# eheim - pah!



## stevet (9 Feb 2008)

Can anyone suggest another good maker of external cannister filters?

Some years back when i started in the hobby i asked someone what the best in filter technology in the business was. Without hesitation that person said 'eheim'!

I moved my professionel II today from one tank to another and it has started leaking and i cannot get it to stop. This is the second time i have found this problem with this particular eheim filter. I have also had some problems with my wet/dry eheim also. To summarise, i have two eheim cannisters BOTH of which have leaked at some time during their operating life. I do not expect this kind of manufacturing unreliability from a company that advertises itself as the best in the business (not to mention the price premium they charge for this!). To that end i have decided to give another manufacturer a go.

Any suggestions?


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## Tom (9 Feb 2008)

I've never had problems with my fluvals (2x 105s and a 205)


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## George Farmer (9 Feb 2008)

I like my TetraTec EX 1200.  Good value, easy to maintain.  Seems reliable so far...


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## stevet (9 Feb 2008)

cheers guys.

Both filters look good. The TetraTec does look good value at almost half the price pf the Eheim. I personally refuse to believe it is half the filter givent he trouble i have had with my Eheims in the past.

For  the sake of Â£68 i just dont see the point of getting the Eheim repaired - it will most likely cost me Â£40 odd if there is something  mechanically wrong and i cant be arsed guessing by buying a set of seals and seeing which one is faulty.

I might give the TetraTec a go...


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## Arana (9 Feb 2008)

I have a Tetratec 1200 and a 700 and i can't fault them


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## StevenA (9 Feb 2008)

I have a Fluval 205 on my 40g setup, it's been running for about a year now with no problems at all, and i particularly like the aquastop feature. I'm getting a 105 for my 20g setup too.


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## TDI-line (9 Feb 2008)

Just out of interest Steve, but where did they start to leak from. 

I have a few pro 2's, and i cracked one of the quick release connections with a hair line crack.


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## stevet (10 Feb 2008)

TDI-line said:
			
		

> Just out of interest Steve, but where did they start to leak from.
> 
> I have a few pro 2's, and i cracked one of the quick release connections with a hair line crack.



Hard to say for certain - it seems to be from the front part of the filter (by front i mean the side of the filter where the tubes go in) just where the top housing meets the filter body. Its pissing out down the sides of the filter body basically.

I checked the inlet/outlet manifold as well as i could and it didnt seem to be coming from there but it is difficult to tell for certain. Its possible it is from there, but if they are that breakable for Â£120 odd my business is gone.

Anyhow i have been well put off Eheim now due to their seeming fickleness. I was annoyed by Eheim as when i bought the eheim pro II initially, it worked ok and then after about 4 months it started to leak from the manifold for no reason - I replaced the manifiold but the manifold the shop gave me was of a very slightly different design (the locking piece inside the manifold was now red instead of grey!?). So there was obviously a design fault with he original pro II manifolds - Eheim decided everybody could find out by losing tank water and then they could pay for the new better manifold. The LFS is a registered Eheim dealer - they claimed to have no knowledge of this and charged me anyway for the part. I still have the original manifold as proof it is different.

So TetraTec it is, half the price but i bet its not half the filter! Ill wait to see....


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## Lisa_Perry75 (10 Feb 2008)

You surely will have some kind of warranty with the Eheim filters? Something like 3 years isn't it?

I personally use X04 fluval ranges. People have said theyare rubbish and leak after 2 years, but I have had mine about that time and have no issues. The tubes need reputting back on once in a while if you move it lots like me, that was mainly cos I kept just pulling on it when moving it though.


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## stevet (10 Feb 2008)

Indeed there is a warranty period - i would expect a lifetime warranty with such things. However the filter in question is now 6 years old and out of official warranty period. Even so i will still be buying a new make anyway. No doubt i would be lumbered with carting the filter to recognised eheim dealer, only for them to charge me some fee or other. Just cant be bothered with them anymore.....

My LFS seemed to get quite reluctant about supporting warranties on goods not purchased from them - despite being an oficial Eheim dealer. They refused to replace the manifold part for me for free when that broke originally.


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## Ed Seeley (10 Feb 2008)

The impellor snapped on my 2128 not long after buying it so I went straight to the UK distributor John Allen Aquariums.  He was very helpful and sent me a new one no questions asked.  I have to say though that one of the clips has now broken so I'm not too impressed with mine either.  It's a shame as the filter itself is superb, just not great build quality it seems.  The Mercedes of the filter world it seems...


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## cousin it (15 Feb 2008)

I had a simialr problem with one of my pro filters reciently all it took to fix was a new seal for the pump unit and its fine again.
the old seal was 3/4 the thickness of the new one so they crush a fair bit over time.


