# What canister for my 44g discus tank ? How wide is the eheim 2217



## candymancan (20 Dec 2014)

My discus tank, is my 44g pentagon.. currently they are only 2-3 inches one is about 4 inches..  I have 26-27 neon cardinals, and 6 black neons, and 2 cory and 2 rubbernose plecos..   Tank is fairly heavily stocked if you go by fish numbers.. but the neons are smaller then half an inch so I doubt they contribute too much..

I feed 2-3 times a day.. and change the water every 2 days and gravel vac..  I currently have 2 top fin (pets mart brand) internal 40 filters..  

watch that video if you UK people don't know what that is..  Its actually a great filter..  I got 2 because I have top fins 10 and 20g versions in other tanks and they are quietest filters I have ever used...  The 40g has a bio media chamber can fit about a soda can size amount of media in it.. and I replaced the spongy filters with polishing pads and each one has a 100ml bag of purigen..

However the filters.. are well kinda unsightly.. take up room in the tank..  I have had em in there long enough to not notice them anymore but still.. and I don't think they are up to handeling the bio load my tank puts out..  I want a canister filter.. I have got 700$ on me.. (obviously don't want to blow 700$)..  I was looking on brands like sunsun/aquatop/pingkay and those filters are identical... rebranded filters... a lot of people who use them say they last a year and that's about it..

Fluval.. eh kinda expensive and the fluval fx6 is much too wide... and well $400 is too much money..

So I was looking at eheim classics.. the 2217 or 2215.. but for my tank bio load maybe the 2215 isn't enough ? What do you guys think ?  I know eheims are also made in china and have been for years.. I have had local stores claim they don't sell them anymore because the quality is crap..

So I mean really.. all canisters are made in china it seems.  My tank stand door is only 9 inches wide too.. so I cant have a massively wide canister


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## Andy Thurston (21 Dec 2014)

Hi candymancan 
The 2217 canister is about  8.5" diameter, including clips, and should fit through the door, just! Maintenance could be tricky but i suspect the cabinet is wider than the door and should make life a bit easier
Also be aware that the inflow pipe on the canister protrudes by about 1.5-2".
Lots of members use jbl crystal profi filters and they seem very reliable and their square shape maybe easier to get through the door, just another option for you to look at reasonably priced too
Hth


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## imak (21 Dec 2014)

Eheim quality is crap? Made in China doesn't mean it's crap!  I know plenty of stores that just sell and use eheim because of their quality.


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## sanj (21 Dec 2014)

Eheim still have a good reputation here in Europe. China has been in mass manufacturing for many years now and just like people used write off Japanese goods in the 70s and 80s, it was only about teething problems in an industry which once matured was as good as any could be. Eheim have a standard and reputation to uphold and that is demanded from its manufacturing base where ever it is in the world, teething issues aside. Chinese own brands can be different quality, but as they gain experience in the market they improve. SunSun is a budget brand, but I have heard they are pretty good, but it is not high end. These brands would not continue to exist if they did not do the job, pretty bad business logic. You get what you pay for only goes so far...


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## candymancan (24 Dec 2014)

Ok question..  I just got the filter...   I don't think the stock filter stuff it came with is very good..  The media and pads...  What do you guys recommend I use for it for best filtration and bio filtration ?  and how should I place them ? The way they had it stacked was those smooth ceramic rings first.. then a blue spongy pad then those little white balls, then a polishing pad and that carbon pad...  I want to use my purigen in this filter though not the carbon pad..  And those ceramic rings don't look that great...

Would seachem matrix be a better bio media ?  Same with those little white balls.. are they even that good ?


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## imak (24 Dec 2014)

Which one did you get?


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## candymancan (24 Dec 2014)

I got the 2217.. I decided im just going to use the media it gave me.. turns out those rings are a mechanical filter I guess lol.. and the balls are actually one of the best types of media as they are those glass things..  And I took media from my other 2 filters I was using on the tank and put them in there.

Question.. how do you set this thing up lol ? The intructions are terrible and the ones im seeing on you tube are just as bad..  The intake tube people say to just shove on the little intake siphon thing where water gets sucked up..  But when you do that if I blow on it and block the end air just escapes.. so obviously that isn't correct..  Do I need to cut like an inch of the tubing ?  If I push the tubing in the take with the vents then air doesn't escape..

am I making sense ?  See this video.. if you pause it at about 1 minute to look at his intake in the tank... He just pushed the hard intake tube in that mesh part.. doing this... as I said if I blow on it.. air blows between the parts... and that to me doesn't seem very efficient.


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## Edvet (24 Dec 2014)

Mesh part is to keep the fish from being stuck to the intake pipe, you could even shove some filterfoam over the intake tube if tyou have very small critters (like shrimp) and it will prolong standing time ( time between cleanings) of the filter. Does that answer your question?


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## candymancan (24 Dec 2014)

No this is what im talking about.. See pics..  The first pic is the solid straight intake tube .. I see everyone just pushes the intake mesh thing right on the tube...  If you take the mesh part off (its 2 pieces) and blow on the part pushed in the tube and hold the end of the tubing.. air blows right out where the straight intake tube and mesh parts connect where my thumb is on the pic...  Make sense now ?  How is that efficient ? The intake will be sucking water from the mesh part and where the tube and mesh part connect...  But the second picture.. (ignore the long tubing im just showing you an example before I cut anything)  if I were to cut say 1 inch of the big tubing and shove that in the mesh part then the other end in the straight intake tube and if I blow air and block the end.. No air escapes...  is this making sense ?   I don't get why people haven't done this.. the regular way is inefficient and wastes suction power.


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## candymancan (24 Dec 2014)

I did it my way.. that way water doesn't get sucked in from 2 spots on the intake.  Filter is setup.. running good..  It is quiet but my 2 internal filters were still quieter...  I can deff hear a humming inside my bedroom now..  Im thinking of taking it out of my stand... the stand seems to echo the noise more..

But no leaks.. and works good.. and not too crazy of water pressure for my pentagon tank.. which I was worried about.. Hopefully this thing once cycled can handle the bio load unlike my 2 internals.


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## candymancan (25 Dec 2014)

Question.. the flow I guess does seem a tad too high for my tank.. its blowing fish around even if I point the spray bar more up wards...  Would it hurt the filter if I close the outgoing valve slightly which lowers the flow in the tank ?


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