BioMaster External Filter for Aquariums Up to 160 Gallons, Multi-Stage Filtration, Easy Maintenance Prefilter, Quiet Canister Filter, German Engineering

I bought my first Oase Biomaster 350 for my overcrowded 60 gallon N. Brichardi tank to replace a SunSun that sounded like haybailer I could hear on the other side of the house. The Biomaster had many reviews touting how quiet it was, so I was a buyer. Later, I started a 29 gallon planted tank so of course I went with another Oase Biomaster 350 Thermal this time. When the other SunSun type filter crapped out on the 60 gallon I went with the Biomaster 600. I’ve never been happier with my purchases. I have NO problems with purging or bubbling. The 600 will gas off for maybe ½ an hour after a pre filter cleaning…the two 350’s never purge. All of them just sit there and quietly do their job. I believe that the purging that some others complain about are either operating error such as not getting tight connections on the hoses, not running a coat of Vaseline or silicone grease on the tank o-ring…or a warranty issue (warped lid or bad o-ring IDK?)that Oase should take care of. I also believe aquarist who listen to that foolish Irishman hacking over priced clay or any of the other snake oil biological filters on the market produced to filter the money from your pocket. I am a firm believer that the 30 or 40 ppi sponge that come with the Oase filters is the ultimate biological filter medium. The sponge allows the oxygenated water to flow throughout thus supporting huge amounts of beautiful brown biological mass. Save your money and set the filter up just the way it comes from the factory. The only “pimp” I do to my filters is drill in more holes in the pre-filter tube. I use the fine black Oase pre-filters but have added the big ugly Eheim pre-filters on the intake tubes. The Eheim filters are pretty coarse and do a great job of collecting the big nasty stuff. I clean those out about one every 7 to 10 days and only need to clean the fine Oase pre-filter about once a month. I only crack open the main filters maybe once a year (usually not necessary even that often) for a light swish around in a bucket of tank water and back to work. The biological filtration is beyond belief. Water tests show no ammonia, nitrites, or nitrates. I could really use more nitrates to help the plants but no complaints about that. I’ve had many different aquariums since 1971, running every type of filter from under gravel and the old Metaframe hang on back to now what I consider the ultimate; Oase Biomaster.

I’m pretty happy with this canister filter so far. It’s very quiet, easy to set up and prime. Mine came with the better pre-filter tube. It’s easy to clean the pre-filter, but from what I see online, it has to be cleaned more often (every one or two weeks) especially if you’re overstocked and have a lot of plants. The good thing is, the rest of the filter stays very clean and doesn’t have to be cleaned for all really long time. I purchased the heater separately to get a cleaner look in my tank. This replaced an older canister that I over tightened and broke one of the plastic screws on. I may stay with this brand if all goes well long term.

I received the OASE BioMaster 600 a few weeks ago and have been running it on my 55-gallon planted tank since. I’ve used a few different canisters in the past (including Fluval and Marineland models), and this one easily stands out in terms of build quality and thoughtful design. Setup & Installation: Unboxing was straightforward, and everything arrived well-packed. The included media trays were preloaded, which saved time, and the filter came with an adapter for adding an inline heater — a huge plus if you want to keep equipment out of the tank. Installation took under an hour. The Quick Release prefilter module is clever and genuinely helpful for maintenance. Hoses are a bit stiff out of the box, but they relaxed with some warm water. Performance: Running this on a moderately stocked tank with CO₂ injection and high plant load, the flow rate has been consistent, and water clarity is excellent. The integrated prefilter does a solid job catching debris before it reaches the biomedia, and it only takes a few minutes to pop it out and rinse. Compared to my previous Fluval 407, the OASE runs noticeably quieter — a soft hum that’s barely audible under the stand. Build & Design: Feels sturdy and well-engineered. The primer is one of the best I’ve used — took about three pushes to get it going. The tray system is intuitive and seals well, with no leaks or bypass issues. I also appreciate that it doesn’t take up a lot of space in the tank itself; everything’s external, and the footprint under my stand is compact considering the capacity. Pros: Excellent build quality and modular design Quiet operation Easy-to-access prefilter reduces full cleanings Heater integration option Strong, consistent flow even with media fully loaded Cons: Hoses are rigid and take time to adjust A bit pricey, especially if you're not planning to use the heater module Overall: This filter feels like a long-term investment, especially for high-tech or heavily planted tanks. Maintenance is easier than most, and the performance has been reliable so far. If you're willing to spend a bit more for convenience and quiet, it's worth every dollar. I’ll update if anything changes over time, but so far it’s been a rock-solid addition to my setup.

