Hello! New Member With A Question Too!

[citrus-squid]

Hello all, I'm new to the forum so thought I'd introduce myself! While I'm not new to keeping tropical fish, I have just recently got back into it so thought it might be nice to have a place I can go to for advice etc. I'm currently on a PhD in Marine Biology, studying phytoplankton, so maybe I can even help out with any algae-related questions!

I do also have a quick question: I have a Juwel Rekord 70 tank, which I've found to be quite nifty with all its bits housed in the tank already. I was wondering if anyone has any experience with it, and has found the filter to be sufficient? I haven't had any problems with it yet, I've been changing the white poly pads every week and the water has remained very clear. I was concerned about it not keeping the tank oxygenated as it doesn't bubble, but once I set it up, I was quite pleased with how well it circulates water from the surface to the bottom of the tank and back, so my mind is a little more at ease (fish are all very active, no gulping for air or anything, and I put a little plant in there too). Just wanted to know if anyone has had more luck with an external filter, or if they've found the built in one to be just fine!

I hope to get to know you all better, and hopefully get the most out of my tank and give my fish a happy and high-quality life!

 

[Hoveringpie]

I used to have a juwel Rio 180 which has the same but a bit larger filter in it. I never had a problem with it the only advice I can give is you should get a piece of hose and suck the crap out of the bottom of it every other week as it lingers at the bottom for some reason. Apart from the it was sufficient enough even for the discus I used to have!

Welcome by the way!

 

[citrus-squid]

Thank you Hoveringpie, that's the kind of thing I was hoping to find out from people's previous experiences! I will definitely keep that in mind Nice to meet you!

 

[Rhiny]

Hi and welcome to a very friendly forum.

 

[Hoveringpie]

No problem I try to help people if I can nice to meet you too

 

[KkAaNnEe]

Been using the juwel internals for a while, no problems at all, as long as you dont overstock your tank you should be fine. Externals are good as they take up no tank space but if that doesnt bother you you will be fine

Also if you're on ebay pick up some filter floss, rather than changing that white sponge all the time, its cheaper and better

 

[DrRob]

Welcome. As said, the juwel filters aren't bad. They're not amazing and they'll not cope with anything really messy but they do the job. I ran a rio for years with no problems. Ignore the instructions to change the sponges every six weeks, but the floss advice from Kane is what I do with that layer as well.

 

[Hoveringpie]

Il double that it's a money making gimmick I have a filter that is over 16 year old (old fluval 3) and it still has its original filter pads. Unless you cut them up they should be OK indefinitely

 

[citrus-squid]

Thank you all so much for your input, I had been wondering if I really had to change them as often as the instructions said! I'm also now looking up some filter floss on eBay. Great, thank you all so much, happy I joined the community here now for sure!

 

[Hoveringpie]

Depending on where you live you can buy filter floss in meter rolls for ponds you can buy them and cut them into the size you want. I bought two meters for 1.50 so you can even save some money doing that!