Juwel Rio 180

[Bloo]

Might have to rethink my additional tubes I just added on then - to somehow slightly raise them from the brace. To be honest, (and even before I read your post) I wondered about the exact same thing as I put them on the beams (i.e. would the heat have an adverse effect on the brace).

So thanks for the warning !
and Best of luck

 

[jimbooo]

thanks mate. i'll update this when sorted (lets hope this doesn't turn into a disaster thread!!)

for yours how about drilling throught the reflectors and joining them with a small nut/bolt. then twist the central reflector to lift the other tube up slightly. may work but may fall down again. just a thought

 

[littleimp]

What is the brace made of??

If your tank fitted with glass braces running the length of the tank?? Like a standard glass tank. You can just silicon a glass brace across the tank. Use the same thickness glass as the rest & go to a glass merchant & thay will cut you one for a few pounds??

Like this

This is how my 6ft tank is built so I would think Ok for a smaller one

The probably reason it has cracked (if it's plastic that is) is the UV coming from the tube. UV does some funny things to plastic after a while

 

[jimbooo]

yep plastic i'm afraid

there is a collar around the tank top which is one piece, the centre brace is part of the collar. to replace it you would have to remove the whole top of the tank (which is glued on in the factory)

guess what, Juwel dont supply the part seperatly!!

thanks for the thought though

here's a pic of the top

black part at the top of the tank is the "collar"

see the "brace" under the tubes - the crack is directly beneath the left tube

edit: any other ideas people??

 

[littleimp]

If the plastic around the break is good how about 2 strips either side glued & screwed to hold the crack together?

 

[jimbooo]

yep thats an idea. it's hanging on my a thread at the moment. about 1cm still attached so that may work. i'm nervous of putting a drill to it though. wont the vibrations crack the glass (not to mention the fish!)

 

[CFC]

The center braces just click in under the plastic rim, my Rio 300 is a lot older than your tank and it has the click in braces so i dont know why yours wouldnt unless wildwoods has been storing them for over 4 years. Try pushing down on what is left of the broken brace where it attaches to the rim and it should just push out.

 

[jimbooo]

thanks CFC but it's definatly the old style. i was in wildwoods this morning and the guy didn't believe me until i found an old style one on display and showed him.

i bought it 11 months ago so yes they are obviously storing old ones i'm afraid. theres no way to attach the new brace as my tank does not have the lip to click into.

look at the pic above, you can see the brace at the sides of the second pic

 

[CFC]

I would complain that you have been sold an out of date tank then and demand that you are at least compensated for the work and materials needed to fix your tank, i bought my Rio 300 in 2000 and it has the push fit braces so your tank must be at least as old if not older, you wouldnt expect to be sold a computer built 5 years ago when buying a new one from the computer shop so you shouldnt expect a 5 year old tank when buying a new one at a fish store.

 

[jimbooo]

I would complain that you have been sold an out of date tank then and demand that you are at least compensated for the work and materials needed to fix your tank, i bought my Rio 300 in 2000 and it has the push fit braces so your tank must be at least as old if not older, you wouldnt expect to be sold a computer built 5 years ago when buying a new one from the computer shop so you shouldnt expect a 5 year old tank when buying a new one at a fish store.

i totally agree but have you ever tried to complain to wildwoods? their customer service is awefull. i once complained that they were selling house plants with an aquatic plant label on the tank. needless to say they died a week later. the response to the complaint was that i could have a full refund if i brought the plants back in their original packaging!!!

"sorry mate funnily enough theyre planted in my tank" was the obvious responce. brick wall hit - no pot, no refund.

needless to say i only go there when i have to.

i've got a mate calling norwood at the moment to find out the date the brace design changed. he thinks mine is a new style and the click in ones are the old style. i'll wait for their response and react accordingly.

although wildwoods is an awesome shop (physically) i really hate dealing with them.

oh and they killed a zebra plec today (okay not deliberatly, sorry) i asked if they'd sold out and the lady said there was one left in the end tank. after a root around she lifted the bogwood to reveal mr pancake zebra. such a shame although i did snigger to myself regarding the cost of the lost stock.....


update: just spoke to Juwel UK and the new tanks have an injection molded centre brace, the old tanks have the clip in ones. damn it!!.

i've forwarded this thread to Juwel and they are in turn passing it to germany for product development purposes - result!

still doesn't help me though but they were very interested to hear the feedback.

 

[Rob.S]

Just checked my 180, and it looks like my brace is a separate piece (bought the tank in 1999).

As an addition to "littleimps" suggestion. Why not screw/glue/bolt (whatever) the brace repair to the underside of the original brace. The brace is about 25mm wide, so you can get a heafty chunk of plastic as the patch. Use plastic nuts/bolts (no corrosion). To catch the swarf, place a plastic sheet on the water (saves draining the tank). May be a two person job - one to support the brace, while you drill it. I would advise against using self tapping screws, if the plastic has uv light damage it is probably brittle, adding screws may cause further cracking.

Just a thought.

 

[Bloo]

[update: just spoke to Juwel UK and the new tanks have an injection molded centre brace, the old tanks have the clip in ones. damn it!!.

i've forwarded this thread to Juwel and they are in turn passing it to germany for product development purposes - result!

still doesn't help me though but they were very interested to hear the feedback.

OK, so how does Juwel propose you fix it ? Or what do they propose you do ?
Throw away the tank and get a new one ?
I would have a very serious strop and stomp to Juwel in Germany if I was you.
If they say that the crack is due to the extra light, well are they saying their tanks are not made to incorporate more than lousy 1 watt per Gallon ?

Are you sure you sure your lights are directly on the beam ? I just checked mine (exact same brace btw)and somehow they are the same hight from the brace as the fixed lights (the reflectors lean on each other and the brace and the tubes themselves do not touch the brace).

Do not let this go easily !

 

[simonbrown403]

The center brace went on mine and my wife's a wile back they just sent a new brace and told us to drop the water level and glue it in place.

MY local fish shop where going to cut a glass brace and silicone it in if all else failed, you would have to drop your water level for 48 hours, wile it cured

As a temporary fix i made a brace out of a piece of 2" * 1" soft wood with some blocks screwed on ether end so the gap was slightly smaller then the with of the tank ( with the bow )
Then i hooked it over the back and pulled the glass together until the other side slotted on, it was just temp until the bit came so i could keep the filter going.

 

[Bloo]

What's the update on this ?

 

[Joviella]

right, just realised it's only 11 months old.

wildwoods are getting a call this instant. fingers crossed it's covered under warrenty.

If your tank is under guarantee....then someone ought to deal with the problem.....if not wildwoods,then juwel themselves.If I were you I would keep at it til you feel you get adequate compensation. Its your fishes home.....why let them settle for less!!??!!