Juwel Internal Filter - Poor Design

we're gonna have to agree to disagree. There are also people who liked there Juwel filters ^^as above. One thing we haven't said on this matter is though, the size of the tanks. I'm running a 190ltr and am happy with the filter (as you already know). However if i was gonna go for a bigger Juwel ie 350,400 or 450, i would be using an external or 2.

lol, true.
the 1000lph juwel is good for about 80-100l. the 600lph, well its good for nothing really. say 20-30l.
I'm interested in how you increased the media in the juwel, as it has no extra room. well last time i looked at one.
 
I removed the nitrate and carbon sponges and replaced then with the new ceramic media boxes, which I know you'll know can hold more nice bacteria than a sponge (surface area). I can honestly say I have really good filtration, I have used fluval internal and externals and I can say I'm getting just a good filtration.
 
Interesting thread -
I've had my Juwell internal filter since July last year - and
(touch wood) had no problems with it - or the fish with it.
I have polkadot loaches that like to squeeze into impossible gaps,
but so far they've left the filter alone.
I have placed the 3D background around the rear of the tank which may
help.
But I'll keep an eye on its performance from what people say -
I do maintenance on it monthly, rinsing the sponges in tank water
and cleaning the impellor etc.
But - I do have an outbreak of hair algae, and hadn't thought that this
may be attributed to the filter performance itself. :unsure:
 
I removed the nitrate and carbon sponges and replaced then with the new ceramic media boxes, which I know you'll know can hold more nice bacteria than a sponge (surface area). I can honestly say I have really good filtration, I have used fluval internal and externals and I can say I'm getting just a good filtration.

interesting idea :good:

however, how do you get round the fact that the filter inlets at the top and bottom. or did you place the ceramic in the middle? this is what has stopped me trying this, myself.
I have an Eheim Aquaball. on the face of it, the best candidate for "external style" media. however, though most of the water is drawn from the bottom, significant amounts, flow through the sides. this clogs the bio media, prematurely. negating, to a large extent, any area benefits from the change.
 
The filter grill on the bottom isn't attatched to the actual filter, it's the intake for the heater. It doesn't take the power from the head, it uses the top to create some kind of push and then back through the powerhead ( if you get me) . I do think they have changed the design slightly. Someone else might clarify this cos this is the first Juwel I have owned. The media is slap bang in the middle of the filter. I have never had an Ehiem filter, but the U series worked like that and i could never work out the filtration system with them.
 
The filter grill on the bottom isn't attatched to the actual filter, it's the intake for the heater. It doesn't take the power from the head, it uses the top to create some kind of push and then back through the powerhead ( if you get me) . I do think they have changed the design slightly. Someone else might clarify this cos this is the first Juwel I have owned. The media is slap bang in the middle of the filter. I have never had an Ehiem filter, but the U series worked like that and i could never work out the filtration system with them.

lol, i know the filters well. all juwels draw from the top and the bottom. which is fine, if you only have one form of media. juwels have no, true, mechanical filtration(only the small white pads). the problem with "external" forms of media is, they depend on a single direction, of water flow. not to mention the fact then need to "pre filter" the water, prior to it reaching the bio area. otherwise they clog, as i eluded to in another post. all this and you need to ensure the water stays in contact with the media for long enough, to be efficient (dwell time). which is where you run into problems, upgrading the pump, without, significantly, increasing the media area.
 
My experience of the Juwel internal was clear water & excellent water stats. However, it was fugly & a pain in the ar$e to clean. Comparing it to a decent external isn't really fair, it should be compared to internals & in that respect it does hold a lot of media in comparison to say a Fluval U3 or U4. Once again though, the design of the box leaves much to be desired.

The real issue with the filter is it removes the end users choice because it is not designed to be easily removed. I think Juwel would sell more tanks if they moved to a removable internal or an external.
 
I am going to have to disagree with you Grumpysteve. Not everyone on here thinks that high flow means better filtration. I am one who regularly says that filtration is all about the media in the filter and that even a 1x flow rate can make an excellent filter. I run several of my tanks with nothing but a simple box filter or a sponge filter. Those tanks are lucky to get a 1x turnover rate but are very healthy environments for the fish. The main thing that a filter must do in my tanks is provide a solid biological filtration effect. The low flow filters with adequate volume can do that task quite nicely. I always think of filtration in terms of keeping the fish happy. After that, if I want a crystal clear tank, I need to remove solids with my water changes and clean the tank's glass by hand. Neither one of those tasks can ever be done well enough to suit me by using a higher filter flow rate so I ignore most of the high flow advice and just make sure my filter is up to the task of keeping the ammonia and nitrites from ever building in my tanks.
 
