Jewel tanks

[CFC]

Whilst watching my fish sunday afternoon the lights that come with the tank decided to go out thinking one of the tubes had blown i removed the lid an started to inspect the tubes,hmm no visable problems so i had to take them both out and test them,both working ok,check the fuse,no replacing the fuse dosent work either the actuall unit is dead.When i ring the shop it came from they inform me that theyre not suprised and that this is a common fault with the Rio range Now these tanks aren't the cheapest so you would think a big company like juwel would have got this right by now,ok they are replacing the whole unit free of charge but it means my tank would be lid and lightless for a week until the new unit arrives,luckily i work in the building trade and had some sheets of ply in the garden so i could make up a makeshift lid and the lfs has leant me two light controlers to make up for the two lost tubes.

Has anyone else had similar problems with juwel tanks,my 300 is only 11 months old and so far i have had to replace all the electrical parts (powerhead,heater and now

 

[CFC]

I have no idea whats going on today but my post keeps getting cut short,ive tried rewriting it 4 times now and it keeps getting shorter

To cut a long story short are juwel tanks really any good?Another month and that light unit would have cost me about £70.They may seem like a good idea but if the electrical parts are substandard then theyre not really worth the cash.

Am i the only one to experience problems like this,what are other juwel tank owners opinions of them?Let us know of any experiences good or bad that you have had with them.

 

[wetwetwet]

Sounds like you've had some bad luck m8.

I have the Rio400 and had no problems at all (2.5 years) except a blown fuse in the heaterstat a couple of times

 

[gadazobe]

I've got 2 rios and had the same problem as you with one of them. Mine was also still under guarantee, and I only waited 3 days for mine. (The place where I got the tank from sorted it out for me) I got told the same story as you - but I still think they're great tanks. They're ideal for heavily planted tanks, but I also have cichlids in one - lots of rocks and things. Do you have any external filter attached to yours? I'm looking now for a rio 400 (second hand) but can't find one local enough to me. I did find some on loot - but much to far away to enable me to get it down here

 

[catman]

No problems with mine so far, despite dropping the lighting unit into the tank!!

 

[CFC]

Gad,yes i have externals on both my tanks im not a great fan of internals but i left the juwel ones in because i like the way they tidy everything in the corner of the tank.

 

[StiX]

I've had no problems with my rio 300 so far (touch wood!)

 

[gazat]

Hi Cat fish crazy,

i've had a second hand Rio 400 for approx 9 months now with no problems at all (touching much wood as i type)

Gazazobe i paid £250 for mine with an external fluval 404 filter, its worth looking around.

Gaza

 

[Dragonslair]

I have had jewel tanks of various sizes and makes for a while now, and my one any only complaint about them is not the tank itself but the hardware. I find that the built in filter unit is not powerful enough and needs a supplementary filter,be it internal/external. I have used ext. filters with mine as it saves space. Other than that I've had not problems. I change the rubber sealing around the tubes every 12 months and I replace the tubes about the same time. (needed or not) The light intensity tends to diminish as time passes by, so by 10 month or so the luminosity does fade. Other than that it's just general maintaince.

 

[shark89]

i have the same light and it has worked for years