Revised review after 1.5 years use. Contrary to what seems to be popular belief, these filters are great at removing air if you just leave it alone while it does so. Tipping the filter will result in leaks. Long runs of tubing destroys flow rate, cut the tubing as short as possible. Clean or replace prefilter every 2 or 3 days, clean the inside of the tubing every other week (you will be amazed at the difference this will make to both flow rate and fish comfort), clean the cannister every other week and rinse the media in tank water each cannister cleaning. Using a drill, double the number of holes in the prefilter tube, use 65ppi prefilter sponges and "lock" them into place using one of the plastic clips supplied for the spraybars - if you don't lock them, they will slide down during use and allow detritus to bypass the prefilter directly into the filter bed. Block the flapper at the bottom of the prefilter container by cutting a filter sponge to fit the opening and lock it in with the flapper to prevent the flapper from moving (this may make it difficult to use the primer device - I don't use it anyway) - failure to do so will result in detritus flowing out of the prefilter container directly into the filter bed and result in a buildup of yuck around the base. Anything allowed to bypass the prefilter will shorten the life and effectiveness of your bio media. Also, make sure the top of the prefilter (with the blue bulb on it) fits correctly into the prefilter container or once again detritus will bypass the prefilter through the openings where they are supposed to lock together - it is necessary to replace the top part occasionally as the tabs that lock into the bottom container go bad after a while. Bottom media basket you want to cut to fit sponge filter pads with medium on the bottom and fine on the top, the rest of the baskets should be filled with a sintered glass bio media. Don't waste your time with the carbon impregnated sponges, use the top half basket for carbon inside a fine media bag. Throw away the useless blue and orange sponges that come with unit. original review: I have both the 600 and 350, and they both do a great job. Overall the filtration is great and my aquarium water hasn't looked so good since before I installed these. Each basket will hold 1 liter of sintered glass bio media and the fine pre-filters do a good job of keeping the bio media clean. There are a couple of negatives too though. First, unless you first lock and remove the inlet/outlet tubing there is no way you can remove the pre-filter without spilling water because of the back pressure - something that is problematic in that I change out pre-filter cartridges daily (I have spares for each). About 25% of the time that I swap out the pre-filter on the 600 removing the tubes will result in a leak because I have to move the filter with the tubes disconnected to remove the pre-filter cartridge. Also, the filters are louder than I would like - not terrible, but louder than previous canister filters I've had. Having said all that, I'd recommend the Biomaster filters based on the massive amount of biomedia they hold, and their overall performance in keeping the tank clean and the fish happy.

When I bought this filter, I was looking to upgrade to a canister filter with more flow, that was easy to maintain, and was very quiet. Other reviews said that although expensive, this was the one to get. My experience wasn't great. The filter isn't hard to put together, but my biggest issue was trying to purge the air. It has a hand-pump that you're supposed to push for "easy priming", but during my year and a half with the filter I found the pump to be extremely difficult to depress with my hand (I often used my forearm), and it never got all the air out. I lift weights and am in pretty good shape, so I don't think it was me. After starting after maintenance, every time I would hear the impeller rattling and air moving through. Perhaps it could have been a seal issue, or something else, but given the price I'm tired of it. I just bought a Fluval FX6, it set up in a breeze, automatically purges the air itself, and has many times the water flow. I'm sorry I spent the money trying the Oase.

The overall design and principle of the unit is phenomenal. The execution of that design leaves a lot to be desired. Pros: Pre-filter. Insanely genius design. Easy to clean and maintain. Cons: Flow rate. Not even close to what is on the packaging. Air purging. Constantly. Somewhere on the system it sucks in air and periodically, every 5 minutes or so, you can hear the filter blowing air. If you rock the filter after a day or so, it has drawn in so much air you have to prime it to get it rolling again. Over all it does the job. Its big and loud however with the air purging. Not sure what Oase is going to do but they have some serious air leaks in the system. This was my first Oase and at this point will be my last. EDIT: In contact with Oase support. I will update once the conversation has concluded. EDIT: OASE Support was less than helpful. Flow rate is still less than desired but the air purging was solved by drilling additional inlet holes in the pre-filter tube. No more purging. None. Upgraded the rating to 4 stars now and I do recommend this filter with the easy modification to the inlet pre-filter tube.

