Juwell Pump Help

[Ozzy Ozborne]

I have a Juwell 180 tank with its own internal filter and pump.
I would like to increase the water flow around the tank.My plants do not move with any water flow at one end and I keep getting an blue/green algae carpet build up.Is it possible to upgrade the current pump ( i have no idea what it is-it came with the tank) or would an additional small pump and filter help.
Also i have heard a number ofd people talking about powerheads...what are these...could they help?

Thanks

 

[arobinson1984]

You have a number of options.

You could:

a) upgrade the filter to a larger more powerful one, possibly an external one with a spray bar. This would give you a better filtered tank with greater water movement on the surface but would also be the most expensive option.

b) Add a powerhead lower down in your tank, these basically are just internal pump that sucks the water in from the back and pumps it back out at the front of the powerhead and are usually used to create some water movement lower down in the tank to try prevent algae from growing.

A good powerhead is a koralia which is made by hydor.

Check the link provided, I'd recommend the koralia 2 or 3 for your tank

Hydor Koralia Powerheads

Andy

 

[DesperateDanio]

Well i am no expert but Yes you could upgrade the flow of your current filter as i am guessing it will have a 600litre/hour pump at the mo like my trigon 190, So you could buy the larger 1000l/h pump head which they put on the bigger Tanks like the 450litre ones.

However it seems that the juwel pumps are a bit pricey and also i am not sure a)of the compatibility of the pumps however simply opening a box in a shop would solve this issue(remember to check with the staff first so they can at least have a chance to be useless before you make them open the box lol)
B) The effect the increased flow would have on bio filtration capabilities maybe none but i am sure i read somewhere about surface area and flow but i am sure someone with a bit more experience could clear that up

other then that with regards to making flow in the tank better then a powerhead maybe a good way to go if on a budget cheap way to get water moving.

However and i am sure i have probably let myself in for a caning here but i love to have as much filtration as possible in my tank and you really may find it worth spending the money on an external even if and this is the part people may not like if you just buy a cheapy one cos i have to say i picked up 1200l/h external for £80 which has 3 media baskets in it and in dimensions/size looks very similar to the eheim units its called an aqua pro 4 and i think personally pretty good for the money seems to help keep my bacteria happy lol however i did have a leak when i first got it but when i think about it probably me not seating an o ring properly. also worth noting i have had the filter about 2 years now maybe a bit more and although i have not required any spares i also have not seen spares readily available for it so that is a big negative

 

[raptorrex]

Well i am no expert but Yes you could upgrade the flow of your current filter as i am guessing it will have a 600litre/hour pump at the mo like my trigon 190, So you could buy the larger 1000l/h pump head which they put on the bigger Tanks like the 450litre ones.

However it seems that the juwel pumps are a bit pricey and also i am not sure a)of the compatibility of the pumps however simply opening a box in a shop would solve this issue(remember to check with the staff first so they can at least have a chance to be useless before you make them open the box lol)
B) The effect the increased flow would have on bio filtration capabilities maybe none but i am sure i read somewhere about surface area and flow but i am sure someone with a bit more experience could clear that up

other then that with regards to making flow in the tank better then a powerhead maybe a good way to go if on a budget cheap way to get water moving.

However and i am sure i have probably let myself in for a caning here but i love to have as much filtration as possible in my tank and you really may find it worth spending the money on an external even if and this is the part people may not like if you just buy a cheapy one cos i have to say i picked up 1200l/h external for £80 which has 3 media baskets in it and in dimensions/size looks very similar to the eheim units its called an aqua pro 4 and i think personally pretty good for the money seems to help keep my bacteria happy lol however i did have a leak when i first got it but when i think about it probably me not seating an o ring properly. also worth noting i have had the filter about 2 years now maybe a bit more and although i have not required any spares i also have not seen spares readily available for it so that is a big negative

I cant see a "caning" coming for that post. its well thought out, and shows a good grasp of the subject (even if you think you don't have one).

as far as i know you can upgrade the pumps in some of the juwel units. but as you state it would effect more than just flow. pushing the water through the Bio media more quickly, without increasing the Bio media area, will have a bad effect on the filters, already weak, performance. i would, also suggest, your recommendation on how to "properly" increase flow and filtration. are spot on too.

however, be warned. if you go this way, you empty your pockets:
though there is some disagreement, many people try to achieve a 5x turnover, some like even more. now to do this on a 180ltr tank, you would need a "real" turnover of 900lph. seems simple enough when you read the box of a filter "this one says 1200lph", should be enough? well no. you see the figure stated on the box is the "claimed" output. though the accuracy of the claims varie, you can usually reduce the "claimed" figure by 30-50% (50% being the most common figure). what does this mean? its most likely you will need two of the filters you at first thought you would only need one of. see what i mean about empty pockets?