Filter Brand Preference - Your opinion counted

[jcgoobee]

I looked at getting 2322 and ended up with the 2324 the reasons being;

1. The 2324 comes with all the media and is "Ready to run" where as the 2322 did not, so if I had bought the 2322 plus media it would have cost more than the 2324
2. The 2324 has an extra basket in the filter and so slightly more media which helps with water cleanliness/quality
3. 2324 had a better lph rating than the 2322.

Basically for me the 2322 was more money and offered less than the 2324 so opted for the latter. Not sure on how its priced in the US though!

Hope this helps a bit

Steve

Steve,

I messed up. I said 2322 then I realized that this is a Pro version, which is way too big for situating it below the counter top . I meant to say, the 2211, 2213 or even 2215 series. My bad...

I noticed that the ADA gallery in Naggita has those classic filters deployed to the small tanks, but not sure which models they are, except that they seem to be in the 22xx series.

- James

 

[jcgoobee]

Thought I would add, I've got an Ecco 300 running. Has been for nearly 2 months now with no problems. Seems solid, is quiet and works for what I want to do with it. As the others have said, a waking great filter next to the tank is good for the fish and plants but bad for the wife/girlfriend 🙂 hence I went for the ecco cause it fitted in my cabinet.

Hello...

Thanks for sharing your experience on Ecco. Seems like so far, you are one of the few who has good words for this model. I was thinking, that perhaps the Ecco has overall QC problems versus other models (classic, pro etc) don't. Anyhow, thank you for sharing. 🙂

- James

 

[jcgoobee]

hi steve,
i run a eheim ecco pro 130 on 30 liter tank, it is on the floor whilst the tank is also on the kitchen top. the first one i received leaked and had to send it back but the replacement has been running for 6 months now with no problems at all. it does the job perfectly and is little over 12 inches tall incuding the taps, i'm well chuffed!
cheers,
bazz!

Hi Bazz,

Ouch, sorry to hear about the initial leakage problem you had with the Ecco. Like I have mentioned earlier, it could be the overall QC issues for the Ecco series. This is one of the major reasons that I would pick Classic as my top choice. Thanks for sharing your experience though. 🙂

 

[jcgoobee]

Hi James,

If you like the idea of an eheim thermo filter then I guess you have the choice of the professonal series and professional 2 series for your 32l tank.

With the professional series you have the 2322 (500lph output) or the 2324 (700lph output) thermo filters
http://www.eheim.com/base/eheim/inhalte/index01b8.html?key=liniendetail_27542_ehen

With the professional 2 series you have 2126 (950lph) and 2128 (1050lph)
http://www.eheim.com/base/eheim/inhalte/index8e81.html?key=liniendetail_27555_ehen


I have the 2324 on my 70l Tank which has been running now for over a year with no probs and is silent.

Cheers

Hi swackett,

Thanks for the suggestions, but those Pro series is a bit too big for sitting below our counter top. I'm leaning toward the Classic models but still undecided which one would work well. Per Clive, anything has a claimed output around 32 l/h should do, so I'm considering the Eheim 2211, 2213, or even 2215. Those models seem to be slim in size and got fairly good reputation. Thanks again.

 

[jcgoobee]

2213 - found, by made in China.. 🙁

Folks,

After making a solid determination to go with the Eheim 2213, I was delighted to find it available from a local chain pet store (Petsmart). I called them up and they said it's only available online since it's a legacy product (they said more than 5 years?.... hm..). I checked their web page, and was happy to find that only costs US $70 plus shipping.

Now, the biggest concern I have is, all the Classic models are now made in China. Has anyone in this forum got the Classic model but made in China? Any issues? I'm just a bit concern since it's no longer made in Germany and I'm not sure if the quality of build is up to par. Am I worrying too much?

Here's the link: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753158

 

[ceg4048]

Yes, you're worrying too much. The computer and monitor you are using to read this on was probably made in China. Get on with it mate. 😉

Cheers,

 

[jcgoobee]

Yes, you're worrying too much. The computer and monitor you are using to read this on was probably made in China. Get on with it mate. 😉

Cheers,

Haha.... Clive.... I know, I know... After reading your post, I placed an order with Petsmart right away. I didn't get the 2213, rather, I ordered the 2215 which has even more outflow rating (620 vs. 440 of the 2213). I got a pretty good deal for US$116, after tax, shpping.... this should last for a while.

Next thing to do, buy some DIY ferts. 🙂

Thanks!

 

[ceg4048]

Good man. Does this also come with media? I believe Supercoley1 gave you a link for the ferts. Study the articles over and over until you can recite them in your sleep..

Cheers,

 

[jcgoobee]

Good man. Does this also come with media? I believe Supercoley1 gave you a link for the ferts. Study the articles over and over until you can recite them in your sleep..

Cheers,

Hi Clive... yes, it comes with... "Comes with free media (EHFIMECH, 1 coarse filter pad, EHFISUBSTRAT, 1 fine filter pad, and 1 carbon filter pad for initial filtration or after medication) and double tap valves."

