After having my 4 tanks decimated from cold during Hurricane Sandy in 2012 (except 1 lousy molly that survived a week in 50 degree water in my 10 gal brackish quarantine tank), I've finally gotten back into the game, and am in the process of getting my 75 gal brackish tank going.
I closed up my 30 & 10 gal FW tanks - I finally accepted that being perpetually behind on maintenance required a change. I would imagine that so many of us get big eyes with all the fish and tanks we want, and get in over our heads. It was tough to face facts, but I'm glad I did and simplified my aquarium habit. I now have a more manageable and enjoyable hobby, and not a chore.
My 10 year old Eheims have intermittently had leaking problems, and I wanted to share my experience. (My father-in-law says that experience is stuff that you wish happened to other people). A few years ago, I had leaking from the head gasket. I changed the gaskets, but the more important fix was to add a liberal coating of silicone grease (plumber's grease) to the gasket. Direct communication from Eheim recommends the silicone grease, and avoiding Vaseline, which is a petroleum product and may break down the rubber. Before buying new O-rings and gaskets, first clean the rubber really well, add the grease. It is not soluble in water, so there's no worry about it getting into your tank's system. This might save you the time and expense of replacing the parts.
More troublesome was leaking from where the wire exits the head on the left. It's a result of a leaking o-ring under the large priming button. Getting grease inside that area without disassembling the head is iffy at best. I've always kept my filters in plastic pans to catch the occasional leak (I use old photographic paper developing trays re-purposed from my old darkroom, which are perfect. They're low and have a pouring spout). I tried using disposable aluminum lasagna tins, but the brackish water eventually ate through them. Leaks usually happened after cleaning the filters, and lasted a few days, then stopped.
Since Sandy, the tank and filters were full of water. I could say that I wanted to prevent the filters' seals from drying out and preventing tank scum from becoming caked glued to the tank glass, but I was just lazy. Servicing the filters was nasty. The 2028, which hadn't had it's filter cleaned for 6 months before Sandy, smelled so bad from sulphur I had to open all the windows. the other was ok, as it had been cleaned shortly before the storm. Reassembling the filters and starting them up resulted in 1 temporary, slow leak, but the other was leaking significantly from the wire.
Time to head to the internet:
First I tried this:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=256722
The directions on how to access the primer button o-ring are excellent. HOWEVER, the recommended o-ring from the O-Ring Store is NOT correct. I ordered it, took the whole head apart, replaced the o-ring, and couldn't get it back together. 2 problems: First, their o-ring is 2.5mm in diameter, while the correct one is 2.25mm. Doesn't sound like much, but I could get the darn thing back together. Second, the wrong one is a very firm rubber, but the original is much "squishier", which is necessary to allow the priming button to move. So I was forced to reassemble the unit with the old o-ring, but I thoroughly cleaned and greased it. I only had a slight leak, but it stopped in a day or two. I did order what is supposedly the correct o-ring (previously unavailable from Eheim) from:
http://www.atomicrice.com/
I haven't installed it yet, as I don't have a leak. But at the next filter maintenance, I'll replace them.
I'll have more to say on how my tank is going fishwise in the brackish forum, but things are going well. It's nice to be back.
I closed up my 30 & 10 gal FW tanks - I finally accepted that being perpetually behind on maintenance required a change. I would imagine that so many of us get big eyes with all the fish and tanks we want, and get in over our heads. It was tough to face facts, but I'm glad I did and simplified my aquarium habit. I now have a more manageable and enjoyable hobby, and not a chore.
My 10 year old Eheims have intermittently had leaking problems, and I wanted to share my experience. (My father-in-law says that experience is stuff that you wish happened to other people). A few years ago, I had leaking from the head gasket. I changed the gaskets, but the more important fix was to add a liberal coating of silicone grease (plumber's grease) to the gasket. Direct communication from Eheim recommends the silicone grease, and avoiding Vaseline, which is a petroleum product and may break down the rubber. Before buying new O-rings and gaskets, first clean the rubber really well, add the grease. It is not soluble in water, so there's no worry about it getting into your tank's system. This might save you the time and expense of replacing the parts.
More troublesome was leaking from where the wire exits the head on the left. It's a result of a leaking o-ring under the large priming button. Getting grease inside that area without disassembling the head is iffy at best. I've always kept my filters in plastic pans to catch the occasional leak (I use old photographic paper developing trays re-purposed from my old darkroom, which are perfect. They're low and have a pouring spout). I tried using disposable aluminum lasagna tins, but the brackish water eventually ate through them. Leaks usually happened after cleaning the filters, and lasted a few days, then stopped.
Since Sandy, the tank and filters were full of water. I could say that I wanted to prevent the filters' seals from drying out and preventing tank scum from becoming caked glued to the tank glass, but I was just lazy. Servicing the filters was nasty. The 2028, which hadn't had it's filter cleaned for 6 months before Sandy, smelled so bad from sulphur I had to open all the windows. the other was ok, as it had been cleaned shortly before the storm. Reassembling the filters and starting them up resulted in 1 temporary, slow leak, but the other was leaking significantly from the wire.
Time to head to the internet:
First I tried this:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=256722
The directions on how to access the primer button o-ring are excellent. HOWEVER, the recommended o-ring from the O-Ring Store is NOT correct. I ordered it, took the whole head apart, replaced the o-ring, and couldn't get it back together. 2 problems: First, their o-ring is 2.5mm in diameter, while the correct one is 2.25mm. Doesn't sound like much, but I could get the darn thing back together. Second, the wrong one is a very firm rubber, but the original is much "squishier", which is necessary to allow the priming button to move. So I was forced to reassemble the unit with the old o-ring, but I thoroughly cleaned and greased it. I only had a slight leak, but it stopped in a day or two. I did order what is supposedly the correct o-ring (previously unavailable from Eheim) from:
http://www.atomicrice.com/
I haven't installed it yet, as I don't have a leak. But at the next filter maintenance, I'll replace them.
I'll have more to say on how my tank is going fishwise in the brackish forum, but things are going well. It's nice to be back.
