursday being the third shipping business day. However, if the shipment does not come before or on Thursday and arrives later, the Post Office will not grant any refund for the late shipment. On the USPS website next to the 1-3 days shipping for Priority Mail it has a disclaimer stating:

Click the hyperlink "3"

Click the hyperlink “3”

“In most cases, the expected delivery date that is printed on your receipt or provided at checkout will reflect a delivery time of 1, 2, or 3 days based on origin, destination, and Post Office™ acceptance time. Exceptions and restrictions apply. Visit Priority Mail for details.

When you click on their Priority Mail link it brings you to this:

Click the hyperlink "1"

Click the hyperlink “1”

(Footnote 1) In most cases, the expected delivery date printed on your receipt or provided at checkout will reflect a delivery time of 1, 2, or 3 business days and is based on origin, destination, and drop-off time. The expected delivery date does not come with a money-back guarantee.

First Class

First class is third tier of USPS shipping and is typically reliable. As you can see from the USPS box up above first class comes with an “Estimated” 1-3 days of shipping. The differences between first class shipping and priority mail shipping are as follows:

  1. First class is from 15 ounces of weight and below. Anything that is 16 ounces and above must be shipped using Priority Mail.
  2. Priority does tend to arrive before first class packages. However, there has been the occasion when first class has been as fast as Priority Shipping.
  3. Priority is more reliable. We very rarely have a Priority Mail shipment get lost. As we stated earlier, less than 1% of all shipments get lost every month with USPS and maybe 1 to 2 of those lost shipments are a Priority Mail shipment spanning the entire year.

A lot like the Priority Shipping Method, the post office does not grant any refund for a late shipment for the First Class shipping method. They will give you an “estimated” date of arrival however; if it does not arrive by that date there will be no reimbursement given.

International Shipping

We will happily ship your orders internationally but with our BiOrb products it can sometimes get a bit tricky, depending on the girth of the shipment of course.  We frequently ship orders to Canada. (At this time we limit our International Shipping to Canada. We apologize for any convenience this may cause you. If you are from Europe the BiOrb Fish tanks is actually owned by Oase which is a German company. You can find all the BiOrb items at a much closer location to you) The reason we continue to ship internationally is because it has been very reliable for us. If we had orders constantly lost or damaged going internationally, it would not be monetarily beneficial for us. We seem to have less problems with international shipments than we do with our domestic ones. It seems as if the Post Office takes better care of their international orders (as they should because it costs the most).

The shipping process to get the order out the door is the same. We print and ship all orders as soon as we can so it can be ready for pick up. With international orders, they get to our local hub, Salt Lake City, and depending on what country they are being sent to, they will be sent to an international hub. Most commonly we have seen them go through Los Angeles. From the international hub they are sent to the destination country. When they arrive they will have to go through customs. We have seen customs take anywhere between 2 days to up to 7 or 8 days. It must be noted that you may be charged duties, taxes and customs fees for your shipment. We do not cover these duties, taxes and customs fees. From customs the order will continue to your address. Throughout the process if your tracking has not updated in a while that typically means your order is waiting through the customs process.

Note on International Shipments – Depending on the girth of the shipment we may elect to use an alternate shipper for the package. We have found that UPS does well with our larger and more valuable shipments to Canada.

Damaged Items

This coincides with the lost packages in that if an item arrives damaged we are willing to replace the item for you. We ask that you send us pictures of the damaged item via email. info@everythingbiorb.com

Once you contact us about the damaged item and send us a picture to our email, we will contact the manufacturer and determine the best method available to resolve the issue properly.

