Eheim Classic setup and Media

zfarsh

Hi all,
I have a Eheim 2217 which i have and want to setup for the first time for a 75g tank. May have a Aquaclear 110 as a back-up, maybe with mech media only. It will be a planted tank, with fancy Goldfish. Will put a sponge as a prefilter to the Eheim (either at the inlet take, or as a seperate part that connect to the inlet, such as the filter max 3. Here are some basic questions:

1) The medias donot come with a net. This would be a concern for cleaning later for the bio and the ehfimech (tubes). Where can i buy some nice nets, what are my options

2) If i put a sponge as a pre-filter, wont the ehfimech (tubes that are the rough filter - 1st stage) become useless, and thus i should replace it with something else? In which case, what would you recommend?

3) I want to remove the carbon, and replace it with either purigen or fine filter floss, or maybe both actually, so the purigen first, then the filter floss as last stage. I hurd the purigen is good to keep the water clearer, just dont know if it is bad for plants. Any comments / suggestions?

4) How does one prime the canister?

5) How do i know when i need to clean the canister?

6) How does one clean the canister?

Thanks in advance

Mikaila31

1. You don't need a net.

2. No the ehfimech is biological only media. Sponges are both biological and mechanical. Biological is anything that supports bacteria in a mature filter, so this is basically all the media weather sponge or ceramic. Ceramics just have a very large surface area compared to sponges and therefore have more room for potential bacteria growth. They are considered biological because they don't filter any soilds out of the water like the sponges, this does not mean the sponges do not support bacteria though. You cannot have mechanical only media, if it has surface area it will eventually support bacteria. So no need to replace anything.

3. Use fine filterfloss. Avoid things like purigen at all costs. It falls under chemical media similar to carbon. What it does is actively REMOVES ammonia from the water and will overall reduce the beneficial bacteria load in the filter. Purigen also needs to be removed and bleached to recharge the media.

4. I have no idea how to prime a canister to be fair. I own one too... always seemed like more of a hassle then to just fill it up and then hook it up. That way i always got all the air out of it.

5. Clean it after one month. At this time you can judge if you think it can go longer next time or needs to be cleaned sooner.

6. I could explain it to you or you could youtube it, which will explain it better then me.

zfarsh

Hi Mikaila,

Thanks for the help. a few counter questions to the ones you mentioned:

1) I was thinking of a net for easier cleaning later on, as i have never cleaned one, thinking of my Aquaclear HOB, the net sure is usefull.

2) On the Ehfimech. I meant to say the first media the water comes in contact, which is the rough filter. This would take care of all the bigger objects coming in. It looks like one of those biological medias too, but i hurd it is very slipery and not meant for that. There is an actual biological media in there as well, dedicated for that. If the ehfimech was really able to sustain bio load, then fine. If not, the concern is, is it really usefull IF i put a prefilter (sponge) at the inlet where water gets sucked in, and which doesnt let the coarser particles in anyways.. That pre-filter would probably have to be cleaned every week, but should help the cannister stay cleaner much longer, and also prevent fish or sand to easily get into the canister. That said, i need suggestions on to keep it (and why eaxctly), or replace it with something usefull.

3) Well, if it does remove all the nutrients that the plants need, then i will avoid the purigen indeed. Thanks

AbbeysDad

Just a clarification - ehfimech is NOT a biological media. Although it is ceramic rings, it is non-porus and is intended, as it's name implies, to be used for mechanical filtration.
Described as: "Ceramic Pre-Filter Media - A coarse mechanical filter material that is to be used as bottom layer filtering."
I believe that this manufacturer is about the only one to use ceramic rings as 1st stage filtration - most use sponge or filter pads these days.