Fitting An External Filter To A Juwel Rio 180 Aquarium

Morning everyone!
This is a question for all you technically minded fish keepers.
I have an external (JDL  700l/) external filter which came as a free gift with my subscription to a fish keeping magazine.
It's been sitting in my office for months whilst I dithered about fitting it to my Juwel Rio 180. I have no technical skills whatsoever, and just the sight of all the parts and tubes makes me feel a little anxious, but I know that external filters do give better filtration and if I could fit this filter and take out the internal one that came with the tank then this would give me more room inside (not for more fish, but for the fish that are currently in there).

So, my questions are:

1. Have any of you fitted an external to a Juwel Rio 180? Can it be done without drilling holes? (I.e. can all the tubing and gubbins fit through pre-cut gaps and holes at the top of the tank?)

2. Is this make of filter a good one?

3. I thought I would run the internal and external together for a couple of months before I switch to the external and take the internal out. Is this the right approach to take?

4. When it comes to removing the internal, would it be at all possible to do this with the fish still in there? I was thinking of doing a normal water change, but draining the tank so that the water level was very low (keeping some of the original tank water and topping it up with the new water as per a normal change), and putting an air line in whilst I take out the internal. I moved all the fish recently to change from gravel to sand, which I'm very happy with, and would rather not put them through that again if I can avoid it.

So, any advice would be most welcome.

Diz

I can answer some of the questions but not all.

1. I had a rio 125 but never used an external. It will depend on the size of the pipes as to whether they'll fit through the slots in the back. If they won't, rather than touch the tank and trim, I would make slots in the lid flaps. My reasoning is that they would be easier to cut and cheaper to replace than the tank if anything goes wrong.

2. This is the one I can't help with.

3. It would be easier to put all the internal's media into the external and after a couple of months gradually replace the internal's media with that which came with the external. If you want to run both, move some of the internal's media over and place it first in the direction of water flow in the external. This is more effective for seeding a new filter. Remember that if running both filters together the bacteria will only colonise the second filter very slowly. The total number of bacteria will remain the same (if the fish stay the same) and bacteria will only grow in the new filter as old bacteria die in the old filter.

4. I removed the built in filter with fish in the tank. You do have to do it during a water change as it causes tidal waves so the tank would overflow if full.
The filter is held in place by silicone blobs, 4 on each side in contact with the glass. The technique is to saw through the upper two blobs on one side, then pull the top away from the glass to get at the bottom two. Then repeat for the other side. I used an old kitchen knife, other people use wire. Anything with a long flat blade will do, so not a stanley knife. It's this sawing that causes the tidal wave.

Be very careful not to touch the corner sealant.

You'll be left with bits of black silicone on the glass. It can be removed with a stanley knife blade (removed from the handle) held almost flat against the glass - very carefully as you don't want your blood in the tank! Or one of those razor blades you use to scrape paint off.

There are pre drilled tanks around. I remember from the old forum there was a member who went to great lengths to find an older tank of the model she wanted from before they put the holes in the bottom.
Most people have the tubes coming in over the glass walls though cut outs either in the top of the tank or in the lid.

Yes, moving the media to the external and leaving the empty internal there for a while shouldn't be a problem. There are enough slits in the casing to allow water to diffuse in and out so the water shouldn't go stagnant inside. If in doubt, leave the pump on top and switch it on for a few minutes a day to change the water sitting inside the box.

Just a quick thought. There's a hole cut into the lid at the back left of the tank, which is for an automatic feeder. I'll never use this, so, if the piping was long enough, would this be OK to use for the filter tubing into the tank?

Great, thanks Sue, I'll beat all that in mind