# Recommendations for external filter in 125L



## justjason88

Hi all

This question has probably been asked tonnes of times, had a quick scan through the recent topics but couldn't find anything substantive so i'm sorry for boring you all!

I have a Juwel Rio 125, stocking at the moment is 6x Zebra danios, 6x Harlequins, 3x Golden Honey Gouramis, 3x Asian Rummynoses and looking to get 4x Corys in next few months and push the zebras and harlequins up to 10. On Aqadvisor.com with the above stock i'm just below the stock for the filter.

As i understand external filters outweigh internal by a lot and from what i can see EHEIM and JBL are the leaders (i think).

Will my standard rio 125 filter system be ok with this stock, baring in mind the tank is planted?
Would it be more beneficial to get an external filter, if so, what type and size should i be looking for?

Thanks a lot 

Jason


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## Stu Worrall

I ran my rio quite well on an tetratec ex1200.  Not sure on the rio internal as I took mine out but I think londondragon ran his for a while alongside a powerhead.


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## Matt Warner

Hi, I would buy the biggest external filter that you can afford. The bigger the filter is, it becomes less necessary to add powerheads to add more flow. It also depends on the plant mass, more plant mass requires much more flow. If you feel a massive filter is too powerful the you can adjust the flow rate to suit, as most filters have adjustable flow rates.


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## ceg4048

justjason88 said:
			
		

> As i understand external filters outweigh internal by a lot and from what i can see EHEIM and JBL are the leaders (i think).
> 
> Will my standard rio 125 filter system be ok with this stock, baring in mind the tank is planted? Would it be more beneficial to get an external filter, if so, what type and size should i be looking for?


As alluded to by Matty and Stu, you should try to adhere to the 10X rule, which means that a CO2 injected 125L tank should ideally have 1250LPH of rated flow. Since ther are stocking issues, this is best achieved by having a filter with that rating. Any filter rated at this amount will do. This purpose has nothing to do with brand names as any filter with any pump having this rating will serve this purpose. The market leadership of the stated brands have to do with other features not associated with filter throughput, so a Tetratec 1200 will do just as good a job as A JBL or Eheim in this sense.

If you're priorities are in other areas such as electronic control, low noise, construction quality and so forth then, yes, you'd have to look at these brands first, but flow is flow, and within a given market segment, Eheim are actually lower in flow than some lesser known brands. 
However, throughput and filter capacity should be a priority in your case, so it would be better to look at:
1. What is the flow rating of the filter, i;.e. how strong is the pump.
2. How large is the bucket that holds the media, i.e. what is the filtration capacity.

Cheers,


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## George Farmer

Ease of maintenance is also a consideration.


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## Antipofish

George Farmer said:
			
		

> Ease of maintenance is also a consideration.



As is reliability and likelyhood that the stated flow rate will remain close when full of media.  The three brands that CEG referred to... JBL, Tetratec and Eheim will most likely do that.  Whereas the cheaper makes are less likely to (and have been found not to by members on here and elsewhere.

In order I would rate the above three;

Eheim...... pricey but considered the best by many.
JBL..... good value, and still german quality.
Tetratec.....not a bad filter either.

I think the JBL presents the best balance between price and quality.  (Having said that I just got an Eheim Pro3 600, but ONLY because I have a very friendly LFS supplier who cut me the deal of the century)


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## Matt Warner

I have a fluval fx5 on my 125l tank and at first I thought it would be overkill. I thought if its too much I can adjust it. But it was the best filter I ever bought. The flow is just right and all of the plants are swaying nicely. It also gets the co2 and ferts to areas which they weren't getting before. Plants grew much quicker and water is crystal clear.


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## Emyr

Rena xp4. Great reliable, solid filter.


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## Antipofish

Matty1983 said:
			
		

> I have a fluval fx5 on my 125l tank and at first I thought it would be overkill. I thought if its too much I can adjust it. But it was the best filter I ever bought. The flow is just right and all of the plants are swaying nicely. It also gets the co2 and ferts to areas which they weren't getting before. Plants grew much quicker and water is crystal clear.



