OASEIndoor Aquatics BioStyle Thermo 30, Grey

I ordered this product because of an integrated heater and a modern, sleek design. Unfortunately, during the first launch this HOB filter worked only for 3-5 minutes and then there was a dull heavy sound as something exploded inside, and I felt an unpleasant burnt smell. I was lucky it didn't damage the aquarium glass - the plastic is good quality. I immediately unplugged both the filter and the heater, poured out the water and discovered that the heater turned black on the cable side. (Note: the first launch and initial setup was done in a strict accordance to the manual). I wanted to remove the broken heater in order to use the filter without Thermo function. But I also discovered that the impeller unit bumped from one side and was extremely hot to handle. There was some sand from a heater around the impeller unit. After removing the heater, the filter worked only for 10 minutes and stopped working without any signs. The impeller unit was extremely hot as during the first explosion.I cannot use the warranty replacement, because I live in another country. Don't know what to do with this "unsuccessful purchase" now... Where the QA department looks at?!

The media could not be loaded.  So far so good on initial setup everything is working. I wish it came with a pre Sponge Filter. Huge 1 of open media space I will edit after some run time. A thousand times quieter than the Marineland 200 I was running and it has adjustable flow which is quite nice

Set this up following the instructions and it hummed like crazy, so loud you can hear it from the next room, and took nearly 2 minutes before water came out. Checked everything and the pump motor seems to be a dud. I’ve seen other reviewers complain about this issue.Also, the heater design is a fire risk as it has no integrated circuit to make sure the pump is running nor does it have any thermal protection to prevent it running while dry. The heater is a completely separate AC plug from the plug used to power the pump. I’m confident the heater, if run dry or with no water flowing, could melt the rather thin plastic housing within minutes. Since the heater sits at the bottom of the well behind the filter cartridges, it also means you can’t put in your own filter media and safely use the heater, as anything in direct contact with it could burn.I would not recommend the Thermo versions of these units until they are redesigned. As is, you’re gambling whether you’ll get a properly working unit or not. I had high hopes that the brand was more premium given the pricing, but am not seeing it. Returned this dud and ordered a Seachem Tidal 30 instead with an external heater.

Third one of these filters to fail in 8 months!!!First was impeller unit burning upSecond was impeller failureThis time heater leaked water into it, fried heater, power supply, almost started a fire!!!Absolute garbage!Stay away

I’ve had two of these break in less than a year. Same issue with the motor burning out on both of them. The first one broke within a couple of weeks of use. And the second one broke after 5 months of use. Definitely don’t recommend using this brand.

So far so good… easy to assemble .. looking for filter element replacement

This filter when it get time to clean the filter the water runs all over the floor.I have change the filter once a week since I've had it time to get rid of it .I advise no one to buy this filter

I thought i'd give my honest opinion on the product since nobody seems to have shared their thought on this product.First of all, i've only been able to find the dark grey (Black) version in store, and the few ive asked couldnt order the white one, thus why i ended up ordering on Amazon. It seems Oase is a very well known reputable brand in Europe, but sadly barely distributed in America, which makes it very annoying to get their products. I have a Filtosmart 60, Filtosmart Thermo 100, and now this BioStyle Thermo 30, running respectively on rimless aquariums 7 Gallons (45cm x 25cm x 25cm), and 2x 13 Gallons (60cm x 30cm x 30cm). A bit overkill on 13 gallons tanks, but i like the idea of having the heaters in the filters and minimalizing the amount of wires running inside my tanks, beside the BioStyle 20 DOES NOT come with the built-in heater.Water Intake:Finding filters for nano tanks is a little more problematic than regular tanks, most filters you need to cut the intake to size because it's too long....not with this one ! It's a retractable appendage, even on my 13 gallons (30cm height) i have almost 4cm of substrate and the intake doesnt reach the bottom.Noise level:It's very silent, i barely hear it and because the water outlet is so low i dont hear the water trickling either.My bubbler makes more noise than this filter. I've heard some people complain about the lid not "clipping" in place (when do they clip in anyway??), but i havent experienced this, and Fluval's AquaClear are WAY more noisy than that. Ive been pleasantly surprised honestly because people keep saying Fluval's AquaClear are the most silent on the market. Im sorry but if i can hear the filter over my cat's snoring, it means that thing is LOUD, because she's a damn freight train.Built-in Heater:Im a little weary of that one. unlike their canister counterparts, the heater in those filter are non-removable. When they say built-in, they mean it. You cannot take it off. Sadly if the heater breaks, you'll need to replace the whole unit unlike the Filtosmart Thermo Canister series which come with a little cap you can put over where the heater is, get another Oase heater, replace and done. Also if your tank comes down with a bad case of ick, you'll need to add another heater to raise the temperature since it's preset to 79F.Media chamber:It comes with 2 sponges and 2 media packs. I personally dont use carbon in my tanks. For some fish like ramirezi, it can create more harm than good, and here's what i dont like about it: you can buy customizable cartridges so you can put any medias you want, but good luck getting them. They're out of stock currently on Amazon, and i cant find anywhere local to get them. Also the heater is at the bottom, so its not like you can dump a bunch of biomedia over it. Im sure there's a way since you can remove the middle divider, im thinking just get a good old mesh media bag and maybe tie the sides up so it doesnt touch the heater (I havent tried that yet, just putting the suggestion out there). The cover has a little tab that will bob out when your filter needs to be cleaned, and there's two retractable legs under the filter to adjust the inclination. To clean the rotor simply pick the tab under to open the motor chamber and twist like you would do with any other filters.Pros:- Very silent, easy to put up.- retractable water intake, adjustable water flow, fits great on nano tanks.- built-in heater, reducing the amount of aesthetically displeasing items in your tank.- Retractable legs and easy to adjust inclination.- Available in 3 colors and looks great!Cons:- Hard to find media and filtering mass locally, online not always available or easy to find either.- Preset heater, cannot change the temperature, cannot just replace the heater if it breaks down.- White will get dirty easily obviously, especially if you have tannin in your tank like i do.Long story short, im pleased with the product so far. It's as silent as my FiltoSmart Thermo 100 canister filter so no complain from me since the two things i require (other than being efficient) on a filter is being very silent (I have a crazy sense of hearing, it drives me to insanity), and easy to clean.Hope it helps anyone looking into trying Oase out, which by the way here was more known for their BiOrb products, same company. They definitively need recognition and more easily accessible products to buy, im still looking for their quick-disconnect valves for my FiltoSmart, seems to be only available on their US website and they dont ship to Canada.EDIT : Well, it stopped working on me for some reason. The heater was still on, and you could feel that the motor of the filter was on, but the blades were not turning. I unplugged it, rinsed everything, tested that the blades turned, put it back on. Worked for an hour and stopped again. Maybe it's not liking planted tanks since much more gunk and filth accumulates quicker ? Im not sure if it was a fluke, and i'll never know because sadly i couldnt wait on a replacement. I knocked off 1 star because of the sudden stops, overall its a nice filter, just wished it had been more reliable.