Tracking Shows Delivered But You Have Not Received It

There have been cases where customers have contacted us to notify us that their tracking shows that the item has been delivered, yet, they have not received the package

Many of these cases have come because some of our customers are used to Fed Ex or UPS delivering all of their packages to their door. However, if you selected a USPS shipping method or you chose free shipping and we chose a USPS shipping method, then many times the item will be in your mailbox. We have had many instances where tracking states that the item was delivered in or at the mailbox and the customer frankly had not checked their mailbox. Items that you order the most, such as, replacement filters, air stones, and cleaning pads are all small enough to fit in the mailbox. Therefore, if your order shows that it has been delivered, we first ask that you check your mailbox and the immediate area surrounding your house. Also, if you put a PO Box address or have you mail delivered to a box/storage location, you will need to check there also.

If, in fact, you have checked all of those locations and they are not to be found, we will then treat it like a lost order and send out a replacement item.

Incorrect Mailing Address

We are all humans and can make mistakes. We often have items returned to us because of address errors. We first ask that you please double check the address you are putting on your order and make sure it is going to the correct location. If you have chosen the free shipping method and the item is returned to us because of a bad address, we will then ask you to pay for the item to be shipped out to you again. If you have paid for shipping the first time we will assess the situation and speak with you, the customer, about the steps that will be taken to have the order re-shipped.

Once we get an order that comes back to us in the mail because of a mistake in the address we will contact you to notify you that we received back your order and then also inform you if you will need to pay for the order to be re-shipped or not.

There is a package intercept option that the post office offers; this is for packages that are in transit. However, this option comes with what ends up being a $20 fee from USPS. If you gave us the incorrect address and can’t wait for the shipment to come back to us and we ship it back out to you you can pay the $20 fee and we will have the package intercepted and changed to your new location.

Another word of advice, if you realize that you have given us an incorrect address while the order is in transit the options are:

  1. The quickest way to fix the problem is the package intercept, which comes with that $20 fee.
  2. The next quickest way is to place a new order and we ship that out to the correct address and wait for the other package to come back to us where we will then refund that order.
  3. The slowest but most cost efficient way is that you wait until the package comes back to us and depending on the shipping you paid initially we may have you pay a small amount to have it re-shipped or we will just ship it back out to you.

Also, we only ship orders to the addresses we are given. It does not make sense for us to change an address on an order and intentionally ship an order to a different location than what we were given. That would make you, the customer, unhappy with our service. As a small business, we survive on providing the best customer experience we can so that we can have customers continue to use our services because we are dependable. We will not jeopardize our reputation by changing an address on an order.

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Direction On How To Use A Fish Antibiotic Powder Packet In Your BiOrb Fish Tank.

 

 

Owning fish can be a very rewarding experience. They add beauty to the room, and more importantly a friend to your life. As with all living things, they can get sick and may need medical intervention. There are a variety of forms that fish antibiotics come in. Fish antibiotics come in capsules, tablets and powder packets. It is essential that you know how to treat your fishy friend. We advise that you first get instructions from a veterinarian about which pet antibiotics you use for the ailment of your fish. Thomas Labs, our manufacturer, has put instructions on the labels of the bottles of the antibiotics.

The powder packet antibiotics are just like sugar packets you would encounter at most restaurants or even in your own home. The how to administer the powder packets into water is the same as a sugar packet into water. You simply tear the packet open and pour the antibiotic into the water.

The instructions for the powder packet fish antibiotics depends on the potency of the antibiotic but also depends on the type of pet you are giving the antibiotic to.

100 mg Fish Antibiotics

Fish Doxy

Add one packet (100 mg) into aquarium for each 15 gallons of water to be treated. Repeat in 24 hours. It is suggested that a partial water change be made between treatments. While duration of treatment depends on type and severity of infection, it is recommended that extended medication baths continue for a minimum of 5 days & for not more than 10 days. Discontinue treatment if no improvement is noted within 5 days. To remove harmless yellow color, change 20% of water and use charcoal filter until clear.

Bird Biotic

Add contents of one packet (100 mg) to 8 ounces of drinking water. Make a fresh solution daily. Continue treatment for 7-10 days.

