# Biopod Aqua



## --Mark-- (Nov 25, 2014)

Just finished scaping my new Biopod Aqua. It?s for a trio of varadero imitators. I think it still needs work, like it needs a few more bushy, foliage type plants to fill it out. Any thoughts?

Cheers
Mark


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## Minnesota (Nov 20, 2014)

Nice. What do you think of the biopod so far? You'll have to keep us updated on your experience with it.


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## --Mark-- (Nov 25, 2014)

Minnesota said:


> Nice. What do you think of the biopod so far? You'll have to keep us updated on your experience with it.


So far it's been good. My main complaint is the misting nozzles. They're fixed in one direction and, since the aqua is supposed to have a raised platform, they don't quite cover the full tank as they're focused too centrally.

EDIT: After 0.02 seconds of fiddling with the nozzles it turns out they can be adjusted left to right


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## S2G (Jul 5, 2016)

I would get what appears to be a tigerina neo brom up higher if I were you, but aside from that it probably just needs some grow in time instead of more plants. Looking good though. I have to keep fighting the urge to get some imitators myself.


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## --Mark-- (Nov 25, 2014)

I was just looking at that brom. I don?t really like it where it is so it?ll be moved tomorrow. I love my imitators. They?re sort of bold and have a really pleasant call


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## tardis101 (Apr 11, 2012)

Nice. I'm still waiting for mine. I got aquas also.


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## Calivet (Aug 12, 2013)

What did you do for the substrate? All their videos involve using just sphagnum. I don't know if that has enough nutrients for real plants, and with the drip wall I assumed that I'll have to build some sort of impermeable barrier to wall off the ABG from the drip wall to prevent it from being waterlogged. Thanks.


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## herbivrus (May 28, 2014)

Calivet said:


> What did you do for the substrate? All their videos involve using just sphagnum. I don't know if that has enough nutrients for real plants, and with the drip wall I assumed that I'll have to build some sort of impermeable barrier to wall off the ABG from the drip wall to prevent it from being waterlogged. Thanks.


Like other US backers, I still don”t have my units, but I do have two large vivaria (one is 4’L x 2’h x 2’d, the other 4’L x 4’h x 2’d) which both use a substrate of just Long-fiber sphagnum moss over filter foam, dressed with leaf litter on top, and my plants not only do well, but need regular trimming. I was skeptical — I worked with Justin Yeager of Planted Glass Boxes on these — but it seems to work just fine, for over a year now. You can check out Justin’s own work on his Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/plantedglassboxes/), and he does his other large vivaria the same way. Although I was assured that ABG can be used in the Biopods when I asked the question of Biopod directly, I think I’ll set mine up with sphagnum and leaf litter alone first to see how they do. I have the same concern you do about waterlogged ABG, whereas the sphagnum drains pretty readily...


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## --Mark-- (Nov 25, 2014)

Calivet said:


> What did you do for the substrate? All their videos involve using just sphagnum. I don't know if that has enough nutrients for real plants, and with the drip wall I assumed that I'll have to build some sort of impermeable barrier to wall off the ABG from the drip wall to prevent it from being waterlogged. Thanks.


I've just used ABG mix as I don't have the drip wall on regularly, maybe once per day for about a minute so I don't find it too sodden.

That's one complaint I have about the app though. It's just not customisable enough. I can't have the drip wall on for say two minutes in the morning and two minutes at night, the setting is in minutes per hour. I also can't have the ventilation fans off at night as, again, the setting is minutes per hour. The UI for the custom settings is also lacking a bit of detail that's present in the auto settings page.


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## Boots (Oct 10, 2017)

Lovely setup.
I just started my Grand and will make sure to follow your progress!
Did you have much experience prior to this? 
Best of luck!


My Journal
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/showthread.php?t=331233


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## --Mark-- (Nov 25, 2014)

Boots said:


> Lovely setup.
> I just started my Grand and will make sure to follow your progress!
> Did you have much experience prior to this?
> Best of luck!
> ...


Not much. This was only my 3rd vivarium however I do have a fair bit of experience with planted and reef tanks from 15 to 450 litres. I'll have a look at your Grand!

