Is Eheim Pro II 2026 enough for 4x1.5x2 tank?

[cheeboonyong]

Hi,

browsed through many of you guys' tanks in the "My tanks" gallery. noticed many of you used 2028 for 4 ft tanks. Is a 2026 good enough for a planted tank?

Cheers
Boon Yong

[FC]

Hi CBY,

I think it is sufficient in term of flow rate. However, it only has 2 baskets and the filter medium volume is a bit small.

For your tank size, I would go for 2028 for excess capacity in case more fish load is added. It cost just couple of bucks more. If you are a stayer, you will not regret getting it as it can also be use for your next upgrade or sell them (it has better retain value, I beleive).

For my 4x2x2, I am using 2028 and I am thinking of upgrading it to 2250 to extend my filter service intervals and for clearer water. They have similar flow rate but filter medium is 7.3 litre vs 12.

Have fun.

[cheeboonyong]

thanks. i already bought the 2026, so i guess no way back now, unless i sell the 2026 away and buy the 2028. oh well... nevermind then.

what is this 2 basket you're talking about? only one inlet basket as i can see, plus a rainbar for the outlet...

[PeterGwee]

Inside the canister you see a white basket like thing which houses your filter medias...Looks kinda like basket..[]

[cheeboonyong]

i see. i just use the given filter medium that came in the original packaging. does anybody use anything else? i also noticed the contents were quite chalky. is that some calcium carbonate-like stuff, supposed to buffer the ph???

[sherchoo]

CBY,
Since you already have the 2026, juz use that. It will do fine. 2028 is better, but 2026 will do. No point changing.

[tawauboy]

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i also noticed the contents were quite chalky. is that some calcium carbonate-like stuff, supposed to buffer the ph???
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this should be ehfisubstrat, a porous material for bateria colony.

other media you should have are ehfimech(ceramic rings) and coarse and fine filter pads for mechanical filtration. all these shuold come with your filter.

[coryfav]

you should rinse the ehfisubstrat when you take it out of the plastic packing and put into the basket cos there're small particles/dust, as instructed in the booklet.

eheim has come out with a 'pro' series for this, round-shaped and seems not to break up so easily - more expensive though. some of us are using Biohome. but no real harm using what's supplied with your canister first.

since you've already got the 2026 and plan to use it, you can always get another canister to support it when you need to do so.

[David]

just to add on....it may be good to buy some more of the rock thingy from ehiem as the standard amount supplied in the filter itself is not really enough.

actually i feel that biohome is pretty good stuff coryfav

[vinz]

cheeboonyong,

If you have not used the filter yet, maybe you can ask the LFS to exchange for the 2028. Just top up the difference in price.

[coryfav]

right, david, but some people feel biohome is way too much diff in $ from ehfisubstrat... [:]

anyway, noticed that 1kg biohome ($60) only fills half the 2028 basket! [] really feel like filling up the basket, since no harm to tank. i like the 'kidney' of my tank to be tip-top, if possible. what do you think?

[FC]

Hi CBY,

"i see. i just use the given filter medium that came in the original packaging. does anybody use anything else? i also noticed the contents were quite chalky. is that some calcium carbonate-like stuff, supposed to buffer the ph???quot;

Are you refering to the ceramic rings? If yes, are they bigger than the usual ones and whiter than usual? If yes, when you wash them, is it that they will always cause cloudy to the water even if you wash them one hundred times (kidding)? If yes again, you got the same stuff as I did with the 2028. I think it was not properly manufactured. I found that they caused the aquarium water to be very slight milky. This only my own experience, I might be wrong. I had since thrown them away. Do any one here have the same encounter?

[cheeboonyong]

thanks for the enthusiatic response guys!

i'm already using the 2026, no chance for return...using it for my 2.5ft tank now. will switch to 4ft tank when bonus comes... hee hee

don't think i'm going to change the filter medium though. just continue to use the old one...

Cheers
Boon Yong

[David]

right you are coryfav....but i think the price tag is worth it as I have topped up with the ehiem onces before. after about a year or so, it seems to become very fragile and crumbles easily. As for the biohome, i filled all my filters for more than a year now and it's condition is still as good as before.

[Nicky]

FC, you mentioned this 2250 model. Do you know where I can find it in Sing and roughly how much it cost? Thanks.

[vinz]

last time i saw a 2250 was at AquaMart. a month or 2 ago.

[FC]

Hi nicky,

I cannot remember where I saw them. However, there is a promotion on this filter at an incredible $300! by an online seller. It was posted few days ago by someone?? I tried to dig out but still cannot find, sorry. I even visited the site and called them up..but I cannot trace anymore. He told me it comes with everything like hoses, the bend flow tubes, substrate.

Vinz, did you come accross that posting?

[DEA]

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On 12/6/2002 8:34:43 PM
david said :

actually i feel that biohome is pretty good stuff coryfav
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i also say

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On 12/6/2002 11:49:51 PM
coryfav said :

right, david, but some people feel biohome is way too much diff in $ from ehfisubstrat... [:]

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i also say

the only thing that stopped me from using biohome was the hefty price tag
i've been using filter floss since my 2nd tank
i'm satisfied with the mechanical and biological filtration
i don't find any difference with that and the original media except that perhaps filter floss polishes the water even better

[FC]

I agree with DEA that filter floss does the best job when come to both mech & bio filtration.

However, ever since I used Eheim filter and studied the concept behind it, I realise one thing: the whole idea of it is to extend the filter service interval. You can see it this way:
1) the ceramic rings are placed at the first filteration stage to capture heavier particles and to create eddie currents so that finer particles are also trap. It also acts as bio filter.
2) the blue foam is the next which is to further smoothen/even the water flow in preparation for the next stage. This blue foam is an execellent bio filter which I knew from other filter.
3) then come the substrate where Eheim claims that it had the highest surface area for a given substrate volume. It suppose to colonise most of the bacterias here.
4) lastly the floss where it does the final details.

You can see now that the filter would takes much longer to get clog, I believe at least 3 times longer than a all floss one. All the early filteration stages take care of these. When I wash the filter, I could see heavy debris concentrated at the bottom of the filter box.

If one wish to come to a compromise due to budget problem, I would suggest this way, use:
1) place some ceramic ring (about $10/litre I think) at the bottom. It is worth investing in this one as it has no life span. I like the Sera one, small and hard, will not disintegrate.
2) place the blue foam on top of the rings and in the same tray. It will help to trap particles and act as bio.
3) the rest is the floss, the excellent bio guy and excellent trappers.

Just my observation.

Have fun.