Juwel Rio 125 Needs External Filter

[Jimbo1984]

Hi all,

After 4 years I decided the Juwel Internal Filter on my Rio 125 had to get the knife treatment! I realised how much better the tank would look with all that extra space. Plus I could remove the colossal build up of algae and detritus from behind it which was looking rather grim. Plus no more baby Emperor Tetras living underneath it until they got so big I had to dig/siphon them out!

So I did a bit of research, found a crafting knife with an extendable blade and got to work! Surprisingly it didn't take too long at all. Getting the adhesive off the glass was a bit of a chore but I just used an algae scraper and some elbow grease. The problem is, once you start, you can't stop! I spent most of my Friday night doing a massive clean of the tank. Moving all fish, ornaments and most of the water into 25 and 10 litre buckets, draining it completely to get at the hard to reach spots.

Anyway, at the moment I've just got the Juwel Internal Filter in there freestanding in the same corner and I'm trying to decide on an External Filter to replace it. I've looked at Eheims, Fluvals and Tetratecs but can't decide. Plus there's a bit of a height restriction in the cabinet underneath due to the shelf in the middle of it. I'd quite like to not have to remove this as there's all kinds of stuff on the shelf that I'd have to find a new home for.

Has anyone else done this and found an External Filter that will fit in the cabinet? I THINK the Fluval 105 will fit but I'm not convinced it's powerful enough to cope with the size of the tank. When refilling the tank I measured all the water going back in and got it to pretty much bang on 100 litres. It's best to have an oversized filter right?!?!

Any help greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Skins]

Hi all,

After 4 years I decided the Juwel Internal Filter on my Rio 125 had to get the knife treatment! I realised how much better the tank would look with all that extra space. Plus I could remove the colossal build up of algae and detritus from behind it which was looking rather grim. Plus no more baby Emperor Tetras living underneath it until they got so big I had to dig/siphon them out!

So I did a bit of research, found a crafting knife with an extendable blade and got to work! Surprisingly it didn't take too long at all. Getting the adhesive off the glass was a bit of a chore but I just used an algae scraper and some elbow grease. The problem is, once you start, you can't stop! I spent most of my Friday night doing a massive clean of the tank. Moving all fish, ornaments and most of the water into 25 and 10 litre buckets, draining it completely to get at the hard to reach spots.

Anyway, at the moment I've just got the Juwel Internal Filter in there freestanding in the same corner and I'm trying to decide on an External Filter to replace it. I've looked at Eheims, Fluvals and Tetratecs but can't decide. Plus there's a bit of a height restriction in the cabinet underneath due to the shelf in the middle of it. I'd quite like to not have to remove this as there's all kinds of stuff on the shelf that I'd have to find a new home for.

Has anyone else done this and found an External Filter that will fit in the cabinet? I THINK the Fluval 105 will fit but I'm not convinced it's powerful enough to cope with the size of the tank. When refilling the tank I measured all the water going back in and got it to pretty much bang on 100 litres. It's best to have an oversized filter right?!?!

Any help greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

I use the fluval 205 on my 125ltr tank, would a 205 fit in your cabinet. I have messy fish housed in there so over filtering for me is required.
I also find it to be very quiet.

Skins.

 

[Jimbo1984]

Thanks for your reply!

I looked at the Fluval 205 in detail but it's quite tall. For it to sit nicely in the cabinet and be easily accessible I'd have to remove the middle shelf.

Do you have a Rio 125?

 

[Skins]

Thanks for your reply!

I looked at the Fluval 205 in detail but it's quite tall. For it to sit nicely in the cabinet and be easily accessible I'd have to remove the middle shelf.

Do you have a Rio 125?

I have a fluval Roma 125, to accommodate the filter i did have to remove the shelf.

Skins.

 

[Jimbo1984]

Hi again,

I'm leaning towards a Fluval 105 at the moment. My stocking is not high for the size of the tank and I don't intend to get loads more fish for it.

Can anyone with a 105 tell me the exact height of it with the AquaStop fitted?

Or Skins would you be kind enough to measure how much the AquaStop and tubes stick out the top of the 205s canister? Plus can you angle the tubes or are they clamped vertically when fitted?

I've got 34cm from the floor of the cabinet to underside of the shelf. Width and depth aren't an issue. I know the canister is 27cm tall so that gives me 7cm for the AquaStop.

Otherwise it's looking like losing the shelf...

 

[Skins]

Hi again,

I'm leaning towards a Fluval 105 at the moment. My stocking is not high for the size of the tank and I don't intend to get loads more fish for it.

Can anyone with a 105 tell me the exact height of it with the AquaStop fitted?

Or Skins would you be kind enough to measure how much the AquaStop and tubes stick out the top of the 205s canister? Plus can you angle the tubes or are they clamped vertically when fitted?

I've got 34cm from the floor of the cabinet to underside of the shelf. Width and depth aren't an issue. I know the canister is 27cm tall so that gives me 7cm for the AquaStop.

Otherwise it's looking like losing the shelf...

Its rougthly 43cm from floor to top of aquastop and you would proberly want to allow for an extra 5-7.5cm to position pipes without restricting filters flow rate.

 

[Jimbo1984]

Hmmm. I think I'm going to have to lose the shelf. Even if the 105 were to fit, it'd still be an #14### to get it out from under the shelf and see what you're doing.

Right, so that's that decided.

Now what filter...

I'm liking these now:

http/www.warehouse-aquatics.co.uk/aquarium-filtration/external-filters/tetratec-external-filters/tetratec-ex600-external-filter-p-3965.html

Anyone had any experience with these?

Thanks!