NEWBIE...EHEIM FILTERS?

[Jay88]

Im a noob (clearly), and I just realized...that my filtration for my 55gal (200 litres or so), is not enough...I know for a fact, your filters should pump out 2-3 times the amount of water in your tank per hour...

So the LFS advised me to change my two hang on filters (filter for 90 litre tank+120 litre tank) and grab myself a Eheim 2213 Cannister Filter, which is designed for 250 Litre tanks. The LFS also said, even that for a FH in a 55gal is not enough....

So i was searching up on the next big thing, and found BRAND new eheim 2217 for $162 (including postage+2 years warranty)..designed for 350 litre aquariums..and pumps out 650 litres per hour.... So what do you guys think? Should I grab it for my 55gal? I read a lot of posts on the forums on how good Eheim is keeping water clean...so im going for a Eheim 2217 for $162...what you guys think?

 

[TrinteK]

sounds good just make sure that its not a grey import.

 

[Jay88]

What do you mean by a grey import ? The shop is located in Australia (not china or anything), its an aquarium shop in melbourne

 

[WyldFya]

Around here $162 for a 2217 is high. Don't know about your area though. Make sure it has media, otherwise that is very expensive. That being said, Eheims are the best canisters IMO, and the 2217 is a great low cost canister.

 

[libayn]

i have both eheim and fluval but imo i would go fx5.its $38 more ( on amazon ) and go from 264GPH to 900GPH but the media is $30 more.the flow is alot more but you will be very happy with it.

 

[phobull]

Around here $162 for a 2217 is high. Don't know about your area though. Make sure it has media, otherwise that is very expensive. That being said, Eheims are the best canisters IMO, and the 2217 is a great low cost canister.

Its cos Eheims from Germany and us poor australians get marked up pricing.

 

[Jay88]

Yeah I got my costs mixed up, Eheim 2215 is $165 with media+shipping and Eheim 2217 is $255 with media+shipping...

I have one flowerhorn in my 55gal... Which one would keep the water BEST as possible? I wanna buy it today!!

 

[aclockworkorange]

Depends on how much you want to spend and if you want to go DIY. Honestly, you're gonna have a hard time beating a sump if you want some monster filtration, you can put a micron filter sock on it, cram it full of bio media, and you'll get the additional water volume from the sump.
You could also do two AC110s for mainly mechanical, with a sponge filter for additional bio.
You could get a big canister from eheim or fluval or whoever. I'd go 2217 over 2213 for sure with eheim, a 2217 really doesn't have a lot of flow but it does bio very well.

 

[Oughtsix]

First of all what are your water parameters like? Do you have Ammonia or nitrate problems? Is your water cloudy? If not you are just wasting money on a bigger filter!

I personally like to waste money on big filters so I won't judge you!

I have a Eheim Pro 3 2076. It is an excellent filter! I am coming to the conclusion that canister filters aren't the best filtration options available though. Every canister I have tried comes down to being a pain for maintenance! I have an Penguin Emperor 400 hang on tank filter that I removed from my tank. I really hated the looks of it. But other than the looks it was a much better filter than my Eheim! Why?.. because it was very easy to clean and very flexible to configure. If I was going to be away for a bit I would spend 3 minutes and dump in some Amino chips to keep nitrates from building up. Would I do this with the Eheim? HAHAHA... never! It would be a half hour operation minimum.

So, personally, I have developed a pretty quick distaste for canisters and really enjoy the flexibility and easy maintenance of a wet/dry sump. I clean the filter pad on the sump every few days because it is so easy! By removing the debris before they are broken down to Nitrates I don't have to do water changes nearly as often. The one place a sump really shines and a canister has no comparison is oxygenation of the water. I noticed a difference in my fishes activity level within two days of adding the sump. All the water trickeling over the bio balls with a couple air stones pushing fresh air up therough the bio balls has no comparison in the canister world. Many air stones in the tank won't come close to water trickling over bio balls. And with all that air / water interaction who know what kind of nasties the water is able to off gas?

So do as you please, and do as I did... or skip the canisters altogether and jump directly to sumps!

 

[Jay88]

WELL my friend ^^ To answer your question, my water parameters are fine, i tested the water last week its fine, BUT BUT BUT, VERY cloudy water man, got algae particles from my drift wood flying around everywhere, very cloudy water, especially with the sand hes digging up, and making the debris go EVERYWHERE... I have two hang on filters on his tank... one of them were for a 90 litre tank, the other was for 120 tank..either way the water is not circulating enough...so ive decided to get a bigger filter and CLEAR IT UP!

Ive ordered the 2217, im going to take out all the sand (sand is just bad when you have a fish, that constantly digs and throws sand on top of his poo and stuff lol)... add a THIN layer of gravel, so he can still dig... and voila! hopefully water should be clear !!

And no problem with water flow... I have a water pump overhead...which at max will release 2000 litres per hour but i keep it at around 600 litres per hour..since its to strong for 55gal haha... so with that and my new filter! hope my water gets nice and my Flowerhorn realizes how LUCKY he is...