New Canister filter?

[mr_rich]

Okay another question, do we see a trend lol.

Well i bought a Eheim External filter 2215 so now i think I'm off to a very good start to keep this tank filtered properly, i always went by what the box said for size. not this time. i have the bio -wheel 200 and now the canister for the 56 gallon tank.


well the guestion is about the valves..

(nice one of my Gouramis just sprayed water at me)

sorry back to the topic do you keep them all the way open for both the flow and pull?

also the cleaning and maintaining of one of these i was told only had to be done once a year true or false? and told also that i only had to change the substrat in the canister, what about the Mech. I'm only reading off the sheet for the instructions infront of me for the names of the rocks pretty much.

Most of the instruction booklet is in other languages, not much really written in it, and what there is i had a bit of a hard time figuring out what they meant. but i got it put together and works so, so far so good lol.

also they try saying something about the cleaning to keep one valve open and the other closed, then open the closed one and open the other? anyone tell me what they mean by this




Thanks So Much for all the info and help so far for the other posts everyone

[jeffs99dime]

yes. both inline valves should be in the open position. make sure the valves are as close to to inlet/outlet of the filter as possible. you also want to position one valve in the opposite direction from the other valve. (this will make it easier to tell which is the outlet and which is the inlet on the filter when it's time for maintenance. what "they" are saying is exactly what i just stated. i guess what i'm trying to get at is position one "handle" of one valve in the north position the other one in the south position. congrats. on getting an eheim. you will not be sorry.
one other thing. when you start it (prime it) and you can't hear anything, this is normal. i have to actually place my hand on mine to see if it's still working, it's so quiet.--jeff

[blue fin]

Just ordered my Eheim, I hope it helps to clear my water. Getting tired of green fog. Lost one of my pleco's last night. So far the only fish I've lost have been those purchased at my local Pet Smart. I think I'm going to buy from another retailer and see how long those fish live. I haven't lost any fish that were brought here from Virginia with the tank though, and that's been 3 weeks.

[Sin]

i myself am impressed with the Eheim 2217 ...i plan on getting another one for my tank next week .. they do a great job in keeping the water clean..
the best places to obtain your fish stock from would be a place that deals with only fishes :1: check the yellow pages near you :thumb:

[blue fin]

I have another store close by, I'm going to purchase a couple of fish there soon if everything inside the store looks as it should. Thanks.

[jeffs99dime]

I have another store close by, I'm going to purchase a couple of fish there soon if everything inside the store looks as it should. Thanks.

just a tip. try to visually inspect any fish you may want and look for sick or dying fish in the tank, any noticeable marks, spots, torn fins,etc. i also recommend a quarantine of all fish and inverts. for atleast a few weeks before adding the same to your tank. :thumb:

[blue fin]

I won't have a tank to put any newcomers in soon, I'm giving up my 10 gallon tank to save space soon, I suppose I'll look for 5 gal or smaller starter tank to have a quarantine tank.

[Lady Hobbs]

It's possible that the pleco died from not having enough to eat. It's not wise to put them in a new tank for a couple months. Everything is new and needs to grow that stuff they want to eat....algae. They also do not do well in salt water if that's a possibly.

[blue fin]

That was a thought I'd had, I have some invertibrate feed, I'll try to make sure the other gets some in his area, he's really shy and I hope he'll realize it's food and eat, they both seem not to eat, but I almost never saw either of them so what would I know.

Thanks for the advise

[NorthernBoy]

to answer the maintainance questions about the eheim.

Change about 1/3 of the substrat every year year or if you like every 1/2 year. You should never change it all at once. The mech(tubes) are for mechanical filtering and you can rinse those every 3 months or so. I rinse the mech every 3 months and rinse the pads in tank water at that time as well. You will notice that the flow will decrease when the filter needs attention. Mine seems to slow at about 3-4 months thus my schedule. You should also check and clean the impeller housing and the o ring every time you open the filter. Also i suggest buying large bags of filter floss after you take out the carbon filter. I add chemi pure pouches to my eheim and pack filter floss around the carbon bags rather than buying carbon pads every month. If you use the pads you should change them monthly but I believe (many may disagree with me about this though) that chemipure is good for about 3 months. When the carbon becomes inactive it can actually cause problems in your tank so it should be either replaced or removed for good. Your choice. I also find that tilting my canister about 90 degrees every day for about a week after changing it will get rid of the little bubbles that get in the mech and substrat. YOU WILL FOREVER LOVE YOUR EHIEM. Good purchase.

[mr_rich]

thanks for the info..


i was thinking of removing the charcoal filter after 2 weeks.

What the benefit of the charcoal..

thanks

[jeffs99dime]

the only benefit of carbon i have found is that it will remove meds. from the water when the dosing is complete. other than that, you don't need carbon. carbon absorbs vital minerals in the water that fish need to thrive. my advice to you is to remove the carbon and only use it when you absolutlely have to. --jeff

[mr_rich]

I rinse the mech every 3 months and rinse the pads in tank water at that time as well.

Do you rinse it with tap water or distilled water.

also when shuting off the unit close both tubes. then when restarting i think it was saying to open the flow tube to put the water back into the unit. does that sound about right

thanks

[jeffs99dime]

Do you rinse it with tap water or distilled water.

also when shuting off the unit close both tubes. then when restarting i think it was saying to open the flow tube to put the water back into the unit. does that sound about right

thanks

you rinse the media in a bucket of tank water.

2.- turn off the filter (unplug it) then close both valves. disonnect the female/ male ends of each valve. a little water will come out at the joint. then open both valves over a bucket or something. once water is below cannister head. you can then remove the top.

on restarting: i prime the filter by disconnecting the outflow tube . then i take a turkey baster and squeeze the ball to get the water flowing into the cannister. once the cannister is filled, you can turn it on again.--jeff

[mr_rich]

sounds good thanks


and my tank readings are 0's after only 7 days...

going to start slowly adding my fish after i do the 50 percent change of water..

[blue fin]

Thanks for the tips, I can't wait for it to arrive

[jeffs99dime]

sounds good thanks


and my tank readings are 0's after only 7 days...

going to start slowly adding my fish after i do the 50 percent change of water..

keep an "eye" on your water parameters for another week or so just to make sure they remain stable. then, if they do, just test all parameters every week or so. i also test my tap/source water seasonally, as the water company will add and subtract chemicals during the course of the year. this way you will be able to adjust accordingly. it's also good to know what's in your source water anyway.--jeff

[nugget1]

Just bought one of these today was very surprised at the lack of information in the manual and being my 1st canister filter wasn't sure how to set it up. But with the aid of search you can find anything, Thanks!
Nugget