Eheim 2260 Media

well i have the 2250. i put 5 liters of eheim mech on the bottom and it collects all the debris, no problem. the media i have on top, bio-bale, does a great of keeping my tank params stable. it gets a little dirty, but that's like no big deal since i clean it once a every 3-6 months. i just wash it in the water from a water change, fluff it back up, and put it back into circulation.

i use bags from the supermarket, lime or lemon ones are awesome, to hold the eheim mech for easy cleaning.
so basically the arrangement is:
5 liters eheim mech at bottom, 1 bag of bio-bale, and a small bag of bio-max at the top.

works good for me.

i don't use charcoal since small shards sometimes break off while i am filling the bag w/ new carbon. those shards go through the slits in the bag and could go into the water pump, causing damage. so i don't use carbon.

hope that helps you.

I have 3 Eheim 2260's and while I use different media in them, they are basically set up the same.

Bottom layer= Ehfi Mech (hollow cylinders), about 2 to 3 inches thick. This product traps the larger particles so I do not put it in a media bag.

2nd layer= Ehfi Fix (green Easter grass), about 2 to 3 inches thick. I don't care for the Ehfi Fix so I use a coarse foam, 2" thick, that is 10 PPI (Pores Per Inch) called Poret. I cut it to fit the canister.

3rd layer= Another piece of Poret foam, 2" thick, that is 20 PPI, cut to fit the canister.

4th layer= Approximately a 1" thick layer of Poly-fil brand traditional batting OR Soft n Crafty brand Premium Densified Batting OR filter floss.

5th layer= Ehfi Substrat Pro OR Ehfi Substrat OR Seachem Pond Matrix Or mini bio-balls. I put the bio media into a large media bag to make it easier to remove when doing filter maintenance.

There are so many different ways to set up the 2260 filter. Just remember that the coarse mechanical layer is the First layer in the bottom of the filter. The 2nd/3rd layers should be a medium mechanical layer. The final layer should be your bio media.

The layer thicknesses I suggested are approximate. You DO NOT want to fill the canister so full of media that you have to jam the media down to get the lid on the canister. You could potentially break the small legs on the lattice screens.

I also suggest having the bio media as the last layer in the filter before putting the top lattice screen in place. This will help to keep any filter floss or poly-fill material from getting sucked up into the pump.

You can also use the Search button & look for Eheim 2260. There have been quite a few threads on what type of media to use.

Personally I don't run my big eheims as mech filters at all. My 2262 has 4" of ehfimech, and then the rest is ehfi substrat pro. I use HOB filters to do all my mechanical filtration, as it is easier to access and clean.

Buc_Nasty;4349586; said:

Deeda does that setup get your water super ridiculously crystal clear like some of these pictures I see?
I wouldn't say it is ridiculously clear but it is clear enough for me.

I have a 125 gallon tank with basically an eheim 2262 (I manually upgraded the pump to 950gph and put another doubletap on...saved lots of $$$).
I did upgrade my 1st 2260 to a 2262 the same way and am pleased with it.
I'm thinking of getting some Poret foam since you can reuse it. However its not exactly cheap and I don't want to get it unless you can confirm you got your water absurdly clear with it.
I can't confirm that the Poret increased my water clarity but it does collect a large amount of dirt, is easily cut to size and is reusable.

Also I was a little confused.. when you said: "2nd layer= Ehfi Fix (green Easter grass), about 2 to 3 inches thick. I don't care for the Ehfi Fix so I use a coarse foam, 2" thick, that is 10 PPI (Pores Per Inch) called Poret. I cut it to fit the canister."
Does that mean you dont use the fix or do you use fix AND the poret foam?
Only 1 of my 2260's has the Ehfifix in it & I'm not sure which one has it. I don't personally see how the Ehfifix would trap any fine debris at all due to its structure.
And one more thing haha...the poly fil or soft n crafty... you literally use pillow stuffing? I've been reading a million posts on a million sites and can't decide between the filter felt, polyfilter pads, eheim filter pads, micron pads, Ehfisynth, or just plain pillow stuffing

Click to expand...

Yes, literally 100% polyester pillow stuffing though you do have to be careful which product you choose. There have been quite a few posts regarding whether the product is safe or not and of course, no manufacturers' will admit their product is safe for aquarium use. I have had good results using the brand Poly-fil Traditional Batting or you can just use the traditional aquarium brand filter floss.

The potential problem with using a lot of filter floss or fiberfill type material in a canister filter is that as the floss becomes saturated with dirt, water flow will decrease and the pump might not be getting sufficient water to run properly & could overheat and/or seize. So I keep an eye on my output spray bars to determine when it may be time to clean the filters.

I don't think I would use the micron pads in the 2260/2262 filters as it would possibly clog to quickly and starve the pump.
Poly-Filter pads are a brand of chemical media that is used to remove medication, phosphate, etc. from the aquarium.
Eheim pads are not made for this model filter and I'm sure the reason that Eheim doesn't recommend them is because of the high flow of these filters.

BTW, here is a link to a local fishkeeper's suggestion for media in a 2260. He is well respected in my area and has quite a few years under his belt keeping fish. http://www.fmueller.com/home/aquaristic/125g/technology/filtration/

I forgot to ask earlier but is the 2260 the only filter on this tank? Also, what kind & how many fish are you planning on having?

I also saw on another thread that you bought this filter used & it has another brand of pump on it. Any chance of posting the pump model and maybe a pic of the filter?

Im thinking of getting one of these for my 120g.

Thanks for the ideas!