Cheers
Mark


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## Boots (Oct 10, 2017)

--Mark-- said:


> Not much. This was only my 3rd vivarium however I do have a fair bit of experience with planted and reef tanks from 15 to 450 litres. I'll have a look at your Grand!
> 
> 
> 
> ...




🤣🤣 only the 3rd vivarium, planted tanks and reef tanks... not much experience 🤣
I’ll be glad when I achieve as much as you did!
I had tanks too, a couple of planted mostly for shrimps from 180 to 250 litres, then reefs from 180 to 250 litres... 
Eventually I gave up the reef tanks, the heavy maintenance, the astronomical electricity bills from running MH lights and the pain of finding someone qualified to look after it every time you get away for a week or more... just too much...
Thanks for visiting my thread.
Take care.


My Journal
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/showthread.php?t=331233


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## Calivet (Aug 12, 2013)

herbivrus said:


> Like other US backers, I still don”t have my units, but I do have two large vivaria (one is 4’L x 2’h x 2’d, the other 4’L x 4’h x 2’d) which both use a substrate of just Long-fiber sphagnum moss over filter foam, dressed with leaf litter on top, and my plants not only do well, but need regular trimming. I was skeptical — I worked with Justin Yeager of Planted Glass Boxes on these — but it seems to work just fine, for over a year now. You can check out Justin’s own work on his Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/plantedglassboxes/), and he does his other large vivaria the same way. Although *I was assured that ABG can be used in the Biopods when I asked the question of Biopod directly*, I think I’ll set mine up with sphagnum and leaf litter alone first to see how they do. I have the same concern you do about waterlogged ABG, whereas the sphagnum drains pretty readily...


Interesting. Their technical support page recommends coconut husk or sphagnum, and explicitly states you should NOT use soil. Why am I not surprised that the left hand isn't talking to the right hand. 

https://www.biopod.com/support/technical-guides/


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## herbivrus (May 28, 2014)

Calivet said:


> Interesting. Their technical support page recommends coconut husk or sphagnum, and explicitly states you should NOT use soil. Why am I not surprised that the left hand isn't talking to the right hand.
> 
> https://www.biopod.com/support/technical-guides/


Hmm. Sheesh. I wonder if it makes a difference whether setting up the Aqua as a paludarium vs. terrestrial setup. I did ask the question in regards to setting up the Aqua as a terrestrial setup, specifically for darts — i.e., no water area or use of the “island” for the land area. I asked because it looked like they were using gravel as substrate in all their setups; they said they only used the gravel around the edges, to hide the substrate because it looks nicer, and that for a terrestrial setup using ABG was fine, and was basically what they used. I wonder if using sphagnum only is the advice for doing a paludarium setup, to keep the soil from staining the water or fouling the pump. I can't see how using ABG in a terrestrial setting would be problematic. (My assumption here is that in the terrestrial set up, one would only be using the misters, and not the drip wall in the back, to maintain humidity and provide water for plants. I am not at all certain that my assumption is correct!)

I asked the question during the 9/20/2017 Facebook Live q&a they did, and you can see their answer starting around 35:30 or so of the video on their FB page. They state explicitly that they use an “ABG-type” soil themselves behind a decorative layer of gravel in terrestrial setups.


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## --Mark-- (Nov 25, 2014)

Boots said:


> 🤣🤣 only the 3rd vivarium, planted tanks and reef tanks... not much experience 🤣
> I’ll be glad when I achieve as much as you did!
> I had tanks too, a couple of planted mostly for shrimps from 180 to 250 litres, then reefs from 180 to 250 litres...
> Eventually I gave up the reef tanks, the heavy maintenance, the astronomical electricity bills from running MH lights and the pain of finding someone qualified to look after it every time you get away for a week or more... just too much...
> ...


Haha. That's the main reason I switched. Had both for a period but couldn't justify the cost of a reef when I moved away for uni. 


I've found biopod themselves to be fairly useful although I was told at a show that I wouldn't be able to remove the platform from the Aqua. Biggest issue so far was actually getting the thing here lol. There was a few mix ups at the depot and I ended up getting sent a Terra instead of the Aqua. All worked out eventually though.


