Eheim classic 250 to sump question

[Mr Pleco]

Has anybody ever connected their Eheim classic directly to a sump? I'm trying to keep the main display tank clean of equipment.

I drilled my sump and inserted a bulkhead., to that bulkhead I connected the inlet hose of my Eheim 2260 .
The exhaust house from the motor I placed into the main tank .. having an issue getting the Eheim to prime and operated?

Seems like air from cavitation? is caught in the impeller and cant form enough pressure to pump the water ?

Canister container completely full of water .
Top of motor to top of aquarium 3-4 ft of hose. (this eheim motor has pumped greater distance)

My main question in this set up is that the bottom of the house intake is probably only 5-6" below the sump .
Is this enough of a drop? or does the inlet have to go up to the top of the tank as well ?

Anyone ever set one up like this ? with the bottom hose feed you would figure these canisters are ideal to supplement your sump /filter sock set up.

 

[deeda]

I'm a bit confused since you mentioned two different model Eheim filters but the general answer is that you should have a minimum height of water above the top of the filter for it to prime and operate correctly.

 

[Mr Pleco]

I'm a bit confused since you mentioned two different model Eheim filters but the general answer is that you should have a minimum height of water above the top of the filter for it to prime and operate correctly.

Thank you for the reply , as for the confusion? I was under the assumption Eheim classic family was designated 250 ? Then under the 250 family you had the specific models. 2213, 2215, 2217, 2260 and 2262?

I figured it was a gravity issue as the top of the filter was not much lower then the top of the sump.. The only way to remedy it was to remove the pump from present location of top of the canister and place it inline between the sump and bottom intake of the Eheim. or move the intake tube to the top of the main display tank as it was designed.
Needless to say I went with the later.

 

[deeda]

The Eheim Classic models were recently changed from the 22xx series numbers to the liter size of the tank so as an example the 2260 becomes the 1500 model.

I think you will be much happier with the installation of the intake/output tubes as designed.

 

[Oughtsix]

When a canister filter is used as intended it does very little work. The intake water level and outflow water level are at the same height so all the canister pump has to do is overcome the resistance in the filter to move the water around.

When you connect the canister to your sump below the tank and the outflow of the canister goes into the tank you are asking the pump in the canister to overcome the same resistance to flow PLUS raise the water from below the tank into the tank. It is the difference between a sealed system the canister was designed to be and doing a lot more work to raise the weight of the water from below the tank to above the tank.

Bottom line, I think you will have very minimal flow because you are trying to use your canister as a lift pump which it was not designed to be.

Why are you running a sump and a canister filter? An option is to use the canister on just the sump and not the tank... The canister draws water from the sump then returns it to the sump and you would use a sump rated pump to raise the water from the sump back into the tank.

 

[Mr Pleco]

Why are you running a sump and a canister filter? An option is to use the canister on just the sump and not the tank... The canister draws water from the sump then returns it to the sump and you would use a sump rated pump to raise the water from the sump back into the tank.

Why am I running a sump and a canister .?. well I firmly believe in redundant filtration methods , plus I had the Eheim and about 4 FX5 just sitting around. I want to use the Eheim for mech filtration . if i ran any sock under 200 microns they filled up with waste too fast ( 4x14) ..and a 200 micron sock just wasn't giving the water clarity I was looking for .. with the Eheim collecting dust I originally wanted to use the Eheim to filter the sump.. My sump is powered by a DCT 12000 running dual 1.5" returns, dumping into dual 4" socks . Tank was set up for my growing pleco collection its a 90 gal frag tank low and wide.. tank also has a water drip system in which approx 45% of the water is changed weekly automatically . Thats not counting the water removed when I siphon out the pleco poop piles. Even though its a small tank, I love tinkering with filtration.

 

[eddiegunks]

Ha ha ha.

Oughtsix first 3 paragraphs answered your questions and addressed your problem....

When a canister filter is used as intended it does very little work. The intake water level and outflow water level are at the same height so all the canister pump has to do is overcome the resistance in the filter to move the water around.

When you connect the canister to your sump below the tank and the outflow of the canister goes into the tank you are asking the pump in the canister to overcome the same resistance to flow PLUS raise the water from below the tank into the tank. It is the difference between a sealed system the canister was designed to be and doing a lot more work to raise the weight of the water from below the tank to above the tank.

Bottom line, I think you will have very minimal flow because you are trying to use your canister as a lift pump which it was not designed to be.
.