Read most of this thread but, if Juwel make it then its crap, overpriced and likely to break.

Depending on what you stock in your tank depends on the effeciency of the internal filter.

However i didnt like the look of the internal filter in the tank so use to try and hide it but when i added my external filter, i kept the internal running as i used it to break the surface of the water for better airiation and keep a nice flow around the tank but the external done all the work.
 
ive got the new rio 240 and its doing ok but ive added a ex 1200 just because im upping my stock of cichlids who are messy anyway my plan was to remover the internal box but whats the harm in having extra filter. however my power head randomly stops it will still vibrate and make noise but there is no flow untill i wiggle the powerhead around abit anyone know why this is? cheers
 
ive got the new rio 240 and its doing ok but ive added a ex 1200 just because im upping my stock of cichlids who are messy anyway my plan was to remover the internal box but whats the harm in having extra filter. however my power head randomly stops it will still vibrate and make noise but there is no flow untill i wiggle the powerhead around abit anyone know why this is? cheers


cos they are crap and get blocked with fish waste etc.

if your keeping cichlids you seriously want to get an external filter too cos they are messy fish and eat hell of a lot so the water quality quickly becomes bad with the internal juwel filter and the filter cant cope with the waste produced.
 
ive got the new rio 240 and its doing ok but ive added a ex 1200 just because im upping my stock of cichlids who are messy anyway my plan was to remover the internal box but whats the harm in having extra filter. however my power head randomly stops it will still vibrate and make noise but there is no flow untill i wiggle the powerhead around abit anyone know why this is? cheers


cos they are crap and get blocked with fish waste etc.

if your keeping cichlids you seriously want to get an external filter too cos they are messy fish and eat hell of a lot so the water quality quickly becomes bad with the internal juwel filter and the filter cant cope with the waste produced.

did you not read that i already have an external ?
 
it'll be fine to run along side your external. If ya read back 'Doresy' overstocked a 120ltr Juwel with Tangs and just with the Juwel filter running and he didn't have a problem. As for the vibrating thing, it sounds like that there may be some air trapped in the filter (it happens to all filters, not just Juwel). If ya lift out the top basket of sponges and leave the powerhead running, this normally cures the problem. It can happen after water changes.

Aaron, do you want to expend your argument? Was it you Aaron that had a fall out with Juwel?
 
it'll be fine to run along side your external. If ya read back 'Doresy' overstocked a 120ltr Juwel with Tangs and just with the Juwel filter running and he didn't have a problem. As for the vibrating thing, it sounds like that there may be some air trapped in the filter (it happens to all filters, not just Juwel). If ya lift out the top basket of sponges and leave the powerhead running, this normally cures the problem. It can happen after water changes.

Aaron, do you want to expend your argument? Was it you Aaron that had a fall out with Juwel?

cheers for the info ill try it when i get bk from easter break. ye the power head just stops and carries on vibrating but with out any water flow, so ill give what you said ago. and the only problem with the box is, its in the way of my inlet piping for my external because on the new rio there is a drop on the glass so you dont have to cut into the hood. but the box is in the way. but i might be able to cut a bit of the box away so it just fits with out having to remove it :D
 
ive got the new rio 240 and its doing ok but ive added a ex 1200 just because im upping my stock of cichlids who are messy anyway my plan was to remover the internal box but whats the harm in having extra filter. however my power head randomly stops it will still vibrate and make noise but there is no flow untill i wiggle the powerhead around abit anyone know why this is? cheers


cos they are crap and get blocked with fish waste etc.

if your keeping cichlids you seriously want to get an external filter too cos they are messy fish and eat hell of a lot so the water quality quickly becomes bad with the internal juwel filter and the filter cant cope with the waste produced.

did you not read that i already have an external ?

i guess i missed that bit


it'll be fine to run along side your external. If ya read back 'Doresy' overstocked a 120ltr Juwel with Tangs and just with the Juwel filter running and he didn't have a problem. As for the vibrating thing, it sounds like that there may be some air trapped in the filter (it happens to all filters, not just Juwel). If ya lift out the top basket of sponges and leave the powerhead running, this normally cures the problem. It can happen after water changes.

Aaron, do you want to expend your argument? Was it you Aaron that had a fall out with Juwel?

i did indeed
 

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