# Juwel Bioflow filters in Planted Tanks...Need Help!



## Glank27

This is driving me nuts!
I have a Juwel Rio 240 aquarium which is planted. I have noticed some stunted growth in plants and was reading everywhere including here, regarding how to set-up correctly a planted tank. I have read about the must of 10x water circulation.
In my aquarium's case, the pump in the Juwel Bioflow Internal filter is rated at 600l/h. This is surely not a 10x circulation , even more considering the losses due to filtermedia. 
I have tried today a Newave NW2000 wavemaker and i didn't like the effect! High currents, plant waving as if going through wind streams, suspended matter thrown all around the tank without getting nowhere near the filter intake! I have immediately removed it and will return it to the seller as already agreed.
My question is if the bioflow filtersystem on its own is enough for a planted tank? The circulation is minimal as you won't even notice a single leave movement, but on the other hand, Juwel state in their website that the Bioflow filtering system is intended to be "slow" in order to have crystal clear water. They also emphasise not to add any additional aeration to increase circulation as it will not benefit the plants but will damage their growth!
I tried to contact them on this matter but didn't get a reply.
I hope someone here can shed some light for me, as if the Juwel Bioflow internal filter system is ideal or up to the task of a successful planted tank.

For your information, i do not dose Co2, lights are on 8hrs a day (54W T5 x 2), and fertilize daily with Ocean nutrition Macro & Micro elements.


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## Nick16

personally juwel filters are a pile of ***.   

for a 240L tank, you would be looking at 2400lph turnover. i had a rio 240 and got away with 1x TT ex1200 and 1x TT ex700. 

ideally, go for 2 1200's. 

also, internal filters have a tiny amount of media in them, compared with externals so they not only filter alot better, but also do not clog up tank space. 

i would recommend you get a eheim pro2 model (or pro3 if you have the dosh!) or a TT ex1200 or a JBL cristalprofi e1500. 

get a smaller wave maker, like a koralia nano, i would however, recommend a koralia 1.


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## George Farmer

I actually like the Juwel internal filters.  These two 'scapes were filtered with one in my old Rio 125.









More turnover can be necessary and is often recommended, but it isn't always essential.  If you're going non-CO2 then I'd say that more turnover isn't necessary, as the plants' demand for other nutrients via super-flow is not so great.


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## Nick16

however, if they are saying that there is alot of detritus on the substrate, perhaps something larger with more 'suck' to it, will help clear that up, along with a good gravel vac.


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## Ed Seeley

I agree with George and like the Juwel filters too.  Personally I have switched the bottom sponges for some sintered glass media as I like that stuff but apart from that they're untouched.  You don't need huge amounts of filter media to biologically filter a planted tank at all with the generally low stocking rates and a juwel filter contains more than enough.  My juwel tank now contains tangayikan cichlids that require excellent water quality and get a lot of messy frozen food and the same juwel filter deals with that fine!

If you want to up the flow rates (and the flow rate through the filter is fine for filtration purposes but not good enough for a high-tech planted tank IMHO) then koralia powerheads are an excellent and cheap choice to do it and the flow they produce IME will not leave your tank looking like a whirlpool!


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## Glank27

Thanks guys for the help. Unfortunately canister filters are out of the question due to space problems. Aquarium is placed in a prominent position in the living room, and a canister filter will ruin the charming view the aquarium has created. Unfortunately i have nowhere to hid the canister filter. 
What circulation pump turnover rating would you suggest? I have tried he Newave NW2000, but as alredy said it was quite like a whirlpool. Will the smaller NW1000 with its 1000l/h be up to it (for a low-medium planted tank with ferts + Co2)? Koralia pumps are quite expensive. As for the newave i liked its smooth operation and its practically noiseless.


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## Ed Seeley

A used a koralia 2 that cost about Â£30 in a 180l tank and it was great.  Not expensive IMHO when compared to other powerheads and pumps; how much are the Newave ones?  It was about a 2,000lph turnover if I remember rightly.  Unlike nromal powerheads it gives a diffuse spread of water not a jet of water through a more narrow outlet.


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## Glank27

i bought the newave nw2000 for 28euros. flow is 2200l/h. but it was quite too much on a 240 ltr tank. i have heard that the koralia are more gentle with low pressure.


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## Mr T

I can vouch for the Koralia pumps. I have 3 in my Osaka 260 tank (I have a very large pice of wood which would otherwise block flow) Powerful but gentle. Nice wide cone projected, unlkie a powerhead that tends to just produce a jet. I purchased mine online from City Aquatics in Cardiff. Excelent service and really keenly priced too. They are nice and easy to mount thanks to their magnetic suckers and are easily concealed (You can only just see 2 of mine, the 3rd it totally obsured by the hardscape) I have cherry shrimp and endlers in the tank and they have to my knowledge never liquidised any of them. Here's a link to the koralia page on Cities website.