250 mg Fish Antibiotics

Fish Mycin
Fish Cycline

Add one packet (250 mg) Into aquarium for each 15 gallons of Water to be treated. Repeat in 24 Hours. It is suggested that a partial Water change be made between Treatments. While duration of Treatment depends on type and Severity of infection, it is Recommended that extended Medication baths continue for a Minimum of 5 days & for not more than 10 days. Discontinue treatment if no improvement is noted within 5 days. To Remove harmless yellow color, Change 20% of water and use Charcoal filter until clear.

Fish Bendazole

Mix one packet (250 mg) with approximately four (4) ounces OF FOOD and let soak for 30 minutes.While duration of treatment depends on type and severity of infection, it is recommended that extended medication baths continue for a minimum of 5 days & for not more than 10 days. discontinue treatment if no improvement is noted within 5 days. to remove harmless yellow color, change 20% of water and use charcoal filter until clear.

500 mg Fish Antibiotics

Fish Zole Forte

Add one packet (500 mg) into aquarium for each 15 gallons of water to be treated. Repeat in 24 hours. It is suggested that a partial water change be made between treatments. While treatment duration depends on type and severity of the infection, it is recommended that extended medication baths continue for a minimum of 5 days & for not more than 10 days. discontinue treatment if no improvement is noted within 5 days. to remove harmless yellow color, change 20% of water and use charcoal filter until clear.

 

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Direction On How To Use A Fish Antibiotic Tablet In Your BiOrb Fish Tank.

 

Owning fish can be a very rewarding experience. They add beauty to the room, and more importantly a friend to your life. As with all living things, they can get sick and may need medical intervention. There are a variety of forms that fish antibiotics come in. Fish antibiotics come in capsules, tablets and powder packets. It is essential that you know how to treat your fishy friend. We advise that you first get instructions from a veterinarian about which pet antibiotics you use for the ailment of your fish. Thomas Labs, our manufacturer, has put instructions on the labels of the bottles of the antibiotics.

The tablet antibiotics are just like any tablet you would encounter with the antibiotics intended for human use. The how to administer the tablet differs on the type of antibiotic. Some antibiotics instruct that you simply drop them into the tank, while another will have you pre-dissolve a tablet in a separate tank and then have you put the fish in that said tank.

Tablets You Simply Drop Into Your Aquarium

For 250 mg Tablets

Fish Zole
Fish Pen

Add one tablet (250 mg) into aquarium for each 10 gallons of water to be treated. Repeat in 24 hours. It is suggested that a partial water change be made between treatments. While treatment duration depends on type and severity of the infection, it is recommended that extended medication baths continue for a minimum of 5 days and not more than 10 days. Discontinue treatment with this medication if no improvement is noted within 5 days.

For 500 mg Tablets

Fish Zole Forte
Fish Pen Forte

Add one tablet (500 mg) into aquarium for each 10 gallons of water to be treated. Repeat in 24 hours. It is suggested that a partial water change be made between treatments. While duration of treatment depends on type and severity of the infection, it is recommended that extended baths in the medication continue for a minimum of 5 days & for not more than 10 days. Discontinue treatment with this medication if no improvement is noted within 5 days.

Tablets With Different Instructions

Fish Sulfa Forte

Add one tablet (960 mg) into aquarium for each 40 gallons of water to be treated. Repeat in 24 hours. It is suggested that a partial water change be made between treatments. While duration of treatment depends on type and severity of infection, it is recommended that extended baths in the medication continue for a minimum of 5 days & for not more than 10 days. Discontinue treatment with this medication if no improvement is noted within 5 days. To remove harmless yellow color, change 20% of water and use charcoal filter until clear.

Fish Fungus

Add one tablet into aquarium for each 50 gallons of water to be treated. Repeat in 24 hours. It has been suggested that a partial water change be made between treatments. While duration of the treatment depends on type and severity of the infection, it is recommended that extended baths in the medication continue for a minimum of 5 days and for not more than 10 days. Discontinue treatment with this medication if no improvement noted within 5 days. To remove harmless yellow color, simply change 20% of water and use charcoal filter until color clears.

