I recently installed a new Eheim ECCO canister filter. After a few weeks the water coming from the outlet was ssllloooowwww, so I took everything apart and cleaned it out, did not clean excessively because I did not want to strip the tank of any good bacteria it had aquired. But I did the cleaning and the water flow is back to normal, not to strong, but not super light like it was either. I purchased a pack of the charcoal to place in one of the five levels it has in the inside of the canister filter. Basically removing only one layer of the subtrate. I put the charcoal on the very bottom tier. Was that done correctly? And if I did it incorrectly (as if maybe should have been placed in the top tier). Will that have any effect on my fish? And also, will it give the water the crystal clear look I am going for? Thanks for the advice.
Eheim Filter question
- Thread starter CaliforniaShawn
- Start date
if you want clear water... i say the best thing is to have good bio filtration and mechanical filtration. charcoal never really cleared my water... try getting some quilt batting and some eheim substrat pro.
btw what color is your water, tank size and stocking list?
btw what color is your water, tank size and stocking list?
Thanks 702 for a quick reply. I have two zz red dragon flower horns and two tiger oscars in the tank, along with a tough ass lobster and a huge algae eater. The color is not so bad, but the water just looks murky. I want the water to be healthy with bacteria and everything but also want it to look really nice. I put a UV stabilizer on recently and that knocked out the "green tint". I am going to add a picture, the tank is 55 gallon but I am about to go bigger in the next two months.
I have two 2236 on a 55, that has a healthy stock of Africans. Bought the eccos, 1. Price, they were on sale. 2. eheim name, They have been running for around 6 months with 0 problems.
When first set up, I used what came in the box. Blue filter sponge, substrat pro, white pad at the top. Ran for a week like this as I made my, make it better plans.
First to go were those damn green intake, returns. Used 1/2" cpvc, painted black. Intake has 2 inlets, bottom and half way up. Returns are spray bars running the width of tanks sides.
On to the media baskets. These units have 4 media baskets. Bottom basket has coarse pond filter cut to 6" circle, then a finer pond filter. Second up has the factory blue filter with 3 scour pads, cut to fit. Hard to find the 6X9 size pads, but worth the search. Top 2 baskets have the substrat pro, with room for 1 more scour pad at the very top.
This set up works quite well for me. At cleanings, the bottom sponges and pads are pretty gunked up, but next to nothing in the substrat pro baskets. Canister housing is usually full of gunk as well.
One thing I have noticed is the amount of gunk build up in the intake and return lines. At cleaning times, every month I clean one all the way. I remove the intake and return lines, clean them out as well as cleaning the canister.
Don`t see these filters mentioned much..How do you like yours?
When first set up, I used what came in the box. Blue filter sponge, substrat pro, white pad at the top. Ran for a week like this as I made my, make it better plans.
First to go were those damn green intake, returns. Used 1/2" cpvc, painted black. Intake has 2 inlets, bottom and half way up. Returns are spray bars running the width of tanks sides.
On to the media baskets. These units have 4 media baskets. Bottom basket has coarse pond filter cut to 6" circle, then a finer pond filter. Second up has the factory blue filter with 3 scour pads, cut to fit. Hard to find the 6X9 size pads, but worth the search. Top 2 baskets have the substrat pro, with room for 1 more scour pad at the very top.
This set up works quite well for me. At cleanings, the bottom sponges and pads are pretty gunked up, but next to nothing in the substrat pro baskets. Canister housing is usually full of gunk as well.
One thing I have noticed is the amount of gunk build up in the intake and return lines. At cleaning times, every month I clean one all the way. I remove the intake and return lines, clean them out as well as cleaning the canister.
Don`t see these filters mentioned much..How do you like yours?