Jewel Trigon 190

[rpanchal]

Hi All,
I currently have the 64L Love fish panorama tank from Pets at home, I've had it for around a year and half now, replaced standard internal filter with the tetra tex ex600, all is running fine and dandy, current stock is:
 
8 Male Guppies
11 Neon tetra's
11 Harlequin's 
4 Amano Shrimp
 
I've been looking for a new tank (bigger) and taken a liking to the Jewel Trigon 190 as it will fit perfectly in the corner where my current tank is.
 
 
A few questions if people don't mind:
 
 
I know the trigon has its own internal filter, can this be removed and could I use an upgraded tetra ex filter (1200 plus)
 
 
Would the spray bar create enough water movement for the size of tank?
 
Current heater is 100W, what heater wattage would I need (ideally would like to stick to same make interpret deltatherm)
 
 
Also whats peoples views on gravel Vs sand?
 
 
Additional stocking to go with my current fish?
 
 
In terms of changing over I was planning on doing this (tell me if I'm doing anything wrong)
 
 
Set-up new tank in location, install filter/heater and all other equipment (if needed)
 
Place substrate and decorate tank, fill tank up and power on all equipment, fill tank and power on equipment, as and when I do a W/C in current tank put old tank water in new tank
 
Eventually move fish from old to new once everythings stable.
 
 
Just wanted to get some advice, so then I can see how much i'm going to be spending!! 
 
 
Any of you guys got the tank i'm after? if so you got pics..
 
 
 
Thanks  

 

[Munroco]

When setting up the new tank, use some of the filter material from your old tank

 

[Essjay]

In Juwel tanks, the internal filter is siliconed in. It is easy enough to remove with a sharp knife to saw through the silicone blobs, especially if the tank is empty. I did it with water in the tank!
The only thing to bear in mind is that removing the filter will quite likely invalidate the warranty. I did it anyway, the only thing that went wrong with the tank was the light ballast failing a month out of warranty.
 
As for transferring the fish over, transfer the fish and filter at the same time. If you upgrade the current filter, put all the media from the current one into the new one. You will lose some bacteria but if you use the old media you shouldn't lose many. Check the ammonia and nitrite for daily for several days after the move to make sure.
 
You mention a heater - the trigon should come with a heater. It will be inside the filter casing so you'd just need to buy a bracket for it if you take the filter out.

 

[rpanchal]

In Juwel tanks, the internal filter is siliconed in. It is easy enough to remove with a sharp knife to saw through the silicone blobs, especially if the tank is empty. I did it with water in the tank!
The only thing to bear in mind is that removing the filter will quite likely invalidate the warranty. I did it anyway, the only thing that went wrong with the tank was the light ballast failing a month out of warranty.
 
As for transferring the fish over, transfer the fish and filter at the same time. If you upgrade the current filter, put all the media from the current one into the new one. You will lose some bacteria but if you use the old media you shouldn't lose many. Check the ammonia and nitrite for daily for several days after the move to make sure.
 
You mention a heater - the trigon should come with a heater. It will be inside the filter casing so you'd just need to buy a bracket for it if you take the filter out.
 

 
Thanks for the comments,
 
I was planning on looking for a second hand one as a few on eBay/gumtree already have the internal filter taken out. I was planning on leaving my current tank as it is and letting the new filter & tank mature itself with the help of old tank water from current tank, last time I took all my media out of old filter and put it in the new I lost loads of fish??
 
Will the spray bar from the tetra ex 1200 be enough to create decent water moment for the size of tank or would I need anything extra?
 
Is there a day & night option on the tubes or just space for one? also the light ballast is this a common fault?

 

[Essjay]

There is room for 2 lights. It is the older ballasts that had the problem, look for an orange label on the underside of the light bar if you get a second hand one. It's the orange label ones that had the problem.
 
The new tank won't 'mature' itself. Adding water from the old tank won't do much as there are virtually no ammonia and nitrite eating bacteria in the water. They grow tightly bound to solid surfaces, mainly in the filter. If you don't want to move the fish and filter media over to the new tank together, you will need to do a fishless cycle on the new one, using a bit of old media to seed the cycle. Look here http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/421488-cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first/
 
I'm afraid I can't answer about the spraybar as I've never used an external filter.