3 replies to this topic

[DiscusDreaming]

I am looking to purchase an 'all-in-one' tank setup, the plan is to use it for a display quality community planted setup.

I quite like the look of the small Juwel tank running at Vebas and also the Red Sea one set up at Aquotix. But I an thinking I'd like something a bit bigger. From a purely aesthetic point of view, I really like the look of the Juwel Rio tanks, they seem pretty slick to me.

I was wondering if anyone might have some experience or advice for me on which brand would be the best option? Bearing in mind the lighting, CO2 and filtration requirements for a display quality planted community tank.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Rovik]

The Red Sea Max, which is seen displayed at Aquotix is actually a salt water reef set-up that has been converted to a planted aquarium.
None of these "all in one" set-up come with co2, co2 must be purchased separately.

Would recommend getting a jewel aquarium in terms of an "all in one" system, but the down fall of any system like this is.....
Only the parts made by the manufacturer (e.g. Juwel after market parts) will fit the unit.
This means a lot of extra money to by a pump that fit the Juwel filter or lighting tubes which are considerably more than standard sized tubes or pumps.

On the brighter side they are nice and neat all inclusive unit.
They come with medium intensity lighting, therefor being suitable for plant species such as : various mosses, crypts, various ferns and so on.
(medium to low light plants)
The filters are suitable for a medium stocking level, (As long as you don't over feed and do water changes Regularly)
The flow rate on the filters are a bit slow,I would suggest a after market power-head to increase circulation for various reasons.



The Red Sea Max's make fantastic planted aquariums due to the fact they have excellent lighting, and very good water circulation, to good in fact you have to turn one power-head off to avoid blasting your plants away i am told.
But being A saltwater set-up, it makes a very expensive ($1600-$2200) planted aquarium and you would be much better going with a custom aquarium/cabinet or somthing like a juwel RIO 180 for half the price.

IMO I would go with a custom set-up and could pick and choose the equipment i wanted to achieve the best visual result, They can look just as good or better than a juwel set-up.

[DiscusDreaming]

Thanks for the feedback Rovik

I was aware that co2 needed to be purchased separately. (Maybe one of these guys will one day come up with the ultimate all-in-one planted aquarium unit that does contain co2?)

Anyways, at this stage I am leaning towards going with something like to following:

Tank - Juwel Rio
Lighting - 'High Lite' globes to increase lighting capacity and I think there is some sort of additional upgrade that can also be added for lighting.
Filtration - Remove the included Juwel filter and use Eheim External canister filter instead (or should I use both?)
co2 - Co2 injection (will probably purchase through LFS)


I know that the custom tank would probably be a cheaper option, and I could deck it out with all the ideal components. But I am yet to see one that looks like a really slick overall piece of furniture, like the Juwel aquariums do.

What do others see as the ideal overall display setup?

[Rovik]

The T5 High-output light units with added reflectors, alongside with co2 will make a formidable planted aquarium.
The filtration on the juwels is fine if you don't want to stock to heavily, Best to see how you go and if you are having ammonia spikes in the future you might want to consider add extra filtration.

On the flip-side the co2 will look a lot neater if you plumb the diffuse in-line (under the cabinet) via a atomizer attached to the hosing of an external canister filter.


http://www.up-aqua.c..._dm-co2-big.jpg - The inline diffuses, bought mine from Aquotix.