New Drilled Juwel S/W Setup

[funkyparott]

Hello.

I have decided to take the plunge and enter the world of marine fish keeping.

I have spent a few days looking at prices for tanks, and can honestly say that the Juwel ones are the cheapest. I am looking at getting the Rio 400 with cabinet for £589. This is a 400 litre tank that comes pre-drilled with two holes in the rear.

Has anyone heard of http/www.justmarine.co.uk ?
He is my local fish store and tells me they are always drilling the Juwel fish tanks and have never had a problem. All the other stores I have approached tell me they will not drill a Juwel tank, but that I would have to get a custom tank made which will cost a lot more money.

To be honest, I am not prepared to pay stupid money for a custom made tank when I can get a large Juwel one drilled. I appreciate that this will probably invalidate the manufacturer's waranty, but I am paying on credit card making the card company equally liable for any problems.

I am still planning what my first setup will be. I have seen some great sites on the Internet that give instructions on how to build a sump DIY with aycrilic (I know its not spelled correctly!). I don't want to buy a complete package, I would rather have little parts that I can take on as projects. Surely building some of this stuff and connecting it yourself is part of the fun?


Does anyone have any thoughts on this approach ?

Cheers

Funky Parrot

 

[fraservet]

well, if you are buying the tank pre-drilled, it should be covered by a guarantee from the seller, so if it is faulty you can take it back there.

I have a Rio 400, and it suits me very well.
It is not drilled, but I do have a fairly large refugium above it.

As long as you are confident with the DIY aspects, there is no reason why you shouldn't build the sump yourself - just make sure you do it properly.

The Rio will probably require some additional modifications, depending on what exactly you want to keep, but nothing too drastic, especially if you have a sump, and can keep most of the equipment there.

If you let us know what you are intending, we can give more advice.

 

[Navarre]

I know of many people that have Juwel systems that are drilled. If they are willing to drill it then i would go for it! A drilled tank has so many bebefits its well worth the risk.

 

[superman]

I know of many people that have Juwel systems that are drilled. If they are willing to drill it then i would go for it! A drilled tank has so many bebefits its well worth the risk.

What risk?

 

[andywg]

I know of many people that have Juwel systems that are drilled. If they are willing to drill it then i would go for it! A drilled tank has so many bebefits its well worth the risk.

What risk?

The risk of the tank cracking while being drilled. Especially as I seem to recall people saying some jewels are tempered glass on the bottom.

 

[superman]

I know of many people that have Juwel systems that are drilled. If they are willing to drill it then i would go for it! A drilled tank has so many bebefits its well worth the risk.

What risk?

The risk of the tank cracking while being drilled. Especially as I seem to recall people saying some jewels are tempered glass on the bottom.

I usually assume that the bottom glass is tempered, so on every tank I have drilled I make sure that the back is not tempered and then drill the back glass instead of the bottom.