Oh yeah... I have bookmarked his link and ready to order some ferts from them. I read your article about EI dosing over and over again, and the more I read it, the more sense it makes. It's a masterpiece.

Just about 3 days ago, I have been really bold and start dosing the ADA ferts at or a little bit above the recommended level, keeping my Violet pipe up at night, and air pump on at 24/7.. not to mention that I removed the Fluval's ClearMax as soon as you gave me the lecture (grin grin... good criticism indeed). You know what? the BGA situation is much, much improved the past few days. Granted I still have small patches here and there, but not as bad as before.

I notice that the hairgrass is now growing well, greener, but the E. Vivipara on the back is not growing at all, in fact, their condition is worsening, in the sense that the tips on the top of the stem are getting softer and softer, and eventually, rot away.. 🙁

Will also get the Solenoid this weekend to have better CO2 control. Thanks Clive.

 

[swackett]

Hi James,

Well done for getting the Classic, I'm sure you find it a great filter.

I'm just slightly confused on the choice as you mentioned you would like a filter with a built in heater if possible and that the pro series was too large fit under the counter. The 2322 and 2324 come with built in heaters and are smaller than the 2215 :?

Cheers,

 

[jcgoobee]

Hi James,

Well done for getting the Classic, I'm sure you find it a great filter.

I'm just slightly confused on the choice as you mentioned you would like a filter with a built in heater if possible and that the pro series was too large fit under the counter. The 2322 and 2324 come with built in heaters and are smaller than the 2215 :?

Cheers,

Hi Swackett,

Oh... I was the footprint of the Pro series from Eheim's web site. It appears that the classic series (except 2250 and 2260) have smaller footprints than the Pro series. Any filter will fit underneath the countertop just fine in my opinion, but when my wife sees a green brick in that size right next to our B&W speakers, she will definitely be unhappy..... haha.

Quetion to you though.... when I look at the pictures of the 2213, 2215 etc, I didn't notice there's a water flow control? I just didn't see it... I just hope that the 2215 will not be TOO powerful to suck away my beloved Tetras... 😉

Thanks.

 

[swackett]

Hi James,

It's always good to keep the wife happy, I understand your thinking 😀

I've looked at the manual for the 2215 http://www.eheim.de/eheim/pdf/en/anleitungen/afilter/2215_2217_classic.pdf and can't see any way to reduce flow on the filter (well the manual does not mention any way). WIth the pro you can adjust the flow using out flow, so I guess you could fit an inline tap to the out flow pipe to control flow ?

Cheers

 

[jcgoobee]

Hi James,

It's always good to keep the wife happy, I understand your thinking 😀

I've looked at the manual for the 2215 http://www.eheim.de/eheim/pdf/en/anleitungen/afilter/2215_2217_classic.pdf and can't see any way to reduce flow on the filter (well the manual does not mention any way). WIth the pro you can adjust the flow using out flow, so I guess you could fit an inline tap to the out flow pipe to control flow ?

Cheers

Hi Swackett,

Right before I read your replied, I just remember that my Do!Aqua poppy glass has a bowl shape which actually can diffuse the outflow volume to the surface of the water http://www.adana-usa.com/index.php?main_page=afa_product_info&cPath=65_67&products_id=361. Even if the water outflow coming from the 2215 is too powerful, it shouldn't create a whirpool inside my tank. 🙂 I will give it a try first before getting a flow control inline tap as you have suggested, but hey, that's a great suggestion. Thanks buddy.

 

[a1Matt]

I notice that the hairgrass is now growing well, greener, but the E. Vivipara on the back is not growing at all, in fact, their condition is worsening, in the sense that the tips on the top of the stem are getting softer and softer, and eventually, rot away.. 🙁

Will also get the Solenoid this weekend to have better CO2 control. Thanks Clive.

Rotting is usually low CO2.
If the CO2 is good elsewhere in the tank, then it is likely down to flow. i.e. the CO2 is not getting to the plant. (is the vivipara is in a low flow area?)

The new filter and solenoid should help 🙂

 

[jcgoobee]

I notice that the hairgrass is now growing well, greener, but the E. Vivipara on the back is not growing at all, in fact, their condition is worsening, in the sense that the tips on the top of the stem are getting softer and softer, and eventually, rot away.. 🙁

Will also get the Solenoid this weekend to have better CO2 control. Thanks Clive.

Rotting is usually low CO2.
If the CO2 is good elsewhere in the tank, then it is likely down to flow. i.e. the CO2 is not getting to the plant. (is the vivipara is in a low flow area?)

The new filter and solenoid should help 🙂

Hi Matt,

The Vivipara is situated behind the back of the far left, which is exactly the opposite side from where I put the CO2 diffuser. My set up is quite traditional. Heater, Drop Checker, air stone, filter pipes in/out flow are all on the back. The only thing I put on the right side, is the CO2 diffuser and a thermostat. So, it's likely that is caused by insufficient water circulation.