Tesco

http://www.cityaquaticscardiff.co.u...umps-236/new-koraliaevo-circulation-pumps-38/


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## Alastair

Hi plank

I have a few jewel 1000 l/h pumps for a jewel filter. if your looking to keep your internal then your more than welcome to one of these for your filter for free. I have read on Google people up the pump if there jewel filters to get better flow.


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## Garuf

George, do you remember the lighting you used in those two tanks? I seem to remember them being t8's?


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## Ed Seeley

ALt81 said:
			
		

> Hi plank
> 
> I have a few jewel 1000 l/h pumps for a jewel filter. if your looking to keep your internal then your more than welcome to one of these for your filter for free. I have read on Google people up the pump if there jewel filters to get better flow.



That is one option but you really don't need a huge flow through the filter or masses of filter media in a planted tank.  The big advantage of having a separate pump out of the filter is that you can have huge flows without altering the effectiveness of the biological and mechanical filtration.  However the big disadvantage is that they aren't exactly nice to look at!!!  (Personally I don't mind one stuck in the corner of the tank though.)


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## Alastair

i agree.

i liked the look of mine for a while in the corner but it started getting to me after a bit, its huge and takes up loads of space, plus tetra kindly sent me a brand new ex1200 the other week when i rang them about my other one sounding a little noisy, very nice of them, so i now have two and can free up more space with the interal removed. it seemed bigger in mine than some others i have seen


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## Glank27

Hi Alt81, infact i was thinking about this, since the wavemaker was also responsible for co2 loss. I so am still running with the 600l/h internal, and i believe a 1000l/h would be a fair balance. You can PM me if you are still willing to "hand" one of them. Many thanks, appreciate.


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## Alastair

Have sent you a pm


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## dougstar

i have a juwel lido 120 which has the bioflow 600lph. i have thought of putting a 1000lph pump in just not sure the live stock will enjoy it to much. but overall i think the juwel filters are easy to look after, and hey never have the problem of leaks


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## ian_m

I have a Juwel Vision 180 and bought a 1000l/hr power head for Juwel internal filter, couple of issues.

It is so powerful is collapsed the filter foams after a short while and also (then ?) wears out the shaft and impellor. It was a stainless steel shaft, notice the new ones are ceramic.

Never encountered this with the 600l/hr power head which after my 1000l/hr failure I put back. I bought the 600l/hr power head in 2005 and still going, where as the 1000l/hr I got in 2010 and is no longer with us....


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## dougstar

holly smoakes!



ian_m said:


> so powerful is collapsed the filter foams after a short while



maybe the 1000lph will be over kill in my little tank? but i would be closer to 10x turn over


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## ian_m

The problem with the internal filter it is very difficult to get water movement over the whole width of the tank, especially to get flow to lift up detritus and move it towards filter intake. Wasn't really an issue when I had a non planted tank, detritus collected in low flow places and generally got vacuumed out at water change time every so often.

Before moving to a planted tank, I tried a DIY spray bar (16mm ID PVC tube, from Ebay I think) on outlet of Juwel 600l/hr filter but was a fail, I suspect the Juwel filters suck better than they blow. I even tried using a spare Juwel 600l/hr filter I have as a water pump to pump warmed water into tank, but as soon as I attached any useful length of pipe of pump outlet, flow was almost non existent. Where as a JBL750 pump, pumped water absolutely fine, even from kitchen over 30' of hose into tank.



dougstar said:


> ust not sure the live stock will enjoy it to much


Don't worry about it, I have 1500l/hr JBL filter, 600l/hr Juwel filter and 3200l/hr power head total -> 5300l/hr in a 180l tank and fish do get shifted around, but then spend their time swimming in the flow and do find places and low flow to just float around. So not an issue.


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## dougstar

so i bought the 1000lph and put in and the fish are not swimming too hard so i guess its all good. 
go the " x10 " turnover


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## Sacha

On my Juwel Rio 125 (read: 125), I have a 1000lph Juwel internal filter connected to an Eheim Spray bar, and a 1250lph Eheim 3 600 filter. 

I would never go for anything less than 15x turnover in a planted tank.


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## Sacha

I would strongly urge you to connect a spray bar to the Juwel outlet. Circulation pattern is more important than flow IMO.


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## Enjoy

@Sacha - how do you find the plants at the back do with this setup?
Also the fish? Do they get place to just chill and hang out?


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