Eheim 2215 for a 2-feet planted tank

[driftw00d]

I recently inherited a used eheim 2215 external filter and intend to use it for my 2-feet / 55L / 15g planted tank. Will the outflow be too strong? Anything I can do with the outflow to make it softer?

[ZackZhou]

it will not be strong for your 2 feet..

[Shadow]

I use that for one of my 2ft as well.

[Tony]

Over-filtering is a good thing, more medias for good bacteria to colonise There are many ways to reduce the flow if you still find it too strong for your liking. Such as using rain-bar to direct the flow against the tank wall, using lily funnel at the outflow or control taps to reduce the flow rate, etc.

[driftw00d]

Thanks guys for your replies. I will try to set up the filter this weekend, if i'm not distracted by other things
and will let you know if my aquarium water movement resembles a washing machine or not.

Tony, I already bought a rainbar in case I wanted to use it. But what is a lily funnel and where can I buy one?

Oh also, where to buy the proper filter media for this filter? I bought some of those white flat sponges and intend to cut them into round pieces to fill the filter up.

[stormhawk]

Any place that stocks Eheim filters, should have Eheim media for sale. Some hobbyists prefer BioHome, but I just use whatever that came with my filter sets. Personally I prefer using Eheim Ehfilav, but that is just me. Here in the West I just visit C328 if I need Eheim media. Lily funnel is a type of glassware designed for aquariums. The water comes out of the funnel in a vortex of sorts, but disperses the current over the water surface like a natural flow in the wild. Some like it, some don't. I have no preference for it, but I use rainbars in 2 ft tanks.

Depending on your livestock, a little bit of current wouldn't hurt.

[driftw00d]

Thanks bro for your reply and recommendations. I'll go look for a lily funnel next time i visit any LFS.

[Tony]

Thanks guys for your replies. I will try to set up the filter this weekend, if i'm not distracted by other things
and will let you know if my aquarium water movement resembles a washing machine or not.

Tony, I already bought a rainbar in case I wanted to use it. But what is a lily funnel and where can I buy one?

Oh also, where to buy the proper filter media for this filter? I bought some of those white flat sponges and intend to cut them into round pieces to fill the filter up.

Bro,

Lily funnel is a what Stormhawk described and you can find them in glass or plastic type in any LFS. It is meant to dispers the outflow current for water surface agitation and circulation. Since you already have rainbar, perhaps you may want to consider using rainbar first before spending more money buying lily funnel. In most cases, rainbar will do the trick already. I personally prefer using rainbar as well.

Also, depending on you scape and how dense your planting is, I believe your 2215 with rainbar should serve you well. Please remember to plant densely when starting off as it will help prevent algae. Many plants also go through a period of adapting to the new environment and you will experience some melt, etc so with heavy planting, you can weed off the unwanted/unhealthy plants slowly and achieve your final result.

For filter media, all LFS will carry them. I have no particular preference and would typically use ceramic rings and whatever that comes with the filter. I've used Eheim small lava chips (i think it could be Ehfilav) as the base followed by ADA Amazonia 2 soil ontop for my 4Ft planted tank, the NA LFS store owner also recommended using it as filter media as well, which I added some into my HOF for my 1Ft.

[driftw00d]

I checked for a glass lily funnel at a LFS and it costs $46.00. It's a bit pricey I think, maybe I could also try to DIY one from a cut up plastic bottle?

Bro Tony, my tank is many years old and I've been using a internal filter all the while. Decided to change to an external filter after my friend gave me his unused equipment, and also to make more room to put more plants in my smallish tank.

Just bought more plants yesterday and ready to redo the tank this weekend. The java ferns aren't doing too well and turning black. The blyxa japonica have grown out of control.

[BFG]

There's a green plastic lily funnel available. Get that.

[driftw00d]

There's a green plastic lily funnel available. Get that.

Where to get that bro?

[Tony]

I checked for a glass lily funnel at a LFS and it costs $46.00. It's a bit pricey I think, maybe I could also try to DIY one from a cut up plastic bottle?

Bro Tony, my tank is many years old and I've been using a internal filter all the while. Decided to change to an external filter after my friend gave me his unused equipment, and also to make more room to put more plants in my smallish tank.

Just bought more plants yesterday and ready to redo the tank this weekend. The java ferns aren't doing too well and turning black. The blyxa japonica have grown out of control.

Bro,
Have you already tried using the rainbar and direct it inward against the glass wall? That does the trick most of the time without having to spend more $$ on plastic lily pipe. Previously, I used to have a 2213 that have control tap at the outflow for me to turn and reduce the flow.

Are the Java Ferns newly purchased? Some LFS have them grown emersed and when you bought home and switch to fully submersed in your tank, it may take awhile to adapt before coming back to life again. Also, for my case besides the 5hrs of lighting, I also added some sechem phosphate liquid, iron and CO2 to encourage growth during the initial stage and cut-back once they are doing well. It is rather strange that your blyxa is doing great; while the Ferns which suppose to be the easier plant is not doing well. (suspect it is going through the adaptation stage? Maybe, trim those that are badly affected, leaving the rhizomes to grow new sprouts).

By the way, make sure the rhizomes of the java ferns are not buried in the soil. (burried rhizomes will rot away. They suppose to be tied to wood, rocks, etc and left above soil).

[BFG]

Where to get that bro?

Usually the lfs would have them somewhere in their shop. You have to pay close attention to their accessories rack. Mine was purchased at the K & K aquarium at Tampines since it was closest to my home but it was quite a while back. I'm sure established, mature lfs should have it, just that you need to point it out to them or search for yourself as I did back then. I remember a member posting a picture of it in the gallery. It's a 3rd party product so don't search by name.

[driftw00d]

Tony, the Java ferns i bought like 2 months ago, and they started turning black after one month. No new shoots to replace the old "leaves". I suspect my tank temp is too high, i don't have a chiller and the temp can go up to 31 deg C. So I've taken them all out, as well as the Blyxa japonica. Anybody wants a bucketload of Blyxa?

I finally fixed up the eheim 2215 filter and got it working. The outflow is surprisingly not as strong as I anticipated, so I haven't used the rainbar. Maybe I stuffed the filter media too tightly, that's why the outflow isn't so strong. Four layers of white foam. I will consider replacing them with better/proper media next time.

How often to do guys clean your filter?

BFG, thanks for your info. Is K and K Aquarium still around? I would like to give them a visit and see what they got. I live in Bedok and there aren't many good LFS in my area that I know of.

[BFG]

K & K is still around.