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## philyoung (Aug 29, 2017)

Hmmmm.... I am on my second Terra already, on the first one the silicon started to come unzipped on the front panel and on this one there seem to be issues with the pump that irrigates the back wall. I’ve been using it in auto mode but agree looking at custom mode you are limited to the changes you can make.

My thoughts so far - it looks nice but doesn’t work nearly as well as the hype would have you believe and they seem to have quality control issues.


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## illucam (Oct 27, 2017)

philyoung said:


> Hmmmm.... I am on my second Terra already, on the first one the silicon started to come unzipped on the front panel and on this one there seem to be issues with the pump that irrigates the back wall. I’ve been using it in auto mode but agree looking at custom mode you are limited to the changes you can make.
> 
> My thoughts so far - it looks nice but doesn’t work nearly as well as the hype would have you believe and they seem to have quality control issues.


That's unfortunate to hear, especially after having just ordered one for myself! How have Biopod themselves been in response? 

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


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## philyoung (Aug 29, 2017)

They accepted immediately the first one should be replaced but said their warranty process would take 6 to 8 weeks. I think there might have been a bit of miscommunication as my local store got a replacement for me in 2 days.

The second one has been a pain to get the irrigation pump working but seems ok now. I suggest you spend time looking through the technical support pages on their website. The instructions in the box are best described as minimalist!


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## illucam (Oct 27, 2017)

philyoung said:


> They accepted immediately the first one should be replaced but said their warranty process would take 6 to 8 weeks. I think there might have been a bit of miscommunication as my local store got a replacement for me in 2 days.
> 
> The second one has been a pain to get the irrigation pump working but seems ok now. I suggest you spend time looking through the technical support pages on their website. The instructions in the box are best described as minimalist!


How noisy is the tank itself? Is it audible?

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


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## philyoung (Aug 29, 2017)

illucam said:


> How noisy is the tank itself? Is it audible?
> 
> Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


Yes, you can hear it, but I don’t find it intrusive. I certainly haven’t had to turn the TV up.

I think they should provide more detailed setting up instructions in the box, you wouldn’t know, for example, that out of the box you need to prime the irrigation pump.

It looks good, it’s not quite as customisable as you might think; set it to auto for a particular species and it’s dead easy. One other little annoyance - they make a lot of the built in camera and your ability to look in over the net but... and it’s a fairly big but, the video is streamed via their servers and you only get 3 minutes a month.


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## --Mark-- (Nov 25, 2014)

I haven't found the noise anymore intrusive than my previous tanks.

I also haven't come across the 3 minutes per month allowance. I know I've already used more than that because I had friends over last night and one of them literally sat and stared at my phone watching the camera all night wanting to see a frog on it haha


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## illucam (Oct 27, 2017)

--Mark-- said:


> I haven't found the noise anymore intrusive than my previous tanks.
> 
> I also haven't come across the 3 minutes per month allowance. I know I've already used more than that because I had friends over last night and one of them literally sat and stared at my phone watching the camera all night wanting to see a frog on it haha


Likewise, mine is operating with a quiet whir of the ventilation and I'm able to view endless video (so far).


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## christina (Nov 9, 2017)

Tank looks great, did you get the strater plant pack form Biopod? They should send you one once its registered, if not i would ask for it. Mine came with a sheet of moss some air plants(tislandia) and 4 huge broms, only one of which I actually ended up using. Also I find in palnt set ups, clustering is your friend, 2- 3 plants or the same or simliar types clustered together look really natural. 
I just got a bunch of plants from NEHERP, some vines or phildendron would look great, maybe ferns. 
Send more pics if you decide on any.


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## --Mark-- (Nov 25, 2014)

Couple of update pics:

2/11/17


18/11/17


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## illucam (Oct 27, 2017)

Some notable growth there! 
Any updates on your Biopod experience? I'm actually having troubles with a humidity sensor not working as intended (always showing 97%) and would be curious to hear of yours!


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## --Mark-- (Nov 25, 2014)

christina said:


> Tank looks great, did you get the strater plant pack form Biopod? They should send you one once its registered, if not i would ask for it. Mine came with a sheet of moss some air plants(tislandia) and 4 huge broms, only one of which I actually ended up using. Also I find in palnt set ups, clustering is your friend, 2- 3 plants or the same or simliar types clustered together look really natural.
> I just got a bunch of plants from NEHERP, some vines or phildendron would look great, maybe ferns.
> Send more pics if you decide on any.