Matty can you put up a pic of how you have your outflow/inlet/spraybar set up ?  Im intrigued that a filter with that kind of flow is not blasting everything to oblivion.  I have the Cristalprofi e1500 on my tank at the moment with the spraybar at the back facing forward and its giving amazing flow bit the blyxa looks like its about to blow away, LOL.  I even have the outflow turned down slightly.


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## Matt Warner

I have a video in the planted tank gallery. I don't use a spray bar I use the standard outlet. It softens the flow a lot. Plus I have high Plant mass which absorbs a lot of the flow.


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## Westyggx

stuworrall said:
			
		

> I ran my rio quite well on an tetratec ex1200.  Not sure on the rio internal as I took mine out but I think londondragon ran his for a while alongside a powerhead.



My mate is running the Ex1200 in his rio 125 with no issues on flow or cleanliness of tank. I run an Eheim 2078 in my 125 litre roma 125.


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## Antipofish

Westyggx said:
			
		

> stuworrall said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I ran my rio quite well on an tetratec ex1200.  Not sure on the rio internal as I took mine out but I think londondragon ran his for a while alongside a powerhead.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> My mate is running the Ex1200 in his rio 125 with no issues on flow or cleanliness of tank. I run an Eheim 2078 in my 125 litre roma 125.
Click to expand...


Thats a beast !


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## Matt Warner

What happened to the fx5 westy?


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## Westyggx

Matty1983 said:
			
		

> What happened to the fx5 westy?



Sold it mate, was a bit too noisy for my bedroom so bought Alistair's 2078 plus reactor, i can turn the flow right down over night which is great as its silent as a mouse!


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## Antipofish

Westyggx said:
			
		

> Matty1983 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> What happened to the fx5 westy?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sold it mate, was a bit too noisy for my bedroom so bought Alistair's 2078 plus reactor, i can turn the flow right down over night which is great as its silent as a mouse!
Click to expand...


Can I turn the flow down on a 2075  ?  Is it controlled by the on/off lever on top ?


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## Westyggx

No idea mate sorry, mine has an electronic control options + and -


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## Antipofish

Westyggx said:
			
		

> No idea mate sorry, mine has an electronic control options + and -




OOH Posh ! lol.  Damn it, you have the filter I couldn't afford     Im sure mine will do nicely, and I hope its quiet enough anyway.


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## Matt Warner

My dream filter would be a fluval g6. I just wish they would do a more powerful model!


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## Antipofish

Matty1983 said:
			
		

> My dream filter would be a fluval g6. I just wish they would do a more powerful model!



Thats exactly why I didnt get one.  750lph !!!  Its pants.  The filter itself is awesome though, and I guess you could make up the flow with a Koralia pump but I prefer to keep as much out of the tank as possible.  I could have got a G6 for £150.  Nearly bought it just to sell on actually.


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## Ian Holdich

i have the JBL e700 and that all running on my 125ltr

heres a vid with it running, packed with media...(obviously whilst doing a water change)


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## Westyggx

That seems to be a lot more powerful than my 2078!


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## Ian Holdich

Its a beast of a little filter. It's only been running 2 weeks, so I expect it to loose some flow. But I have read around and people are saying that they tend to keep there flow rate. Well worth the money!


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## George Farmer

Antipofish said:
			
		

> Matty1983 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> My dream filter would be a fluval g6. I just wish they would do a more powerful model!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thats exactly why I didnt get one.  750lph !!!  Its pants.
Click to expand...

The G3 has an _actual_ flow rate of 700lph.  Probably more than the TetraTex EX1200.
The G6 has an _actual _flow rate of 1000lph.  Probably more than the JBL 1500e.

You can usually knock about 50% of the manufacturers claimed flow rates as these are the maximum possible generated directly from the pump under no load whatsoever.


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## Stu Worrall

me really want a G6


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## Ian Holdich

ps, if you look at my vid of the JBLe700, i can squirt my missus with water when i'm changing my water. It's a great reason to buy one.


