# And I thought it would be simple.



## gunnerx (Mar 20, 2008)

I picked up an Eheim 2250 for my 120g tank and I never had the chance to open it up and clean it. Well, that is until last night. I opened up the canister and saw a bunch of rocks on top. I'm not sure if it's Eheim Substrat but it looked and felt more like small lava rocks. I should take a closer look. Below that was a layer of Blue bio balls. Are those effective in canister filters? And below that was Eheim Mech.

I took out everything and put it in a bucket and filled it with aquarium water. I washed the canister and took apart the pump and also washed the impeller. I bought 5L of Eheim Mech but only used 2L as I put in the ones that was in the tank already. After a good rinsing of course.

I also bought 5L of Eheim Substrat. In the box, it doesn't look much but I was quite surprised that it almost filled the filter to the top! I put everything back together and brought it back to the aquarium. I cleaned up the overflow and then reconnected everything back together.

That should be it right? Well, I was in for a surprise. Once the canister filled up and I plugged in the filter, it started going great. Then suddenly, I see a puddle on the floor!  ARGH!! The pump was leaking!! I had to quickly disconnect it and shut off all the valves. Run for the kitchen and grab a bunch of paper towels and run back. Luckily I caught it just in time.

I had to disconnect everything again, then bring the really heavy canister back to the laundry room and drain it all. Took apart the pump again and made sure the O ring was properly in place. Put it all back together making sure everything was tight. Then set it all back up and prayed it would work properly this time. After a lot of noise and gurgles, it finally worked and started humming. Talk about a struggle!!

Next one to tackle will be the 2217. But I'll let it seed the 2250 first for 2 weeks. Is 5L of Eheim Substrat good enough or too much for such a tank? I'm not sure how much is in the 2217. But I hope it's good enough. And I thought these things were supposed to be easy.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

This should give you a good idea:

http://www.rexgrigg.com/Eheim Classic Canister instructions.htm


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

*Is 5L of Eheim Substrat good enough bla bla bla*

you cant have too much biomedia

Wanna run a metric tonne of bioballs on your 20 gallon? GO FOR IT!

It doesn't matter.

as long as you have enough flow over it you'll just get a lower DENSITY per square biobaltre/ehfimetre of biofiltering bacteria


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

gunnerx:

Have you never heard of Murphy's Law: whatever can go wrong will go wrong? 

Pablo:

That is an interesting topic. My take on it is that too much biomaterial doesn't hurt directly but may indirectly. Let me explain.

A filter is usually made up of many substrates, sponges of various coarseness, various biomaterial, charcoal and possibly a polisher at the end.

They all work together to keep the water clean. I only use the charcoal in specific instances, to take out meds, smells, etc. and replace it with biomaterial. No hard harm done. But let's say I go crazy and replace all the substrates with biomaterial. I am setting myself up for a lot of problems as the filter is no longer performing all of the functions it was intended to do. And unless I have a really bad ammonia problem there wouldn't be enough ammonia in the water to feed all of the bacteria anyway.

So technically a metric tonne of biomaterial for a 20 gallon won't do any direct damage, if you don't have the other filter elements in operation it will eventually cause problems. That and your significant other will kill you because of the space required to house the metric tonne.

It's all about balance.

Cheerfs.


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

You love to argue even more than I do... 

If you replace all your media with anything its gonna suck. Obviously.

What Im saying, is if you took a 2217, and made it 5 feet long, with 4 feet of ehfisubstrat in the middle, instead of 8", and still had a blue pad on either end, the end result would be_ identical_ and don't argue with me on that because I know better.


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## gunnerx (Mar 20, 2008)

The only difference is the bigger hole in your pocket.  That's where the balance should be.


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## Windowlicka (Mar 5, 2008)

I hate to remind you, but you were advised on this 'challenge' with Eheim cannisters (albeit regarding the 221x series):

"I used Eheim 2213/5/7 in the past, and I won't dispute that they're an excellent filter, however correctly sealing that O-ring after a cleaning can be a true test of one's patience..."

(Source: http://www.gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3448&page=3)


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

Pablo said:


> You love to argue even more than I do...
> 
> If you replace all your media with anything its gonna suck. Obviously.
> 
> What Im saying, is if you took a 2217, and made it 5 feet long, with 4 feet of ehfisubstrat in the middle, instead of 8", and still had a blue pad on either end, the end result would be_ identical_ and don't argue with me on that because I know better.


I wasn't trying to be argumentative but rather bring clarity to the issue. In fact I think we are saying the exact same thing but I with an explanation.

But I'm wondering now if we're both wrong. What would grow on the media after those first 8"? Anything? And if it did, what would it feed on? Would it be aerobic or anaerobic?

If nothing grows then the net result is 0.

If something does grow and it's aerobic then that MIGHT seriously deplete the O2 some other vital component in the water.

If something does grow and it's anaerobic (because of the afore mentioned O2 depletion) then you don't want whatever that bacteria creates going back into your tank. As I've read in a number of articles, if your filter shuts off for more than an hour there's a chance that either you bacteria will die or even convert to being anaerobic. The recommendation if that happens is to completely clean out the filter (Fish Health, Terry Fairfield).

As previously stated, this is an interesting topic but so far I haven't read an scientific proof one way or the other.

But my gut feel is to go along with Pablo and say that it won't make any appreciable difference. At least untill proven wrong.

Are you happy now Pablo? 

Cheers.


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

Cory_Dad said:


> I wasn't trying to be argumentative but rather bring clarity to the issue. In fact I think we are saying the exact same thing but I with an explanation.
> 
> But I'm wondering now if we're both wrong. What would grow on the media after those first 8"? Anything? And if it did, what would it feed on? Would it be aerobic or anaerobic?
> 
> ...


Yes.

Also as per sealing o-rings on anything- O-rings MUST be wet (atleast), or better yet, lubed with ideally a purpose made water based lube such as EHHEIM lube (it exists) or a 'personal' lubricant or vaseline


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

Woh, be careful.

Vaseline is a petroleum based product and should not be used on rubber as it will cause premature deterioration. Eheim's lubricant is silcone based.

Just thought you should know.


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## gunnerx (Mar 20, 2008)

I have to look for my Underwater case for my camera. I can use the silicone lubricant used to seal the ring for that.


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

gunnerx said:


> I have to look for my Underwater case for my camera. I can use the silicone lubricant used to seal the ring for that.


KY works phenomenally too.

CORY- I'm aware the premature degeneration caused by vaseline but I figured most ppl have it at home and the o-ring is a seven dollar part


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

Pablo said:


> KY works phenomenally too.
> 
> CORY- I'm aware the premature degeneration caused by vaseline but I figured most ppl have it at home and the o-ring is a seven dollar part


KK.

I just didn't want someone using it then having the o-ring degrade and starts leaking. A leaky cannister is not a pretty thing especially when it starts on a Friday evening on a long weekend and you're up at the cottage.

Cheers.


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## Harry Muscle (Mar 21, 2007)

Just an FYI ... a cheap place to get silicone lubricant is at Home Depot in the plumbing section. Just ask them for silicone based lubricant and they will show you a little blue container ... a few bucks and it will last a very long time. And it's food safe too 

Harry


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