Juwel Record 70

[AaronD]

Not sure if anyone would be interested... but ive recently done a juwel lighting upgrade, but not this way. I totally striped out the innards and now have space for about 3 - 4 bulbs now.

If anyones interested ill host some pics

ps. this can be done on the smaller models as well

 

[Ryeguy]

I would be interested in seeing them for sure

 

[daza]

yeah, make a thread here in the DIY section including pics please AaronD. I would be interested in seeing it. It's something I once considered doing myself.

 

[Fella]

Many Aquarists are familar with the Juwel brand of aquariums, Whilst these are fab kits, with all you need in one box, there is one major drawback with the hood if you want to grow aquatic plants, there is only one tube and not much room for another. Here follows a bit of a walkthrough on how I installed another within the limited space. see picture below..

The only room left is at the front, right before the feeding hatch so that choice is already made for us.

Here is a picture of all the equipment that you'll need to complete the upgrade. It consists of fluorescent light tube (your choice) starter unit, standard Juwel reflector, 2x thin threaded bolts and 2x black plastic screw-cups with caps.

A few tools are also needed and most people will have access to a drill & drill bit, screwdriver and a pair of pliers.

I started by carefully drilling two small holes in the reflector at each end, now place the reflector evenly in the front of the hood where you want it to go, using this as a template drill through the hood from the inside out. Now insert the bolts (mine were a bit long and needed to be cut to size, easily done with a junior hacksaw) through the holes in the reflector, through the hood and through your screw cups. Tighten the little nuts,snap the caps over the cups and you almost done.

A close-up of the bolts and screw-cups and caps.(available at any DIY store).

Fit your tube into the clips in the reflector, connect your starter unit to the tube and switch on. Job done!!!!

Here is a picture with the new tube inserted..

Here is a view from the top after modification (detatched from the tank)

Here is another view from the top (back on the tank) notice I have retained the space for feeding...

Here is the overall view.

I hope this will be of some help to owners of this type of aquarium setup who wish at some point to grow aquatic plants. This can be adapted to any of the Juwel range simply by purchasing the correct length of reflector. The whole project cost under £30.
Any comments, queries or additional useful info will be greatly appreciated.

Using this as an inspiration I did a very similar mod myself.

I added an 18" 15w plant tube to my juwel rekord 60. The only thing I really did differently was add the holes from the top rather than the front.

I'm now running an arcadia plant tube and the original juwel tube in the tank. I'm contemplating changing the Juwel tube over to an arcadia plant also...

I was going to follow this Mod perfectly but I was interested in learning how to do things my way, and naturally, I've hit 2 problems

- With putting the holes in the top, the stop caps stick out and look a tad unsightly

- The caps over lap onto the feeding tray/lid. This makes it awkward to remove.

I still enjoyed doing it my way though, using this thread as inspiration. I think I might sand down the caps to make the feeding tray more accessible, or maybe noth a few circular slots out of the lid with a junior hacksaw. Either way, it's not a massive problem.

Many thanks to big C! If it wasnt for this thread, I would never have even tried.

 

[jimbooo]

well done on the upgrade, just a tip though dont use 2 arcadia original tropicals, they are old technology and not the best for plants. as you already have one leave it till it needs replacing (10 months or so) if your replacing the original Juwel tube buy an arcadia freshwater tube (7500K) that will mix well with the original tropical and has a more powerful penetrating light.

 

[Fella]

well done on the upgrade, just a tip though dont use 2 arcadia original tropicals, they are old technology and not the best for plants. as you already have one leave it till it needs replacing (10 months or so) if your replacing the original Juwel tube buy an arcadia freshwater tube (7500K) that will mix well with the original tropical and has a more powerful penetrating light.

Oh bum.

They only had 2 on offer, it was "original tropical lamp" or one for accentuating fish colour. Where would I be able to get the freshwater tube?does anywhere sell it online?

What a bugger, I knew it was too easy

 

[jimbooo]

"one for accentuating fish colour" sounds like the freshwater tube. if so just take the original tropical back to the shop and swap it.

both tubes are available here but i've not used them just using the link for the product descriptions.

 

[Fella]

Ahh right excellent.

This might explain why the tank downstairs has plants growing insanely fast in it, when the plan was to light the fish a bit better!

Many thanks!

 

[jimbooo]

yep that makes sence the freshwater is a great tube and the first i would put in any tank. if you really want to go to town one of those plus a "dennerle special plant" tube (3000K) would give you as close to ideal lighting as you'll get without breaking the bank. thats what i have in my rekord 60 (picture in my album second in from the left, top line of pics)

 

[AaronD]

I would be interested in seeing them for sure

Sorry for the late reply, But here are some quick pics:

> Juwel Rekord Tank 120

> Stripped out innards
> Mounted starter unit onto the back of the hood (you could get a new starter unit for £13, so you wouldnt have to do this)
> mounted bulb where the 'innards' used to be

Simple... B)

Mounted starter unit onto the back of ther hood:

Quick photoshop of what i could be like

 

[simonbrown403]

Nice one AaronD these juwel record lighting mods are coming thick and fast.

 

[laurasmithuk]

just done the lighting mod on my juwel rekord 96. woah what a difference an extra light makes! hopefully will see the plants bloom now!

ps cheers BIGC for all your help............ it was much appreciated!

 

[BigC]

ps cheers BIGC for all your help............ it was much appreciated!

Glad you found it useful and I was only too happy to help you achieve you goal.
Regards
BigC

 

[littleimp]

Very good explanation their as juwel tanks are so pupular now!!

Personally I would have done it differently though. I would have purchased one of those replacement hoods & a suitable sized twin T5 light kit.

Glad to see you are having good resuslts from the mod though B)

 

[Jape]

Great article BigC! But you've set me to contemplating upgrading my recently fitted single T5 compact unit (see this thread) to a twin 36W....why is fishkeeping so addictive and expensive?