freshwaterguy

I have today purchased another Juwel RIO 240 tank only (no filter) I plan to house Malawi Cichlids.

I have so far looked only at EHEIM of which it appears only Models 2213 & 2236 are suitable costing around £50 to £70 here in the UK

I would appreciate recommendations on what external filters would be best for my new 240L (53/63 gallon) tank.

One concern I have is the 2213 & 2236 EHEIMs only filter 440L & 600L per hour, compared to standard Juwel filter that filters 1000L - is this an issue or are external filters like EHEIM just so much better than a standard Juwel?

I would like to know if any of you guys run two external filters or is one always enough.

Thanks

freshwaterguy

I have bought a Tetra Tec EX 1200 filer for £59.99 at 1200LPH will do for me!

cpk

Hi Freshwater guy hows that filter? all I can say is that after having many tanks and many filters internal and external I am very impressed eith the Fluval series and I run a 405 on a 200 l with a reasonable amount of stock.very good basket arrangement,good construction and quiet but like all of them take no notice of priming where it says do not fill up with water first !! absolute rubbish "Hagen" I say develop a priming system that works.I am an engineer in the electrical field so I feel quite justified in this but am more than happy to be proved incorrect so hope this helps a bit

freshwaterguy

Thanks cpk

Just setting up latest (3rd tank) I have put in a 3d background so am waiting 48 hours for silicon to dry before putting in substrate this is going to my first African Cichlid setup

I will let you know how the tetra tec ex 1200 works out for me - sure is over kill for my 180L

I have read about priming externals and believe this is filling filter with tank water before running for the first time - unless I am incorrect?

cpk

Hi your welcome.yes I always fill my pump up then fit the lid it just makes so much more sense to me as hardly any of the priming handles on any of these pumps manage to syphon the water down the intake tube effectively and then you get a great syphoning action happening when you engage the pump.Your third tank sounds great and I reckon it is always better to have a larger filter keeps the fish happy and water clean as , talk soon

cpk

Hi mate hows that tank Good choice cichlid I am leaning towards the dwarf variety (south american)I have two bolivian butterfly rams and when I feel the water has aged appropriately i will add blue rams.I have heard lots of talk relating to dwarf and cichlids in general get one or three or more but not two what are your thoughts cheers mate

freshwaterguy

I am very impressed with the tetratec EX1200 my first external, so easy to use and I can see maintenance will be effortless.

I did quite a bit of reading about GBRs before getting my first, as per my signature I have two males and two females and all seem to be getting along swimmingly these are in my RIO 240 with Cardinal Tetras. I did read that it is best to have 1:2 male\female ratio and also to provide a flat rocky area or two for spawning. I have had my GBRs for 1 month and they appear happy - I do 20% W/C every week with nitrate 10.

I am now cycling my latest 180L set up and have been looking at African \ Malawi cichlids - I don't plan to mix the two.

I think I will stop now with my 3 tanks.