Per Clive's prior suggestions, I leave the outflow Poppy glass pipe up, keep the air bump on at all time, all my oil film on the surface is gone, DC is almost at constant green except when I get up in the morning, it's between blue/green but probably due to the plants are resting and not enough O2 in the water. BGA situation continues to improve.

My Eheim 2215 is scheduled for delivery on coming Wednesday, so I can't wait to get it installed. 🙂

Thanks.

 

[a1Matt]

Vivipara on the opposite side of the diffuser eh? ...that adds more credence to the lack of flow causing the rotting. Which is good news as the new filter is imminent 🙂

Also you mention your drop checker starts off a little less than green. As you probably know already, this can easily be tweaked by turning on the CO2 a little earlier. I wouldn't touch it yet though, see how things go with the filter first and then tweak accordingly.

Clive probably said all this already. I'm just too lazy too go back and read the posts. lol

 

[jcgoobee]

Eheim 2215 deployed

After spending about an hour, I finally have set this up.

Received the package this afternoon, and had it up and running within an hour. This is a great filter. The flow rate is much, much better than my old Eden 501. Actually, the outflow was too strong but luckily, I could slow it down by using the quick disconnect level.

The filter is so quiet and at first I thought it was broken. The only regret I had, was I accidently broken the glass Violet pipe (Do!Aqua) inlet when I hooked up the plastic hose with it. I feel so sad.. I guess I will get the replacement this coming weekend.

Guys, thanks again for all the help and feedback. This filter will likely last for a long while. 🙂

 

[jcgoobee]

Day 2 observation

OKay, this is the second day that I have installed my new Eheim 2215, and the 3rd day that I started using the EI ferts... couple of observations that I'd like to share.

1. The E. Vivipara on the far back of the tank does NOT rot anymore. In face, it has started the runners (not sure if this is the right term) and the runners are bright green and look healthy!

2. Still have blue green algae (BGA), but it's not as bad as before. I had to do daily removal before I started the EI method but now, have to clean it every 2 to 3 days. The new glasso runners are growing much better... bright green but old glasso still got BGA grown on them.. but not too bad

3. The flow rate of the Eheim 2215 is really powerful. Although the water is free of floating debris, and no oily film build-up on the surface (yay!!!!) at all, but the water doesn't look completely transparent at all... a bit milky actually. I use most of the filtration media that came with the filter except that I use about 70% of the bio rings and added the existing ones from the Eden 501 (trying to capture those old bacteria), and the carbon pad. Instead, I added some fluval active carbon and Purigen. Here's the order I put the media, from the bottom up: Bio rings, coarse pad, all the substrat pro, 1 small bag of active carbon and a separate bag of Zeo Carb, which is a mixture of active carbon and ammonia remover, small bag of Purigen, the finally, set the white filter pad on the top. I didn't put the thin carbon pad on the top as I already have 1.5 bags of active carbon there.... is this the reason that the filter is causing the water milky? or it's just taking time to cycle the bacteria inside the filter?

Again, any feedback will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[a1Matt]

Sounds great - especially the vivipara giving off new shoots after only two days 8)

With regards to the old glosso still having algae... as long as the algae is not spreading I would just wait until the new glosso has grown in a bit more, then trim out the old leaves.

With regards to the cloudy water... I agree with your suggestion - this does sound like a bacterial bloom, and these things run their course given enough time. They are not harmful, just annoying to the eye. If you want to speed up the process by carrying out more frequent WC's.

When you put your new filter in, did you take the muck out of the old filter, or any of the media from it, and put it in the new one? This 'seeding' of the new filter speeds up the time it takes to establish.

 

[jcgoobee]

Sounds great - especially the vivipara giving off new shoots after only two days 8)

With regards to the old glosso still having algae... as long as the algae is not spreading I would just wait until the new glosso has grown in a bit more, then trim out the old leaves.

With regards to the cloudy water... I agree with your suggestion - this does sound like a bacterial bloom, and these things run their course given enough time. They are not harmful, just annoying to the eye. If you want to speed up the process by carrying out more frequent WC's.

When you put your new filter in, did you take the muck out of the old filter, or any of the media from it, and put it in the new one? This 'seeding' of the new filter speeds up the time it takes to establish.

Hi Matt,

Thanks for the suggestions about the algae issues. I just did a WC today (my day off, Friday..) Will head down to ADA in San Francisco to get the Poppy inflow pipe. I really hate the green look of the Eheim plastic. It's ugly.

I did put all the bacteria rings from the old Eden 501 into the new filter. The other ones are not quite transferable as they are just some active carbon (which was due for change anyway), and the cylinder shape of coarse foam. You're right. It's probably having a bacteria bloom now.. not sure if I should dose any ADA Clear Dash, but I will just wait out a couple of days and see what happens.

Question... should I, or can I leave the Purigen bag inside the filter? Is it safe to leave it there as a permanent filtration media?

Have a good day, Matt.