Tablets You Must Pre-Dissolve In A Hospital Tank

For 250 mg Tablets

Fish Flox 

Pre-dissolve one tablet (250 mg) per 1 gallon of water in a small amount of water prior to adding to a hospital tank. Immerse for one hour. Repeat every day for 5-7 days with daily water changes after each treatment. Ciprofloxacin chelates divalent cations water hardness (increase dose for marine fish) and high divalent cations in diet. Its activity decreases with high pH (>6.9). It can be bacteriostatic or bactericidal depending on the effective concentration at the target site.

For 500 mg Tablets

Fish Flox Forte

Pre-dissolve one tablet (500 mg) per 2 gallons of water in a small amount of water prior to adding to a hospital tank. Immerse for one hour. Repeat every day for 5-7 days with daily water changes after each treatment. Ciprofloxacin chelates divalent cations water hardness (increase dose for marine fish) and high divalent cations in diet. Its activity decreases with high pH (>6.9). It can be bacteriostatic or bactericidal depending on the effective concentration at the target site.

 

For The Birds

Bird Biotic Tablets

Add contents of one packet (100 mg) to 8 ounces of drinking water. Make a fresh solution daily. Continue treatment for 7-10 days.

Bird Sulfa

Add the contents of 1 tablet (Sulfamethoxazole 400 mg & Trimethoprim 80 mg), to 8 oz. of drinking water, make a fresh solution daily. Continue treatment for 7-10 days.

 

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Directions on How to Use a Fish Antibiotic Capsule in Your BiOrb Fish Tank.

 

As a BiOrb Aquarium owner you know what it takes to take care of fish. You also know that owning fish can be a very rewarding experience. They add beauty to the room, and more importantly a friend to your life. As with all living things, they can get sick and may need medical intervention. There are a variety of forms that fish antibiotics come in. Fish antibiotics come in capsules, tablets and powder packets. It is essential that you know how to treat your fishy friend. We advise that you first get instructions from a veterinarian about which pet antibiotics you use for the ailment of your fish. Thomas Labs, the most prominent manufacturer of animal antibiotics, has put instructions on the labels of the bottles of the antibiotics.

The capsule antibiotics are just like any capsule you would encounter with the antibiotics intended for human use. The how to administer the capsule into water is the same regardless of potency of the fish antibiotic or if it is in your BiOrb fish tank or in another container of water. You simply pull the two capsule pieces apart and pour the antibiotic into the water.

The instructions for most of the capsuled fish antibiotics are the same, however, depending on the potency of the fish antibiotics there are differences.

250 mg Fish Antibiotics

Fish Mox
Fish Flex
Fish Cillin
Fish Cin

Add contents of one capsule (250 mg) into aquarium for each 10 gallons of water to be treated. Repeat in 24 hours. It is suggested that a partial water change be made between treatments. While treatment duration depends on type and severity of the infection, it is recommended that extended medication baths continue for a minimum of 5 days and not more than 10 days. Discontinue treatment with this medication if no improvement is noted within 5 days.

500 mg Fish Antibiotics

Fish Mox Forte
Fish Flex Forte

Add contents of one capsule (500 mg) into aquarium for each 20 gallons of water to be treated. Repeat in 24 hours. It is suggested that a partial water change be made between treatments. While treatment duration depends on type and severity of the infection, it is recommended that extended medication baths continue for a minimum of 5 days and not more than 10 days. Discontinue treatment with this medication if no improvement is noted within 5 days.

The Instructions for the Deworming Antibiotics are a bit different.

Fish Tapes

Empty 1 capsule for individual bathing in no more than 4 gallons of water. Start treatment with new water. Do not stop filtration, but remove activated carbon and UV sterilization. Distribute the amount around the edges or directly into the filter box for the best overall distribution. One treatment lasting 5 -7 days is usually sufficient, but no more that once every 3 -5 days. May be used as a preventative at the standard dosage. Do not use with any other drugs.

