2028 media to make it more mechanical filtration friendly?

[Zydrunas]

I recently purchased an Eheim 2028 canister filter and I really love it. I keep reading how the Eheim's are geared towards biological filtration, and are lacking a little when it comes to mechanical filtration. Is there any way, like changing the filter media to floss or pads, to make the 2028 better for mechanical?

I have a 180 gallon that used to house monsters, but now it's a community tank with angels, festivums, and gouramis. The spray bar on the 2028 moves the water perfectly (I can put flake in and watch it circulate from front to back with no dead spots) so I'd like to get another one or 2 (for $225 with media and free shipping, why not?). Does 2 or 3 of them, with one set up for mechanical, sound good?

 

[Toby_H]

It always rubs me wrong when I hear people suggest "setting one up for Bio and one up for Mech"...

Bio Media's "claim to fame" is that it has tons of surface area due to it's porous nature...

If a filter is set up "for Bio" without thorough prefiltering the water mechancially, then physical waste lodges in the Media. Then this physical waste begins to glog the pores... Since most people clean canister filters, expecially ones "set up for Bio" very infrequetnly, this physical waste has lots of time to clog lots of pores...

If you were to use a quality prefilter on the intake and clean it often... use a medium to fine sponge/pad before the Bio Media... this will greatly reduce the physical waste that gets into your Bio Media and allow the Bio Media to keep is "oh so valuable" surface area...


Another point here... The function of "Bio Filtration" is to convert ammonia into nitrites into nitrates... If your tank is doing that... then adding "additional Bio Filtration" serves no purpose. I have absolutely no problems keeping my ammonia and nitrites at zero without the assistance of any form of media marketed as "Bio Media". I find that the typical aquarium has plenty of surface area to house all the bacteria I need to do this...

So while you may or may not feel that spending $225~$450 is a lot to spend... if it doesn't improve anything, I bet you could find plenty of other things to spend that money on.


There is a rather lengthy thread in this folder called "How Important Is Bio Media" that I suggest you read before spending the money on new filters......

 

[iloveoscars702]

I recently purchased an Eheim 2028 canister filter and I really love it. I keep reading how the Eheim's are geared towards biological filtration, and are lacking a little when it comes to mechanical filtration. Is there any way, like changing the filter media to floss or pads, to make the 2028 better for mechanical?

I have a 180 gallon that used to house monsters, but now it's a community tank with angels, festivums, and gouramis. The spray bar on the 2028 moves the water perfectly (I can put flake in and watch it circulate from front to back with no dead spots) so I'd like to get another one or 2 (for $225 with media and free shipping, why not?). Does 2 or 3 of them, with one set up for mechanical, sound good?

i have two eheim 2028's on my 100 gal and those filters do wonders. lol... if you want more mech filtration, buy some quilt batting and fill the top two baskets with it along with the bio media. catches a lot of debris and keeps your water clear.

 

[Zydrunas]

It always rubs me wrong when I hear people suggest "setting one up for Bio and one up for Mech"...

Obviously ...

The tank has been established for over 12 years, so I'm not worried if I have enough biological or mechanical filtration. I recently had a filter go bad (FX-5) and replaced it with the 2028. I like the size, how they're set up, and especially how it moves my water.

Disregarding the biological and mechanical tags, would it make sense to fill an Eheim 2028 with media other than what they recommend when you buy the filter and media combo package? If not, why and do you have other suggestions?

 

[Zydrunas]

i have two eheim 2028's on my 100 gal and those filters do wonders. lol... if you want more mech filtration, buy some quilt batting and fill the top two baskets with it along with the bio media. catches a lot of debris and keeps your water clear.

Thank you! You answered my reply while I was replying.

 

[deeda]

Don't take offense at what nc_nutcase was stating. I completely understand where he is coming from on this topic and I agree with him. Just my 2 cents.

I would set the filters up just like Eheim suggests. You can add the additional polyester quilt batting or fiberfill like iloveoscars702 suggests. This will trap the finer debris. They will also require more frequent cleaning because of their ability to hold the fine debris.

You don't state what other filtration you have on this tank besides the 2028. If you like the idea of the media trays, then stay with the 2028 plan. You could also try the Classic series, which do not have trays but allow you to stack the media however you want.

I have one 2028, one 2217 and one 2262. I will never purchase another 2028 as I do not feel it is worth the price for the convenience of media trays. The Classic series work well for me though they don't have carrying handles. But they are workhorses & get the job done.