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## sks (18 Feb 2008)

stevet said:
			
		

> Can anyone suggest another good maker of external cannister filters?
> 
> Some years back when i started in the hobby i asked someone what the best in filter technology in the business was. Without hesitation that person said 'eheim'!
> 
> ...



I love Eheim, always have and always will. I do have other pumps: Rainbow lifeguard quiet one, Deltec high life pump (very expensive), and two magnetic drive pumps (also very expensive, and not used because they are too noisy for the living room), along with my 1060 that I don't use anymore (but will some day since I have a 18 litre Eheim tub lying around).

I also have a large collection of Eheim cannister filters, and I know a lot about the workings of the Eheim wet/dry.

Let me put forward the issue:

1) Eheim make a lot of filters, and probably them and fluval share the market. Also these filters are now much more affordable now, so we have more people buying them. The consequences of that is that there is inevitably going to be individuals who don't take proper care of them (and I am not implying that you are in that category), or individuals who end up with a product that slipped pasted the quality control (or both), causing problems on the individual concerned. And sometimes Eheim, like ANY other company, make some mistakes here and there when they release something new into the market. (you see product recalls from time to time anyway, it's a fact of life, live with it)
2) as a consequence of the above there are complaints and the said users get annoyed and fobbed off and switch brands . . . . They then get a brand that "works" and say that's the best thing since sliced bread.

If you look at this from the statistical point of view it's rather absurd, but it is something that companies like Eheim have to live with. The workings of a canister filter is a triviality (apart from the wet/dry one), and any company (given sufficient resources) can start producing them, and as long as their quality is within tolerance, customers can be satisfied and claim that their's is "the best".

Things in life happen. That's the way life is. Eheim will NEVER 100% guarantee that their filters will last years and years and years EVEN though many people (myself included) will attest to that. If I have a seal go, or an impeller that broke (yes I had one), I just say it's bad luck, get a replacement and move on. Because things happen.


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## stevet (5 Mar 2008)

dont accept that sks. To a degree i agree with the economy of scale you propose. You are right in so far as that i can accept a certain degree of issues with WEARING parts on these filters. They will eventually wear out - very true. HOWEVER these are NOT old filters and Eheim trade on their reputation for long lasting and reliable parts. IMO this rep is not deserved - me being an Eheim owner of two filters, both of which have had faults very early in their working lives - am i supposed to chalk this down to bad luck and carry on buying their products? MY economy of scale is that i have bought two filters and both have had faults and issues with them - through no fault of my own!

I have taken the choice not to purchase eheim given MY EXPERIENCE with them, so i might as well spend less money and take the potential hit on reliability.

The was no filter 'recall' as you propose - they let me find out on my own by letting my filter p1ss water out of the manifold and then by going to their rep. to PURCHASE the replacement faulty part!!!!! They knew i was a registered eheim owner from my guarantee return - there is no excuses for that? So i choose not 'live with' this ...

You love em - thats fine - i am off to try something else for less money. The tetratec is working well - so far. Its a well put together bit of kit for the money - not as 'solid' feeling as the eheim maybe and they do seem to have 'copied' some of the Eheim principles.

Anyway i feel we get off topic - this wasnt meant to be tirade either for or against Eheim, merely a request for alternatives and a recounting of my somewhat indifferent experiences of their products.


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## GreenNeedle (5 Mar 2008)

I have a Tetratec too.  Can't fault it.  Superb filter.

I always ignore the 'Eheim is the best and always will be' nonsesnse as they always state 'I have had my Eheim for 10 years' to which I reply 'Then I will accept it is better than the Tetratec if the Tetratec doesn't last 10 years.

I also notice that most people who 'big up' Eheim also make the point that Spare are easily available which leads me to beleive they have had to get parts for their '10 year old and never had a problem' filter.

Its the Trigger's Brush (Only fools and horses) where he says I have had the same brush for 10 years.  Its had 4 new heads and 7 new handles.

Most decent manufacturers products are a high percentage success rate so I can't see why we should have to pay twice the price for one of the ugliest filters out (Green) when there are just as reliable and much better looking ones out there.

Andy


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## Steve Smith (5 Mar 2008)

Loving my Tetratec EX700 at the moment.  Tetratecs (and other brands) can be had very cheap via Zooplus if you take into account the little discount for new customers and free shipping   Kinda wish I had an EX1200 though 

Also, I have a second hand Fluval 204.  Never really had a problem with that in the 2 years that I've owned it.


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## a1Matt (16 Mar 2008)

Just my 2 cents worth...

When I got my first fish tank (back in the 80's when shell suits were cool) I wanted an eheim but (pocket)money was tight, so I bought a fluval instead.

10 years later I proudy bought an Eheim, and had nothing but trouble with it. It ended up in the bin and the trusty old fluval went back into service again!  

I won't go near Eheim again!


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