Fish Tapes Forte

Empty 1 capsule for individual bathing in no more than 20 gallons of water. Start treatment with new water. Do not stop filtration, but remove activated carbon and UV sterilization. Distribute the amount around the edges or directly into the filter box for the best overall distribution. One treatment lasting 5-7 days is usually sufficient, but no more than once every 3-5 days. May be used as a preventative at the standard dosage. Do not use with any other drugs.

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The BiOrb Complete Cleaning Kit. The Fit for All of Your Cleaning Needs!

 

Keeping your BiOrb Aquarium clean is not only important for the look of your tank but even more importantly, it is needed for the health of your pet fish. Thanks to the ingenious BiOrb Filtration System the BiOrb Fish Tanks do most of the work for you. However, we still live in the real world and not some fairy tale town where your cleaning needs get taken care of by some elves in the middle of the night. If you decided you wanted to have pet fish then you also decided that you would put in the effort to give them a clean home. Just think about how you feel when your home is very dirty – your pet fish feel the same way.

Everythingbiorb.com has put together a smorgasbord board of BiOrb items to fill your aquarium cleaning needs!

When you clean your house you have different appliances to help you. You need a vacuum to help you clean the carpet and get all of the dirt and other gunk in the carpet out. You use a spray and a rag to help you clean the windows. A house always looks much more well kept if the windows are glistening. You use filters in your air vents in order to catch any dust or pollen that could flow throughout your house and keeps your air cleaner. All things that if you did not keep up with would lead to a very dirty house.

The BiOrb Siphon Hose is just like the vacuum in your home. The BiOrb Siphon Hose get down into the BiOrb Ceramic Media and sucks up all the excess gunk at the bottom of your tank.

The BiOrb Algae Cleaner and the BiOrb Cleaning Pads both help you clean the “window” of your BiOrb Fish Tank.

The BiOrb Service Kit is that filter that catches and holds onto all of the junk that tries to pass through.

If you want to keep your tank clean for your fish just like you want your own house clean then you need to get the proper tools to do so. The BiOrb Complete Cleaning Kit gives you all of those tools!

 

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The New BiOrb 15L Halo Aquarium with Multi Color Remote Lighting

 

The newest tank at everythingbiorb.com is the BiOrb Halo 15 Aquarium with multi color lighting. This is the newest fish tank that is part of the BiOrb Halo Tank series. This tank is the same size as our Baby BiOrb Fish Tanks but has the design style and lighting features of the BiOrb Halo Fish Tanks.

The unique lid of the BiOrb Halo 15 Aquarium hides the waterline in the tank providing a seamless visual experience. What really makes this aquarium experience unique is the multi color led lighting. Using the multi colored light remote you are able to choose any of the sixteen colors given off by the light fixture. You can look at the picture above to see what the 16 different colors are. There is the standard natural LED light and then also 5 shades each for red, green and blue. You can either set the aquarium to a specific color or just let it cycle through all of the beautiful colors. The remote also lets you control the brightness of the light!

Halo Magnetic Latch

 

 

 

The BiOrb Halo 15L Aquarium’s lid has a magnetic latch with takes away the need for any unsightly latches. This leaves the tank looking sleek and modern.

 

 

Halo Hidden Airline

 

The BiOrb Halo 15L Aquarium’s air line is hidden away out of the foot of the back of the tank, adding to the sleek and modern look of the fish tank.

 

 

Just like all BiOrb Aquariums the BiOrb Halo 15L Aquarium still has the acrylic structure, which is ten times stronger than glass!

 

Electrical and environmental requirements

  • Line voltage: 12V AC
  • Frequency: 50Hz or 60Hz, single phase
  • Maximum continuous power: 13W

Safety standards

Complies with UL, ULC and CE safety requirements.

