# 2213 media



## Julian (Jun 29, 2008)

Hello 
I took out the carbon pad from my Ehiem 2213 and i'm wondering what i should put in its place. I was thinking of just putting two white floss pads in there is that alright or is there something better. 

thanks


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

yep floss is fine. I took the carbon pad out of all of mine the first time I cleaned it out.


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## wtac (Mar 17, 2006)

I prefer the blue foam pads. They don't get clogged as fast and you can reuse them...unless you let them get compacted flat...oops.

Takes a much longer time filtering out the fine particles due to the pore size though.

JM2C/E


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

If you're not having any problems with water clarity why not add some more bio material instead? Add a few packs of ceramic rings or stars for additional ammonia and nitrite handling.


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## Hitch (Apr 26, 2009)

I am actually a little confused with the diff filter material that came with the filter set. 

From the site, the black carbon pads are the only ones that are in charge of chemical filtering. Since it said the course stones are for biological, and the ceramics are for machanical. 

So what are the purpose of the thin white pad and the blue pad? Just more mechanical?

and wouldnt removing the black pad and replacing it with none-activate carbon remove the chemical filtering portion?

(sorry for the questions, kinda of a canister filter noob)


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

yes, the white and blue are for mechanical filtration as well. The ceramic rings provide crude mechanical filtration, and also distribute waterflow evenly into the next stage. 
The blue pad filters out all the coarse bits from clogging up the biological filter media.

The white pads (replacable with filter floss) are for polishing the water by removing the finest particles.

The black pad is the only pad running chemical filtration, but IMO, you really don't need it.


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## Hitch (Apr 26, 2009)

ah good to know. Since I need to clean my filter in the next few days.

thanks bud.

wait, then when im cleaning the filter, should i even bother replacing the bio filtration stones?


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

No, those stones are essentially what makes your filter effective. They hold the colonies of bacteria that do 90% of your filtration by removing harmful things such as ammonia.

I'd be hard pressed to _ever_ replace those.

I still haven't replaced any of the foam pads either (in three years), just rinse them off.

Make sure you use tank water, or water that has been dechlorinated, to clean off anything from the filter or you risk destroying the bacteria.

Also, the only time I ever clean out my eheim's is when I notice a distinct lack of flow. They can go months without ever having to be cleaned. I have a 2213 right now that has been operational for over 7 months without a cleaning to give you an example.


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