Update: I was hesitant to add the rubber feet that were included, knowing the extra friction would make it harder to slide the filter out from the cabinet under my fish tank; However, after seeing reviews on how much those feet made a difference in reducing noise, I caved in and stuck on the feet. Yes, it’s going to be harder to shimmy the filter out during my bi-weekly cleanings, but the filter is now virtually silent. Changed my rating to 5 stars. **************************************************** I purchased this because my Eheim canister was very inconsistent. Overall the Biomaster 600 is not bad so far, but I’ve only had it running for a couple days. I have a 65 gallon and got the 600. I was hoping for a stronger flow but it’s adequate and stronger than my previous Eheim, even at its best. My water is still a little cloudy from a water change but it’s gradually clearing up after setting up the Biomaster. Love the removable prefilter function, makes cleaning much simpler. It’s not as quiet as I expected, maybe still has some air stuck in it. One thing that really needs to be improved is the instruction manual. I know it’s translated from Italian or German, but its all over the place. You have to press down on the prefilter “knob” to get the filter flow started, and this was barely mentioned in the manual!

This thing is beyond annoying. Keeps purging air. I've tried everything. Have it on a 240gal with a Fluval FX6. The FX6 is quiet, powerful and works great. This has weak flow and makes trapped air noises, spits random bubbles. I have 30+ years in the hobby and kept freshwater, saltwater and reef tanks. This is one of the worst filters I ever bought. Many Eheims, Fluval, Marineland are all better. Learn from my expensive mistake, Buy an FX4 or FX6. I'm so pissed I got stuck with this crap filter. Rather have a Fluval 407 and save bunch of cash. Can't wait to put this on Ebay. Anyone wanny buy a piece of junk?

Amazing canister filter with separate pre-filter and heater fitment. Pricey…yes, worth it….yes if you like and are dedicated to easy and manageable filtration. Word of caution though…make sure you unplug your heater (has separate power cord from filter) while doing maintenance to mitigate potentially overheating water and, possibly, melting canister housing. 😬

El atractivo de este producto es tener un prefiltro para evitar limpiar seguido la cámara de los materiales filtrantes, sin embargo, la limpieza es más engorrosa de lo que aparenta. Cada que hay que limpiarlo se debe de desconectar el sistema de mangueras, como todos. Después de abre la cámara del prefiltro que viene aparte para no abrirlo por completo lo cual casi todo el tiempo es difícil, se sella y hay que hacer mucha fuerza con el pendiente de que se rompa la pestaña que tiene y que luce frágil. Al sacar el tubo hay un poco de eyección de agua por lo que se debe de tener un trapo preparado. La limpieza de las esponjas es muy sencilla, toma más tiempo abrirlo de hecho. El principal problema viene al momento de reinstalar todo, cebarlo y conectarlo. No aspira con fuerza incluso durante el cebado resulta tardado y cansado sin lograr que se estabilice el flujo. Al final he tenido que recurrir a una bomba externa y así meter agua directo en las mangueras, con esa fuerza es casi inmediato su funcionamiento. Es un defecto molesto. A pesar de que funciona excelente es fastidioso tener que pasar por eso. Cómo otro dato extra, su prefiltro se satura muy rápido. Por el precio les recomiendo mejor algún fluval (407) o bien la línea fx, estos últimos con llaves de entrada y salida que hacen posible no derramar una sola gota en la limpieza y además, su motor ponente hace recircular el agua sin ningún esfuerzo al ponerlo a funcionar después de la limpieza.

This was so easy to setup even for a first timer like me. It operates completely silent which is a large bonus. Easy to clean, straightforward to operate and keeps my 90 gallon tank water pristine.

Well done, thank you.

The filter works well, is very effective. The sponge cleaning mechanism is convenient too. The sponges inside smelled strongly of cheap plastic, so I rinsed them off well and the filter itself. The next day my house stank of plastic, so I had to do a massive water change to reduce the smell emanating from the tank. The water still smells of plastic after this water change. For the price and brand image, I'm shocked to have this experience. Until they use a better quality sponge, I wouldn't recommend purchasing this. I have not had this experience with Fluval or Eheim.