My Juwel Rio 125

[Joecon13]

Hi Everybody. Glad to be able to join this site as a complete novice. I am three score years plus 10 and setting up my first fish tank, a Juwel Rio 125. I just love watching tropical and have been reading and researching this subject for about 4 weeks and such a lot to learn and stimulate my old brain.
I have a question. My tank has a juwel eco-filter 300 M and pump common to all juwels. The filter media looks expensive for replacement. The white polypads weekly, turncoat every 4 to 6 weeks, the bioplus coarse pads every 6 to 12 weeks, and the fine pads every 3 to 9 months. Can anyone tell me how to reduce all this filter change or do I have to follow it to the letter? Thank you.

 

[Essjay]

I've just checked with Juwel's website to see how the filter has changed since I had mine. It says you should have coarse blue sponge, fine blue sponge, green nitrate sponge, black carbon sponge and white pads so it's the same as my old Rio 125.
 
Blue sponges (both types) - change them when they start to disintegrate or won't go back to shape after squeezing them. They should last several years. Just wash them in water that you take out during a water change. Squeeze them to get the muck off but don't expect them to look like new. If/when they do need changing, do one a month not all at once.
Green sponge - this is supposed to remove nitrate but unless they've changed it in the last 10 years it doesn't (mine never did). Pretend it is a blue sponge and treat it like one.
Black sponge - you don't actually need to run carbon full time. The best thing to do, in my opinion, is swap it for another blue sponge. If I remember correctly, you have more fine sponges than coarse ones (and I include the green sponge); if this is correct, replace it with a coarse blue sponge.
White pad - these go first in the direction of water flow. It's purpose is to trap the debris so it doesn't get as far as the sponges. It will disintegrate after a couple of washes so will need replacing regularly. The good news is that it doesn't make a terribly good home for the bacteria so you won't be throwing many away when you replace it. It is a lot cheaper if you buy a roll of filter wool (filter floss). Ebay/Amazon should sell it and also shops that sell pond equipment. You can buy it by the metre if you don't want a whole roll. Use a white pad as a template to cut it up.
 
 
 
 
PS, I'm only three score years and three

 

[ShinySideUp]

Agree with essjay. I had a Juwel Lido 120 litre with what turned out to be a pretty good filter system although it took up a fair bit of room in the tank so after a few years I changed it for an external filter.
 
I threw out the green nitrate filter and the black charcoal filter immediately and replaced them with a coarse and a fine sponge. I replaced the fibre filter weekly and they weren't too expensive but I eventually started to use pieces of bulk fibre which, while not so convenient, were substantially cheaper. See this as an example: http/www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AQUARIUM-POND-FILTER-MEDIA-WOOL-FLOSS-WADDING-FLEECE-ROLL-12-15mm-27-/191906839455
 
Charcoal is only necessary if you are trying to clear meds and/or colouring from the water, although it does tend to make the water seem clearer when it's new (the clarity doesn't last), and nitrate filters are good for a couple of weeks and then you need to change them but it is far better to change the water instead -- and a darn sight cheaper.