No I never got the plant packs. I missed the kickstarter preorder so I never got the chance to order them


I have noticed that my humidity sensor often does show 97%, although I have seen it show otherwise and this makes me wonder if perhaps its only accurate up to 97% so won't show any higher? I'm not worried about the humidity being low as there is condensation on the back and sides of the tank.
I'm impressed with the growth so far. I never used to be able to keep moss alive (probably due to poor lighting) but it has really taken off in this tank.
I only really have one major complaint and thats to do with the app not being quite as customisable as I had hoped. Fingers crossed for an update to improve this.


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## illucam (Oct 27, 2017)

--Mark-- said:


> I'm impressed with the growth so far. I never used to be able to keep moss alive (probably due to poor lighting) but it has really taken off in this tank.


May I ask where you got your moss, and what kind? I'm having some trouble with mine (went brown and staying that way) and considering replacing it.

I wonder if having the drip wall on for 1min/hr is too much for it and should put it on manually now and again instead as you suggested. Having greater control over this and an ability to turn the lights on and off (overriding the day/night cycle) would be a great addition to the app.


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## --Mark-- (Nov 25, 2014)

illucam said:


> May I ask where you got your moss, and what kind? I'm having some trouble with mine (went brown and staying that way) and considering replacing it.
> 
> I wonder if having the drip wall on for 1min/hr is too much for it and should put it on manually now and again instead as you suggested. Having greater control over this and an ability to turn the lights on and off (overriding the day/night cycle) would be a great addition to the app.


I've got two kinds in there. One is epiweb moss mix, all I did was wet it, then keep it wet and it sprouted within a few days. The other is tropical sheet moss. The light appears to be strong enough for moss at all levels, I have some up on the higher branches but also some right down on the log at the bottom.


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## illucam (Oct 27, 2017)

--Mark-- said:


> epiweb moss mix


Did you pick that up from Dartfrog?


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## philyoung (Aug 29, 2017)

Must admit I haven’t used the video since I first got my Terra so maybe there’s no limit now. I notice on their Facebook page they are changing the instructions in the box to be a bit more detailed. No probs on mine with the humidity sensor but my aeration pump is intermittently a bit loud. Otherwise working as expected.

Phil


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## illucam (Oct 27, 2017)

Have you any inhabitants in your pod? Any photos to boot?


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## philyoung (Aug 29, 2017)

I have three D.tinctorious ‘Brasil’. Take a picture when I get a chance.


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## --Mark-- (Nov 25, 2014)

The moss mix is from Dartfrog. As are two of the three inhabitants. They always seem to know when I get my phone out to take pictures and dive away. 


It?s a trio of varadero imitators

The aeration pump and the drip wall are the two main reasons I don?t use the auto mode. The tank is in my bedroom so I really don?t want them going off next to my bed at 3am lol


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## illucam (Oct 27, 2017)

--Mark-- said:


>


Gorgeous frog! Would love to see more pics of them in situ if you get the chance when they're bold enough! 

Less than a month until the courier's bringing up my Varaderos from a breeder in Norfolk! Couldn't be more excited. 
I've gone and ordered some moss to replace the dead/dying stuff (likely not tropical moss) and few more orchids to boot. Couldn't resist.


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## --Mark-- (Nov 25, 2014)

illucam said:


> Gorgeous frog! Would love to see more pics of them in situ if you get the chance when they're bold enough!
> 
> Less than a month until the courier's bringing up my Varaderos from a breeder in Norfolk! Couldn't be more excited.
> I've gone and ordered some moss to replace the dead/dying stuff (likely not tropical moss) and few more orchids to boot. Couldn't resist.


I do see them quite often, but they never stay out in the open for more than a few seconds when I'm close enough to get a picture. Hoping that will come with time as they get more used to me and the plants grow in.