Dimensions:

  • Height: 14 inches / 35cm
  • Width (diameter): 12 inches / 30cm
  • Weight (empty): 2 pounds / 1kg
  • Weight (full): 40 pounds / 18kg
  • Volume: 4 Gallon / 15 litres

What’s in the box?

BiOrb Transformer, BiOrb Air Pump,  BiOrb Air StoneBiOrb Ceramic Media 450g, BiOrb Filter Cartridge (Service Kit).

 

Water conditioner (5ml sachet).

 

Beneficial bacteria liquid (5ml sachet).

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No Airflow for your BiOrb Fish Tank? No Problem!

Above you will see a picture from inside of a BiOrb Fish Tank. There are very few bubbles coming up from the BiOrb Bubble Tube. The picture shows an individual using a BiOrb Bubble Tube Cleaner in order to clear the passage for the air through the BiOrb Bubble Tube. The air flow and filtration are very important for the cleanliness and functionality of the BiOrb Aquariums.  Therefore, it is vital that you know how to get your BiOrb fish tank flowing with air if the flow has stopped. There are just a few items that could affect your airflow. If your tank has stopped producing air then one of these items is what you need to check. To read more on the filtration system of the tank read our blog post The BiOrb Filtration System Keeps Your BiOrb Fish Tank Cleaner, Longer! .

 

 

 

 

 

How The Airflow Works

The BiOrb Air Pump is the item that produces the air. The air from the BiOrb Air Pump flows through the BiOrb One Way Valve into the BiOrb Fish Tank. At the bottom of the BiOrb Fish Tank there is a little black plastic elbow piece that the BiOrb One Way valve connects to. At the other end of the little black elbow piece is the inside of the tank. The little black elbow is housed by a clear plastic piece where you attach the BiOrb Air Stone. The air travels through the pores of the BiOrb Air Stone turning into bubbles that float to the surface of the water. Having a clean bubble will ease the waters pathway up to the surface but not having a clean bubble tube will not prevent the air from entering the tank. However, if you are having problems with items getting stuck in your BiOrb Bubble Tube you can purchase the BiOrb Bubble Tube Guard to help. If there is a problem with your air flow then you will need to inspect the items in that chain of events.

This is how you can identify where the problem lies:

  1. Start with the source. The BiOrb Air Pump, when plugged in and working, vibrates. To inspect the BiOrb Air Pump you can either hear that it is vibrating, feel that it is vibrating or you can detach the air hose and feel for yourself if air is coming out or not.
  2. The second item to check is the BiOrb One Way Valve. This item allows air to travel into the BiOrb Fish Tank while not allowing water to enter the air hose. To find out if this is what is causing the problem with your air flow you will simply need to inspect the entire air hose to see if there is water in your line. If the BiOrb One Way Valve is defective or broken then you will have water in your line that will restrict the air flow.
  3. The last item you will need to inspect would be the BiOrb Air Stone. If your BiOrb Air Stone is old and discolored it may be time to change it. When your BiOrb Air Stone is old it may have its pores clogged with gunk and may prevent air from flowing properly. For a guide on how often you change your BiOrb Air Stone you can read our blog post How Often Should I Replace the Air Stone in my BiOrb Tank? .

A minor caution – if your BiOrb Air Pump is not working you will need to check and make sure your BiOrb Light Unit is working. If both the BiOrb Air Pump and the BiOrb Light Unit are not working it may be your BiOrb Transformer that needs to be replaced!

 

 

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How to Program Your BiOrb Intelligent LED Light

 

The BiOrb Intelligent Light is a beautiful life unit that brings color and elegance to your fish tank and happiness to your fish. The BiOrb Intelligent LED light creates a 24 hour lighting cycle to simulate the natural environment of tropical fish, this reduces the stress on the fish in your aquarium. It will cycle from sunrise to daylight to sunset to night time and then repeat. The sunrise and sunset function has both the LED Light and the Blue Moonlight on at the same time giving it the sensation that the sun is either coming up or going down. The LED Light is the only light illuminated during the daytime function, while the night time function strictly has the Blue Moonlight on. This allows you to set the cycle as desired, and the Intelligent LED Light unit will do the rest.

