AQUARIUMS

Juwel Rio 125 Aquarium Review

Today we are about to check out 2 popular starter aquariums, the Juwel Rio 125 and also the Fluval Roma 125. Both of these are decent first tanks and great value for the money but which will end up on top?? They will be judged head to head in 4 categories :- Looks & Style, Level Of Equipment, Ease Of Maintenance & Value For Money.

First, a little bit about each company:-

Juwel -

Juwel are a German company, established in 1969 and they are one of the main manufacturers of tropical fish tanks and marine fish tanks in Europe. They’ve got a good reputation for good build quality (well they’re German eh!!) and excellent customer service

Fluval -

Part of the Hagen Group which are among the largest privately operated suppliers and distributors of pet supplies worldwide. This company was established in 1995 by Rolf C Hagen. Fluval aquariums possess a style of Italian origin and tend to be many of the most popular and reputable aquariums available on the market.

Looks & Style

The Juwel Rio 125 looks great as a fish tank on it’s own. It has clean simple lines and the internal gubbings (by which I mean the heater, filter media and pump) are nicely hidden within the filter housing. This makes it nice and easy to camouflage behind some strategically place foliage! It must be said though that when combined with the cabinet, which isn’t the full width of the tank, the unit looks a little top heavy and loses at lot of it’s good looks. The cabinet comes in 4 colours, Black, Beech, Dark Wood & White.

3/5

The Fluval Roma 125 like it’s competitor is a fine looking tank. The same clean lines but it also benefits from the Italian design and better attention to detail. The addition of the cabinet (of which there are 4 options – Oak & Wenge, Black with Silver inserts, Oak with black inserts and, my personal favourite, Black with Titanium and Zebrano) actually adds to the overall style. The cabinet is the full width of the tank and the whole ensemble would be a great, stylish addition to any room.

4/5

Level Of Equipment

The Juwel Rio comes with the following as standard:- Juwel High Lite Light Unit, Juwel High Lite Day (T5 28 watt) Juwel High Lite Nature (T5 28 watt), Juwel Bioflow 3.0 Compact Filter, Juwel Bioflow 600 Pump, Juwel 100 watt Heater, Selection of filter media

As mentioned, the pump, filter and heater are discreetly housed within the filter housing which is a great touch. The hood has 2 removable flaps for easy access and is made of easy clean pvc.

The level of kit is ideal and with Juwel’s reputation for solid and reliable build quality you shouldn’t need to change anything (unless you have the desire to do so) for some time.

4/5

The Fluval Roma comes with the following as standard:-

Fluval GLO lighting unit, 1 x Power-Glo Fluorescent Aquarium tube (T8 20 watt), 1 x Aqua-Glo fluorescent aquarium tube (T8 20 watt), Fluval U3 Internal Filter, Fluval Mirrored M-series Heater (150 watt), Filter Media

Again, good quality equipment that should do the job just fine although the hood lets it down a little – the light unit runs across the middle and there are 2 access flaps. If you remove one there is not enough room to insert your arm and access the tank properly (it’s ok for feeding but that’s about it). For full access you need to remove both flaps and slide the lighting unit out of the way which is a little fiddly. Not a disaster but not design utopia either!

3.5/5

Maintenance

Both tanks score well here.

The Fluval has quite a thin lid, which looks great, but because of this the lights sit a little closer to the water so just be aware that if the bubbles from the air pump burst onto the lights you might have to clean off crispy algae every week or two. This can be avoided by carefully placing the pump to ensure the bubbles miss the lights. Not a real issue but something to bear in mind if you opt for the Fluval.

Both score 4/5

Value For Money

The Juwel Rio 125 has a RRP of £255.27 but you should be looking to pay around the £200 mark.

4/5

The Fluval Roma 125 has a RRP of £328.84 but you should be looking to pay around the £230 mark.

3.5/5

Overall

Juwel Rio 125 – 15/20

Fluval Roma 125 – 15/20

It’s tough to split them but it really depends on what you are looking for – the Juwel edges it on practicality and value for money but the Fluval wins on great looking style. Both have solid build quality although don’t expect perfection at this price. Either would make a fantastic first tropical fish tank.

A very good place to visit is aquatic comparison website http://www.aquariumhouse.co.uk – here you can view a wide selection of tropical fish tanks, marine fish tanks, cheap fish tanks as well as quality aquatic supplies from a range of suppliers and manufacturers and compare prices and specification before buying.

About the Author

Review the Juwel Rio 125 Aquarium & the Fluval Roma 125 Aquarium at aquatic supply comparison website Aquarium House. Also compare Tropical Fish Tanks, Marine Fish Tanks, Cheap Fish Tanks, Fish Tanks For Sale and quality aquatic supplies from http://www.aquariumhouse.co.uk