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## --Mark-- (Nov 25, 2014)

Using all of the available space


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## aricall (Feb 5, 2010)

Mark your set up look awesome love it
I'm waiting on my second Biopod Aqua now as the first arrived cracked and I have a few questions
Did you remove the floating island from your AQUA? Did you lower it? I found a Biopod video where the just moved it to the bottom and used it for the false bottom.
Thanks for any info



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## --Mark-- (Nov 25, 2014)

aricall said:


> Mark your set up look awesome love it
> I'm waiting on my second Biopod Aqua now as the first arrived cracked and I have a few questions
> Did you remove the floating island from your AQUA? Did you lower it? I found a Biopod video where the just moved it to the bottom and used it for the false bottom.
> Thanks for any info
> ...


Sorry to hear that. That was my worst nightmare, waiting for it for so long for it to be cracked. I just followed the Biopod video to remove the ledge and kept one of the false bottom tiles in to protect the connectors and stuff. I probably could have done with keeping more in to be honest. My drainage layer is a little small


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## aricall (Feb 5, 2010)

--Mark-- said:


> Sorry to hear that. That was my worst nightmare, waiting for it for so long for it to be cracked. I just followed the Biopod video to remove the ledge and kept one of the false bottom tiles in to protect the connectors and stuff. I probably could have done with keeping more in to be honest. My drainage layer is a little small




Yeah my heart sank when I opened it and saw the bottom. They told me to keep all the inside component for parts which was surprising. They have been really good with emails about the replacement. So we shall see.
Yeah I think I'm going to use all the tiles with a level of drainage on-top of them before I add my ABG substrate 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## --Mark-- (Nov 25, 2014)

illucam said:


> Some notable growth there!
> Any updates on your Biopod experience? I'm actually having troubles with a humidity sensor not working as intended (always showing 97%) and would be curious to hear of yours!


Did you ever figure this out? Since you mentioned it, I've realised mine does the same 

Quick update pic 11/12/17:


Had to move the plant at the front (T. spathacea, I think) to the right because it was obscuring everything else


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## illucam (Oct 27, 2017)

--Mark-- said:


> Did you ever figure this out? Since you mentioned it, I've realised mine does the same


Yeah, I actually moved it forward along the railing at the top. You should be able to pull more cable from the back of the pod to allow you to do this. 

It's caused by a build up of moisture in the sensor casing (if you open up the sensor you'll see it's just a little chip inside the casing, which is quite simple in itself). By having it further forward, right next to the misting nozzle, it gets much less affected by the misting nozzle and the condensation caused by the back wall irrigation. I posted somewhere in the forums a more detailed description of how to do this, so you're welcome to trawl through my fairly limited post history to find it if need be! I don't know if its new placement is more affected by being directly under the lights, but it's better than being stuck on 97% all the time (I'm guessing the max reading for the sensor).

Biopod also recommend using a hair dryer to dry it out (mine needed no longer than 20s) in order to check that it's reactive to humidity at all but if you have frogs in there I wouldn't recommend this unless you remove the sensor from the tank completely. 

I'm not sure how accurate mine is now, but it seems to fluctuate with the opening of the front glass and day cycle a bit more than before. I've discovered through the use of my hygrometer that there's a humidity gradient, as well as temperature one, in the pod itself. It might be less prevalent in the shallower models but in the taller Aqua II, temperature differs by as much as 4°C from the substrate to the top reaches of the tank, and humidity by ~10% depending on proximity to the ventilation strip. Worth noting.

Ultimately, I know mine is of sufficient humidity as the substrate is always damp the water droplets and condensation are almost always visible on the sides of the vivarium unless I wipe the glass, so the twice daily automatic misting seems to do the trick.

Hope that's of help!


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## --Mark-- (Nov 25, 2014)

illucam said:


> Yeah, I actually moved it forward along the railing at the top. You should be able to pull more cable from the back of the pod to allow you to do this.
> 
> It's caused by a build up of moisture in the sensor casing (if you open up the sensor you'll see it's just a little chip inside the casing, which is quite simple in itself). By having it further forward, right next to the misting nozzle, it gets much less affected by the misting nozzle and the condensation caused by the back wall irrigation. I posted somewhere in the forums a more detailed description of how to do this, so you're welcome to trawl through my fairly limited post history to find it if need be! I don't know if its new placement is more affected by being directly under the lights, but it's better than being stuck on 97% all the time (I'm guessing the max reading for the sensor).
> 
> ...