Often, we have customers call us for instructions on how to set up the Intelligent LED light. We are happy to provide you with the information.

You need to remember that the BiOrb Intelligent LED Light will automatically cycle through in a 24 hour time period. Therefore, the time of day you set up the light will be the start time for the cycle. You will need to find the right time of day to set up your light according to the different cycles.

First off lets talk about the “button” on the Intelligent LED Light you need to press in order to set the cycle. There are four circular bubbles on the surface of the top of the light. The smallest bubble is the bubble or “button” that you need to press to select the proper cycle. Also note that when you “press” this button, the button will not move. You might expect it to be pressed in and then pop up when you remove your finger. However, this is not the case and is normal in this situation. You simply need to put pressure down on the smallest bubble and the light will begin to flash. You will need to keep the pressure from your finger on the “button” and let go at the proper flash in order to set the light up on the proper cycle. There are four different cycles for this light.

  1. 1 Flash = 1 Hour of Sunrise – 6 Hours of Daylight – 1 Hour of Sunset – 16 Hours of Night Time
  2. 2 Flash = 1 Hour of Sunrise – 8 Hours of Daylight – 1 Hour of Sunset – 14 Hours of Night Time
  3. 3 Flash = 1 Hour of Sunrise – 10 Hours of Daylight – 1 Hour of Sunset – 12 Hours of Night Time
  4. 4 Flash = 1 Hour of Sunrise – 12 Hours of Daylight – 1 Hour of Sunset – 10 Hours of Night Time
  5. 5 Flash = Test Demonstration – 60 Second 24 Hour Simulated Cycle to show all different functions

When you flip the switch from off to on, the switch located in the middle of the cord, the Blue Moonlight will begin to slowly flash. You will then put pressure on and “press” the smallest bubble or “button”. There are two different things that will happen when you press the button. It depends on when you press the button.

If you press the button while the blue light is illuminated the blue light will stop blinking but will stay illuminated. It will stay like this for approximately 5 seconds until the three LED lights will begin to flash indicating the cycles are in the process of being set. The blue light will continue to stay illuminated throughout the process.

The second thing that can happen is if you press the button when the blue light is not illuminated. Once you have pressed the button and kept your finger there and the blue light was not illuminated then the light will continue to not be illuminated and after holding the button for approximately 5 seconds the three LED Lights will then begin to flash indicating the cycles are in the process of being set. The blue light will continue to not be illuminated throughout the process.

When you press the button you will need to keep the pressure on the button until you have achieved the proper amount of flashes that corresponds with the cycle you wish your light to be set. There are three LED lights on the light, when you press the button these will be the lights you look at to count the number of flashes. Your Intelligent LED Light will continue to flash the Blue Moonlight until you set the cycle you desire.

When you hold the button you will see the three LED lights slowly and deliberately flash. You will need to count the number of flashes. When you have counted the number of flashes that you desire you can then remove your finger from the button and the light will quickly flash the number of times it flashed to let you know which cycle it is set to.

For example, you wanted to set the Intelligent LED Light to the 3 Flash cycle of 10 hours of daylight. You will press the button and keep your finger on the button until the 3 LED lights flash 3 times. When you let go the LED lights will quickly flash 3 times to indicate to you that it is indeed set on the 3 flash cycle.

We suggest that you set the light and choose the cycle to match as closely as possible the light cycle where you live. If where you live is supposed to get 12 hours of daylight then set it to the fourth setting. If where you live is Alaska and you are only getting 6 hours of light then simply set it to the first setting. We also suggest that you set the light as close to sunrise as possible so that the 24 hour cycle is set and recycles at that time every day.

