New 4 Foot Tank

[h_ceri]

Hi everyone! I'm a little stuck as to which tank I want to pick up in the new year. I've narrowed it down to the following but am stuck for my final decision!

Tank------------------------------Juwel Rio 240------------------------------Fluval Roma 240------------------------------Juwel Rio 300

Dimensions------------------------------48 x 22 x 16------------------------------48 x 22 x 16------------------------------48 x 25 x 20

Volume (uk/us gal)----------------------60/71-----------------------------------60/71----------------------------------------------79/95

Lighting------------------------------2 x 54 watt T5------------------------------2 x 40 Watt T8------------------------------2 x 54 Watt T5

Filtration------------------------------Juwel internal 1000------------------------------Fluval 305 external-----------------Juwel internal 1000

Heater------------------------------Juwel 200 Watt------------------------------Fluval Tronic 300 Watt-------------------Juwel 300 Watt

Price (£)------------------------------£300-340------------------------------------£330-------------------------------------------------£380

All prices include cabinets and delivery (for $, multiply £ by 2)

Basically i'm stuck over weather the extra volume of the rio 300 is worth the money, or weather the T5 juwel lights are more valuable than the 305 external in the fluval? Decisions! By the way, the tetratec ex1200 i have at the moment will be moving over to filter the new tank too.

Thanks for anybody who can give me some input I realy am stuck!

C

p.s. I just found a link for this tank, has anyone ever heard about it?

[URL="http/www.aquariumsdelivered.co.uk/catalog/baolong-rrha1200-curved-glass-aquarium-cabinet-black-silver-p-550.html"]http/www.aquariumsdelivered.co.uk/catalo...lver-p-550.html[/URL]

 

[jess6905]

personally i like the idea of the rio 300 simply because its larger and you can keep lager groups of fish or just larger fish in general. what do you plan on keeping in it?? in the end its up to you.

 

[h_ceri]

Well, what I decide to stock depends on weather I get the larger rio or not i think. If I got either of the 240's I'd probably go with malawi mbuna, if I get the larger rio 300, I think I'd like to keep some severum. I dont think theres enough room in the 240's for any severum?

I think the fluval 240 beats the rio 240 due to the external, but I'm stil unsure weather the 300 beats the fluval 240 - if you get me?! I do like the extra volume though with minimal extra size.

Thanks for your reply, any help is appreciated to try and help me think clearly!

C.

 

[freerunner416]

I would go with the larger Juwel. If you have the space for it an extra 40ish pound isnt that much really. I looked at the roma aswell but didnt think the hoods or cabinet looked as good as the Juwel tanks. The lights in my juwel are brilliant!!! I took the internal box away from my tank and ran the ex1200 in it as it still WAY overfilters it!! Check the guarrantee on the Roma as i think Juwel give you 3 years. I used Aquariums delivered and couldn't fault them. Rambled answer but hopefully you get the point.

Goodluck with your choice, your a lucky devil getting a huge tank like that.

 

[h_ceri]

I would go with the larger Juwel. If you have the space for it an extra 40ish pound isnt that much really. I looked at the roma aswell but didnt think the hoods or cabinet looked as good as the Juwel tanks. The lights in my juwel are brilliant!!! I took the internal box away from my tank and ran the ex1200 in it as it still WAY overfilters it!! Check the guarrantee on the Roma as i think Juwel give you 3 years. I used Aquariums delivered and couldn't fault them. Rambled answer but hopefully you get the point.

Goodluck with your choice, your a lucky devil getting a huge tank like that.

I havn't actually seen the rio 300 up close yet, only the rio 240 but was impressed with that. However, I did like the neat cabinet on the fluval 240. As it only takes an extra 4inches of depth (footprint wise) compared to the fluval, i think the rio 300 is the best option, as its only about 40/50 quid more expensive. The extra lighting sounds great, and I'd use the juwel internal with my current external for some extra water circulation.

How have you found the juwel cabinets? Is there plenty of space for the ex1200 filter in one of the compartments?

C.

 

[benniebru]

bigger the better

 

[Mr._Fishy]

I think it really depends on what you are going to put in the tank. If you were going to do larger fish, definitely go with the 300. If you are on a tight budget and were going to have smaller fish, the smaller tanks would be good. But as always, the bigger the better.

Ryan

 

[Spooky76]

I prefer Juwel tanks, I just think the build quality is good and filtration is also pretty good.
As for the size...you know what they say The bigger the better !!

It will cost more in plants etc, and water changes involve more water, but I think the extra money is worth the extra space.

When I looked at tanks with my mate not long ago, cheapest place I found (Even cheaper than online) was a place near my in Manchester. Even now I havent seen better prices, I got a Juwel RIO 125 for £110 !! new.

I think the Juwel has a good enough filter to last you, and will allow you to overstock. Also the t5 lights are top drawer, my plants do really well in my Juwel.

 

[h_ceri]

Thanks for all the reply's ,seems the rio 300 is the best option then!

Does anyone know how much extra I could stock in the 300 over the 240's - volume calculator on this website says i get an extra 20-25 gals. (exact measurements are in the first post.)

Thanks again for all your help. Just one extra question, the tank will be in a downstairs bedroom - it shouldn't be too heavy for a downstairs floor surely? Is there anything else I could do jsut to minimise the stress on the floor, place it on something else for example?

thanks
C

 

[Tobigara]

i don't think you need to worry about the weight until you get over the 100 gallon mark. 1000 lbs spread over 4 feet shouldn't cause you any problems. if it does you need to move cause that place needs to be condemned.

as far as stocking goes you should be able to get at least 2 larger sized fish in even the smaller tanks you're looking at. with the bigger you could probably get 3-4 larger fish.

you'll figure it out

 

[DarkEntity]

Id go with Juwel, but then the first thing i do is rip out their filter so i have more water space and stick an nice external canister.

 

[h_ceri]

Id go with Juwel, but then the first thing i do is rip out their filter so i have more water space and stick an nice external canister.

I have a tetratec ex1200 which I'm going to move over to the new tank, but I was probably going to run the juwel internal aswel to get some extra turnover. I have experience of the juwel internals and they're not the best but i figure having some extra turnover will be an advantage by letting me slightly overstock.

Do people agree I could get away with some severums in the rio 300?

C

 

[h_ceri]

Hi - sorry to bring back up an old post, but i've been searching ebay to see if I could pick up a 2nd hand tank similar to what Ive been looking at (rio 240, roma 240 and rio 300)

On ebay there is a rena aqualife 120 x 50 for sale just around the corner from my house. It has a buy-it-now of 350 and it is less than 1 year old. Does this sound like a good deal? I've looked up the RRP for the tank and its £595 delivered, and the 2nd hand comes with cabinet, a rena xp3 external filter and 4x 30Watt T8's.

If nobody can give any specific information maybe someone can help me with the pro's / con's to buying a tank off ebay, any scare/success story's?

Thanks again!