Am I the only one who hates eheim canisters?

[fishoverlivingspace]

There are different applications that different filters are better for. For a tank with a bunch of big, messy fish, you're looking at something with a lot of flow, like a Fluval FX5 or a sump and good mechanical filtration, and biological tends to take a bit of a back seat, as you're probably doing water changes every few days anyway.

If you're keeping a lot of smaller fish that are sensitive to changes in water quality, the exceptional bio-filtration of Eheim is the way to go(although I use Eheims for almost all my tanks).

Someone before... can't remember who, said it right... we're comparing apples to oranges here. Eheim has its strengths (bio-capacity, efficiency, durability), and other filters have their strengths (stong flow, convenience, etc). While Eheim doesn't have a big high flow motor to begin with, even as the filter begins to become clogged, the flow rate doesn't suffer, whereas the effects tend to be more drastic w/ other cans.

Bottom line: With Eheim, you get what you pay for: a great filter.

EDIT: I think Eheim should be slippin' me a little somethin' under the table for my kind words...

 

[japes]

I will also accept money for my recommendations.

"I will continue to only use Eheim brand Canisters in my future endeavors into this hobby."

 

[fishoverlivingspace]

I will also accept money for my recommendations.

"I will continue to only use Eheim brand Canisters in my future endeavors into this hobby."

Sorry man.. I came up with the idea!! I suppose I could give you a cut of the profits though...

 

[rocker85675]

I really don't understand what all the hype is about with these things. Some people go on about their eheim running for 10 years... I just don't see it happening. I have a 2213... it's a poor design IMHO. I've had the motor's ceramic rod break during operation, I've had the plastic tabs on the canister break that hold the clips for the lid, and worst of all, when you want to replace a filter pad, you have to disassemble the whole thing- disturbing biomedia just to get to the pad, only to discover that because the polishing pad is downstream from the bio-media, the bio-media needs to be dumped & rinsed as well. What a PITA just to swap a filter pad.

I find this all especially annoying when the solutions are so simple... use a different, less brittle plastic for the canister, and reverse the flow to a top-down design so that the mechanical filtration- all of it, can be done before the bio-media & can be easily accessed without having to dump everythign out.

I hate cleaning that damn thing. It was a waste of $$.

/rant. Sorry. I had to get that off my chest. Maybe some of you will understand.

your not the only one, i gave up on canisters years ago. i built my own trickle and never looked back, changing my filter floss is a 3 min job and i do it with the filter still running! sump all the way!!

 

[fishoverlivingspace]

your not the only one, i gave up on canisters years ago. i built my own trickle and never looked back, changing my filter floss is a 3 min job and i do it with the filter still running! sump all the way!!

Can't beat a sump. However, sumps really up your flood risk, and some people don't want to take that chance, or have to deal with the added evaporation that you get while using a trickly filter. Sumps are the best for any kind of media, and once running, are probably also the most convenient. However, they tend to be more expensive than canisters and the initial set-up is more difficult... but that's a whole other thread starting... sorry to derail
GO EHEIM ($10 from the folks at Eheim for that one).

 

[WyldFya]

You guys talking about only having to clean every 4 months.... that has more to do with the size of your tank & bioload then it does with the filter. That's just how it works- there's no magic to it regardless of the filter.

On the eheim classic series... even if they would have shortened the basket by an inch or so... then you'd have room for filter pads under the basket. That would be a perfect solution- and so simple.

I don't care what anyone says though... having to dump all the biomedia out just to change a filter pad is just a rediculous notion. The biomedia should be set & forget. I shouldn't EVER have to mess with it.

The type of filter has everything to do with how long maintenance can go. More specifically it is the type of pump. If I can run a fluval 404 on a 55 gallon tank with snails, plecos and some cichlids and have it clog in a month, versus using an eheim 2028 on the same tank, with the same feeding regime and the same fish, but have it run for 6 months without cleaning, it is obvious that a fluval pump is inadequate compared to an eheim. Every pump will run differently, some can produce incredible flow at low head pressure, but nothing a higher head pressure (Rio hyper flow pumps) vs other pumps that can pump slightly less at low head pressure, but a ton at higher head pressures (Mag drives).

 

[tankboy_taylor]

Eheim is the best period cept maybe for the Eccos but even those are pretty easy to maintain.

 

[Sic_Maggot13]

love my eheims...fluvals latches dont last, marineland is my second choice and cascade is cheap. so what if the flow isn't amazing...just grab two! haha

 

[invisyblegypsey]

PROBLEM SOLVED!

Great idea!

this is exactly what i have done no sweat with anything 10 minns to clean it out and once in a while run a brush through the tubeing

 

[Oreo]

While a stronger pump will squeeze more flow from a dirty filter, there's still no getting around the fact that the media is dirty. If you continue to force water though it at that point, you're also forcing dirt through it or around it if possible. A good filter design won't allow dirt to make it into the biomedia & accumulate there.