OASE Aquarium

Choosing an OASE aquarium filter

Two families cover almost every tank: BioMaster for planted and heavily stocked aquariums where maintenance access matters, and FiltoSmart where the priority is a capable canister at a lower entry point.

BioMaster and the pre-filter module

The feature that defines BioMaster is a removable pre-filter module. Coarse waste is caught before water reaches the biological media, and the module lifts out on its own so it can be rinsed without opening the canister. That matters because the biological media holds your bacteria colony — every full strip-down sets the tank back. In practice it turns filter maintenance into a five-minute weekly job.

Thermo puts the heater inside

Every BioMaster size — 250, 350, 600 and 850 — is also sold as a Thermo version with the heating element built into the canister. That takes a heater out of the tank entirely, which frees up space and removes a piece of visible hardware. In an aquascape where the layout is the point, that is often reason enough on its own.

FiltoSmart for smaller tanks

FiltoSmart 60, 100, 200 and 300 are compact canister filters for smaller aquariums. Same external canister principle, less capacity, lower price.

Skimmers, pumps and tools

CrystalSkim 350 and 600 pull the film off the water surface, which is what restores gas exchange and stops that greasy sheen. OptiMax pumps run 500 through 5000 for circulation and feature use. The maintenance tools — magnetic glass cleaners in 5mm and 10mm, the handheld glass cleaner, plant scissors and tweezers, and a digital thermometer — are the parts you buy after the tank is running.

Complete aquarium sets

ScaperLine 60, 90 and 100 come in black or grey and are built for planted aquascaping. StyleLine 125 and 175 are the furniture-led format, in black and white. Both are sold as sets rather than bare tanks, which removes the job of matching a cabinet and hood to a tank. Exact inclusions vary by model, so check the individual product page.

Sizing a filter to a tank

1. Buy for the stocking level you are heading towards. A BioMaster 350 on a 250L tank leaves headroom as fish and plants fill in. Running a filter at its stated maximum leaves nothing in reserve.
2. Decide on Thermo before you buy, not after. Retrofitting means buying the filter twice. If you want the heater out of the tank, choose the Thermo version at the start.
3. Add a skimmer for a planted tank. Surface film blocks gas exchange, and planted tanks generate more of it. CrystalSkim 350 or 600 depending on tank size.
4. Rinse the pre-filter, not the biological media. The pre-filter is designed to be cleaned often. The biological media should be disturbed as little as possible, and never rinsed in chlorinated tap water.
5. Let a new filter mature. Biological filtration takes weeks to establish. Judge a new setup after that, not in week one.

For the rest of the brand see OASE, or Aquarium Filters to compare across brands.