Wow thanks! That's a great help. I'll move the sensor tomorrow. I'm the same, I wasn't worried about low humidity because there's always condensation on the glass but it'd be nice to have the sensor functional. I wonder if it would benefit from a small hole in the casing of the sensor to allow water to drain more easily?

Thanks again,
Mark


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## --Mark-- (Nov 25, 2014)

It’s been a while since I’ve updated. I changed a few things, but the biggest change has been adding an aquatic section. While I’ve enjoyed having the fish, in the coming days I’m going to change it back to a terrestrial only set up.




The main reasons for the change are that this tank is in my bedroom and, with fish in it, it needs the air stone to be on fairly continuously. It’s just too loud to be in my bedroom


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## connorp (Nov 22, 2017)

--Mark-- said:


> It’s been a while since I’ve updated. I changed a few things, but the biggest change has been adding an aquatic section. While I’ve enjoyed having the fish, in the coming days I’m going to change it back to a terrestrial only set up.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Looks really good? Out of curiosity, what's the plant in the bottom left of the last picture?


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## --Mark-- (Nov 25, 2014)

I’m not 100% sure. I had originally thought it was P. cadierei but the more it grows the less I’m sure and it grows like wildfire!
I have a better picture


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## --Mark-- (Nov 25, 2014)

So after a bit of a rescape and some time to grow in, this is what I’ve got



Still plenty of growing to do but I’m pretty happy with it.


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## --Mark-- (Nov 25, 2014)

So just as an update on Biopod, I hate them. My ground temperature sensor has been broken since May. I had been emailing the company back and forward throughout May and at the end finally managed to get them to confirm they would send the parts when they fulfilled a backlog. Fast forward a few weeks and I hadn’t heard from them. I tried emailing. No response. I tried messaging the Facebook page. No response. I have emailed the distributions email which is something like “[email protected]” so I’m guessing it probably goes direct to Tom Lam who is one of the founders. No response. Even more frustrating is that they viewed my original Facebook messages, without answering, before seemingly disconnecting their messenger account (messages no longer reaching Biopod)





My current situation is that I have a broken sensor that I’m slowly accepting will most likely never be fixed. Which means that I have a £600 unit that constantly displays the ground temp as 104°F. Brilliant.

Just in case anyone who sees this is considering buying a Biopod; don’t. It will inevitably break (the humidity probe had already broke before this) and it now looks like Biopod have no intention of sending any replacement parts. I’m extremely disappointed.


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## jeffkruse (Jun 5, 2018)

illucam, are you running in an automatic or custom mode? If your running custom, wont the humidity be the result of all the other settings? I am running in custom mode and the humidity is what it is. I have Ventilation on max and aeration on max with irrigation at only 1 min/hour. Rain is for 30 seconds a day. Everything just seems wet.




illucam said:


> Yeah, I actually moved it forward along the railing at the top. You should be able to pull more cable from the back of the pod to allow you to do this.
> 
> It's caused by a build up of moisture in the sensor casing (if you open up the sensor you'll see it's just a little chip inside the casing, which is quite simple in itself). By having it further forward, right next to the misting nozzle, it gets much less affected by the misting nozzle and the condensation caused by the back wall irrigation. I posted somewhere in the forums a more detailed description of how to do this, so you're welcome to trawl through my fairly limited post history to find it if need be! I don't know if its new placement is more affected by being directly under the lights, but it's better than being stuck on 97% all the time (I'm guessing the max reading for the sensor).
> 
> ...


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## illucam (Oct 27, 2017)

Yeah, all on custom settings at the moment. To be honest, I've never allowed myself to become fully reliant on the sensors. For now, everything seems to be working fine but really, as long as it keeps raining a couple times a day and the lights go on and off, I'm easy. Frogs seem quite happy. I'd be concerned if I stopped seeing condensation on the glass with regards to humidity -- my sensor never really worked anyway. We'll see how it copes coming up on winter when it'll need to be heating depending on the room temps. 

Sorry to hear of your woes. It's definitely not a unit or build quality befitting the price tag. I had a WiFi issue I managed to resolve myself a month or so back after getting no response from the various channels I tried contacting Biopod through so I am equally disappointed with them.


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