 

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Initial Set Up of your Biorb Fish Tank

BiOrb Fish Tanks provide the traditional look of a fish bowl with the performance of a high tech fish tank. But now that you have this beautiful BiOrb Fish Tank, you may be wondering how do you set it up? Luckily, this high tech fish tank does not require tech support to maintain. However, if you do have any questions do not hesitate to call us at 801-660-1173.  The BiOrb fish tank is simple to set up and simple to maintain. Let’s go over the initial set up procedures.

We are going to use the 4 gallon Baby BiOrb for the example of our set up. The 4 gallon Baby BiOrb Moonlight is the same sized tank, it comes with a different light unit.  The instructions are the same for the larger tanks such as the BiOrb 8 gallon tank, the BiOrb 16 Gallon Mega tank and the BiOrb 105 (28 gallon) tank. The only difference is the amount of product that comes with the tank.

The tank comes with the following:

  • BiOrb Air Pump
  • BiOrb Transformer
  • BiOrb Air Stone (This should come already in place)
  • BiOrb Bubble Tube
  • BiOrb Ceramic Media 1 pound
  • BiOrb One Way Valve (This is already attached to the tank)
  • BiOrb Service Kit Filter
  • Stress Coat (Water Conditioner)
  • Stress Zyme (Beneficial bacteria liquid)
  • Baby BiOrb LED Light or the Baby BiOrb Moonlight (Depending on which one you chose at purchase)

Set up steps:

  1. The first thing you need to do with your tank is decide where you are going to place it in your home or office. You need to make sure it is near a power source to power the BiOrb Air Pump and the BiOrb Light Unit. Also, keep in mind that you should avoid hot areas and direct sunlight to decrease your chances of getting algae build up. Lastly, you need to decide what foundation you are going to use for the tank; whether that be a table, a desk, or even a BiOrb Acrylic Stand.
  2. The second thing you need to do is to install your BiOrb Service Kit Filter in with your BiOrb Bubble Tube. The video below will show you how to lock the BiOrb Service Kit Filter and the BiOrb Bubble Tube into the tank.
  3. Take the BiOrb Ceramic Media and rinse it with water before placing it onto the bottom of the tank surrounding the area that encases the BiOrb Service Kit Filter. The BiOrb Ceramic Media houses beneficial bacteria and helps get rid of fish waste. One caution with the Ceramic Media – you will need to remove any piece that is smaller than a pea so that it does not enter the filtration system. In order to add additional protection from items entering your filtration system we would advise that you purchase and attach to your BiOrb Bubble Tube the BiOrb Bubble Tube Guard. The guard allows air to continue to flow out of the BiOrb Bubble Tube but prevents items from entering.
  4. Next we advise that you add any BiOrb Feng Shui Pebbles you may have purchased or any other BiOrb Decorations. Those may include any BiOrb Ornaments, BiOrb Plants or any other decorations to make your tank as aesthetically pleasing as possible.
  5. Now it is time to add water to the tank. We suggest that you add the Stress Zyme (beneficial bacteria liquid) and the Stress Coat (water conditioner) to the water before you pour the water into the tank. However, you can add them after if that suits you better. It is suggested by the manufacturer to have a 30% water change every 2 weeks. You will need the Stress Coat and Stress Zyme in order to properly condition the water before adding it to your tank.
  6. You now need to connect the BiOrb Air Pump to the BiOrb One Way Valve that is attached to the tank.
  7. Next hook up the BiOrb Air Pump and the BiOrb Light Unit to the BiOrb Transformer. You may now plug the BiOrb Transformer into the electrical outlet in the wall.
  8. Place the light unit on top of the tank.
  9. You can now turn on both the BiOrb Air Pump and the BiOrb Light Unit.

We advise that you do not add fish in the tank for 24 hours. Adding fish too quickly or adding too many fish will affect the ammonia levels in the water which is dangerous for the fish.

 

 

 

 

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