eheim filter media

stephanieleah

so i am setting up my new eheim and it comes with the following:

-SUBSTRAT pro
-bioMECH
-MECH pro

I want to fill one container with floss, but i don't know which media to replace the floss with.

Substrat pro and bio mech sound to me like the same thing. What's the difference? And why all the bio-media?

None of these provide chemical filtration, right???

Aargh, it's hard to research things on the internet sometimes. I'm frustrated.

statenfish

i have a few eheim classics myself...i have a 2217 that has only filter pads and floss..good warer polisher..a good trick is to throw a chemipure in with the bio media layer..they really arent designed to carry chemical filtration..i use a rena xp4 to carry the chemical responsibilities in my 90 setup. all chemisal media in a eheim does is speed up your maintinance schedule which is a pain with the classic series

stephanieleah

i actually don't want chemical filtration and just want to ensure that none of these media deliver that. I want medium to low bio filtration and mostly chemical. right now i'm polishing the water only, as i have turface in there that is black and turns the water (and my hands!) black.

i ended up just stuffing the whole thing with floss for now and i'll put in bio media next week after the water clears up. what do you think?

statenfish

sounds like a plan...another great option is a diatom filter..itll clear the water in half the time...but if yu dont wanna spend the money then stuffing it with floss should work well..you may have to change it a few times before the water clears up

Angel079

I pers never use the Mech stuff. I just use the Substrat Pro a corose sponge, followed by finer sponge followed by floss at the top.

rsn48

Try Seachem Purigen, I think you'll be happy with it and its relatively cheap, it can be recycled and used again for about 5 to 8 times and you don't need very much. You only need to spend less than $10 and folks seem very happy with the results, it is chemical filtration and a water polisher. Goggle and check it out.

Zynthesis

Stephanie i'm here to help!

I'm guessing you got a square type eheim. Don't know how they work but I can tell you what the media does.

Substrat pro: does nothing more then holds bacteria on the little rough balls You're not going to want to rinse this when you do your filter cleanings, maybe just get rid of the ooze but don't throughly wash them, or you might destroy the good bacteria.

biomech: this should look like some type of ceramic pasta. You'd want this closest to your output hose. This is going to help water flow through this section of your filter a bit better. It also lets bacteria colonize on the inside of the cylinders. So when you wash these, also don't clean them too well, just rinse any large particals they have on them.

Mech Pro: Is another media that has a spiral shape and will hold bacteria in it's grooves as well. I'd recommend putting this closer to the intake hose. this is going to stop your small particals in their tracks. Like the other media don't totally clean these, but definately make sure all little fish poops and particles are washed out of this stuff.

As far as your floss, there is aquarium floss you can pick up at most all LFS or big petshops.

None of this media is chemical.

You might know all of this already but I was just trying to clear it up.

Zynthesis

stephanieleah

thanks zynthesis if i'm going to switch out some of my filter media for floss, which would you (or anyone) suggest? I was thinking the black things (mech pro) as it just seems hard to believe that they provide all that much by way of mechanical filtration.

1077

Is what I would do ,it (floss) will catch and hold small suspended particles. You may need to rinse this often until your tank clears but once the tank clears,,you would only need to rinse or replace it when you perform maint on your filter which despite claims to the contrary ,should in my view be performed monthly.
Beneficial bacteria need oxygen to thrive and if filter starts to become clogged with organic matter,then oxygen levels inside a sealed canister can slowly be depleted creating anaerobic condition which could have negative effect on your fishes .
I have seen this occur with Magnum 350'' I have used as well as the HOT Magnum canister filter.Evidence of such a condition would be fish acting listless and hovering near the bottom and or fish gasping at the surface. In moderately stocked tanks,this may not be as much of a concern as opposed to heavily stocked aquariums or those near capacity.
Is one of many reasons that I like the Bio wheel type filters or wet dry for tanks smaller than 100 gal. Bacteria(good kind) is exposed to more oxygen not to mention they are easily cleaned .
I am not against canister filters ,I just think people should consider that they may need cleaning more often than some suggest. Opinions Vary.

stephanieleah

1077 good point...i actually already think my filter is clogged because the flow rate seems low, but there's no fish as yet so at this point it's all experimental. thanks!