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## Antipofish

George Farmer said:
			
		

> Antipofish said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Matty1983 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> My dream filter would be a fluval g6. I just wish they would do a more powerful model!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thats exactly why I didnt get one.  750lph !!!  Its pants.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> The G3 has an _actual_ flow rate of 700lph.  Probably more than the TetraTex EX1200.
> The G6 has an _actual _flow rate of 1000lph.  Probably more than the JBL 1500e.
> 
> You can usually knock about 50% of the manufacturers claimed flow rates as these are the maximum possible generated directly from the pump under no load whatsoever.
Click to expand...


Hi George, I am sure you are stating those figures because you have tested them, but why would fluval state 750lph as the flow rate for the G6 when it actually does more ? I have never known a manufacturer to _understate_ a spec.     Wish I had known that now, LOL.  Still I am well happy with my 2075 and its got the plants swaying nicely.  Not too much not too little.  So works well for my 175L tank.

I do like all the extra features that the G6 has though.  It really IS a fancy piece of kit.

I would like to defend the JBL e1500 though, as I was running that on my tank last week and it measured a good 1300lph out of the outlet hose.  In fact it was so powerful I had to crank it down a little. (JBL are the only manufacturers I know who actually state you are safe to do this as long as its not by more than 50%.  Not that I would want to try that out, but I think a marginal flow reduction would be OK).  I know you said "probably" (what a Carlsberg), but I believe the JBL e1500 to be better than that.  Well, mine at least     Each filter is different and it depends on what media you have too though, length of pipework, additional equipment etc.


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## justjason88

Thanks a lot for the feedback all

I forgot to mention that i already have a Koralia pump 900 l/h so flow at the moment is not an issue, it's purely the performance of an internal filter against an external. If i decide to go external i'll most probably get rid of the circ pump and buy a filter which can turn over at least 1200 l/h anyway.

Antipofish:
I got your message but i can't reply because my post count is too low. Can you send me the link once you've listed it and i'll definitely have a look into it. Thanks!


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## George Farmer

Antipofish said:
			
		

> ...but why would fluval state 750lph as the flow rate for the G6 when it actually does more ?


I don't know where you've got your info from but it's incorrect.

Check it out -

http://www.fluval-g.com/filterspecs_e.php

In summary the G6 has a pump output of 2460lph, and actual filter circulation of 1000lph.  I would personally be happy with that in an aquarium up to around 300 litres.


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## pepedopolous

In the JBL CristalProfi manual it gives both the 'idle' pumping capacity without hoses or filter material and also the more realistic capacity with filter material and a hose of 1.5m. The reduction is 40-60%. So a 1501GL will produce more like 800-900 l/h.

I imagine this happens with all filter brands and the 10x aquarium volume turnover rule takes this into account no?


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## George Farmer

pepedopolous said:
			
		

> I.... the 10x aquarium volume turnover rule takes this into account no?


That's right, yes.


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## Antipofish

George Farmer said:
			
		

> Antipofish said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ...but why would fluval state 750lph as the flow rate for the G6 when it actually does more ?
> 
> 
> 
> I don't know where you've got your info from but it's incorrect.
> 
> Check it out -
> 
> http://www.fluval-g.com/filterspecs_e.php
> 
> In summary the G6 has a pump output of 2460lph, and actual filter circulation of 1000lph.  I would personally be happy with that in an aquarium up to around 300 litres.
Click to expand...


   I got it from the dopey prune who was selling one !!!  I guess he got his numbers wrong.  He lost the sale cos I thought the glow was no good.  Should'a asked the Guru eh ?  LOL.  Thanks for clearing that up.  I know what I will look for on my next upgrade.


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## George Farmer

I've heard the Eheim is also a great filter so it's not like you've wasted your cash. Proabably quieter than the G6 too.


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## Antipofish

George Farmer said:
			
		

> I've heard the Eheim is also a great filter so it's not like you've wasted your cash. Proabably quieter than the G6 too.



Im happy with it George.  As you have probably guessed, I am a bit of a techno geek.  (without the wallet to facilitate !).  The Eheim is uber quiet I have to say.  And I thought my JBL was good.  Interesting that you should say the G6 is not quite as quiet as the Eheim.  Is there any documentation of dB levels ?  Not that it matters


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## Darren Carter

I’m thinking about getting a fx4 for my 125l are they good will it just blow my tank around to much tho running jbl mando substrate and it will be planted


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