Hey guys, I've got an Eheim 2217 Canister (classic series) on a 75 gallon tank. Its worked great, and I've been running it since this past october.
The only maintenance I've done so far is cleaning the impeller once and cleaned the coarse filter pads.
Layered from bottom to top, I've got a mechanical layer (EHFIMECH) , a coarse pad (EHFIFIX), then EHFISUBSTRAT bio media.
Looking through the filter I can see a lot of crud beginning to accumulate in the mechanical and bio layers.
The flow rate seems to be down slightly, but probably more likely due to all the crap I can see on the intake and output tubes, which I plan on cleaning soon anyway.
My question is this - How often should I be replacing the media inside the canister? I don't want to upset the bio filter by replacing everything at once, but I'm not sure if taking it all apart to get to one layer is going kill it all off anyway (in which case I figure I might as well replace it all anyway).
Any advice on maintaining this AWESOME filter would be appreciated. So quiet, keeps the water so clear too. I almost don't want to touch it because it seems to be working so well.
The only maintenance I've done so far is cleaning the impeller once and cleaned the coarse filter pads.
Layered from bottom to top, I've got a mechanical layer (EHFIMECH) , a coarse pad (EHFIFIX), then EHFISUBSTRAT bio media.
Looking through the filter I can see a lot of crud beginning to accumulate in the mechanical and bio layers.
The flow rate seems to be down slightly, but probably more likely due to all the crap I can see on the intake and output tubes, which I plan on cleaning soon anyway.
My question is this - How often should I be replacing the media inside the canister? I don't want to upset the bio filter by replacing everything at once, but I'm not sure if taking it all apart to get to one layer is going kill it all off anyway (in which case I figure I might as well replace it all anyway).
Any advice on maintaining this AWESOME filter would be appreciated. So quiet, keeps the water so clear too. I almost don't want to touch it because it seems to be working so well.
