Adding another external canister to an already running setup

[revo79]

Hi all, recently gotten an Eheim 2026 and wish to add it in to my existing setup. Has give the canister a good wash and getting some new media either Power House or Biohome Plus. Do I have to take any special note of it since it is going to be introduced to my existing setup?

Existing setup as follows:

Pre-filter >>> Ecco Pro 2034 >>> HC-130A Chiller >>> Back to tank
(Mechanical) (Biological)

Planned new setup:

Pre-filter >>> Ecco Pro 2034 >>> Pro II 2026 >>> HC-130A Chiller >>> Back to tank
(Mechanical) Dummy(Biological) (Biological)

Is this arrangement correct? Hope to have some comments and advice from you guys. Thanks.

[Shadow]

2034 = 600 l/h
2026 = 950 l/h

You can't run both, the 2034 will be the bottleneck. It does not mean that your flow rate become 600 + 950. If you want to run it per your setup, you need to take out the impeller of your 600 l/h but I still not sure if the 2026 have power to drive all those in series. You might end up have the same flowrate 600l/h

[eviltrain]

Pre-filter >>> Ecco Pro 2034 >>> Pro II 2026 >>> HC-130A Chiller >>> Back to tank
(Mechanical) Dummy(Biological) (Biological)

or

Pre-filter >>> Pro II 2026 >>> Ecco Pro 2034 >>> HC-130A Chiller >>> Back to tank
(Mechanical) (Biological) Dummy(Biological)

either way also can. just use the 2026 as main power can liao.

[eviltrain]

2034 = 600 l/h
2026 = 950 l/h

You can't run both, the 2034 will be the bottleneck. It does not mean that your flow rate become 600 + 950. If you want to run it per your setup, you need to take out the impeller of your 600 l/h but I still not sure if the 2026 have power to drive all those in series. You might end up have the same flowrate 600l/h

he won't be running both canister. one of the canister will be off, the main one ( 2026 ) will be on.

[Shadow]

it has to be off and take out the impeller. The question is does 2026 have enough delivery head to push all the load.

[eviltrain]

it has to be off and take out the impeller. The question is does 2026 have enough delivery head to push all the load.

true also, i missed out the hose size for 2034 is 12/16mm.

2026 is 16/22mm. the flow may drop a lot this case.

[Navanod]

I don't mean to be critical or disrespectful but I cannot get my head around the practice of disabling a perfectly good Eheim canister to use as a dummy, at the cost of flowrates and with all that space and extra pipings.
There're certainly cheaper brand canister that can be gutted for dummies and the amount saved can be put towards a more powerful main canister?

[eviltrain]

hehe bro Navanod,

just in case the main one fails, the 2nd one always can act as a back up. as long as the motor is not moving, there shouldn't be any problem using another ehiem as a dummy.

[Ecalyte]

I don't mean to be critical or disrespectful but I cannot get my head around the practice of disabling a perfectly good Eheim canister to use as a dummy, at the cost of flowrates and with all that space and extra pipings.
There're certainly cheaper brand canister that can be gutted for dummies and the amount saved can be put towards a more powerful main canister?

It's quite obvious that he didn't plan to use the 2034 as a prefilter when he first started his setup. So now he feels like getting a stronger filter and use it in-line. Since he already has the 2034, do you suggest he sell it and get a dummy canister to replace? Since it's already there, he might as well use it right? Yes I agree, it's completely pointless to use an Eheim canister to act as a prefilter, and I personally would use those cheap china canisters with a big bucket for a bigger media volume. But in this case, it was completely unplanned and it just worked out that way..

[revo79]

So is that to say this setup won't work perfectly? Given that the flowrate will be affected if connected in series.

[Ecalyte]

So is that to say this setup won't work perfectly? Given that the flowrate will be affected if connected in series.

What do you mean by perfectly? It will work just fine. If perfectly you mean you want to get the entire 950L/HR then no, it wont. In fact it wont even give you that if you ran the canister on its own without chillers or prefilters. That's because the motor rating flow rate is based on the canister having no media and hose length of under 2M. The longer the hose, the slower the flow rate becomes.

So first you have to define, what do you want to achieve with this setup, then share that with us. Then we can help you..

[revo79]

Yes, like what Bro Ecalyte has said, it is totally unplanned for. Since Eheim are pretty good canisters to me and I already owned it, so why not just keep it and use it as a back up.

Bro Navanod, I am not trying to be a show off by using the 2034 as a dummy. It is just my habit of keeping good stuff with me, reluctant to sell it off as of now. Cheers.

[eviltrain]

example 2026 flow rate is 950lph, but its actually the rate when no media/sponge is inside. Once you add them in, the flow rate will drop 10-20%

also depends on the total length of pipes/hose you using. the longer the pipe/hose, the more resistance the water flow through the pipe/hose. that will actually drop another 5-10% depends on length.

whats left for your 950lph may be only 600-650lph?

for a 2x1x1 feet tank, water volume will be 54 litres.

650/54 will still gives you 12 cycles

Above calculation is still not including another prefilter, dummy canister and chiller. all these extra may drop your flowrate to around 50%( 475 lph )

475/54 will still gives you 8.7 cycle per hour.

-err am i making this more complicated? -

[revo79]

What do you mean by perfectly? It will work just fine. If perfectly you mean you want to get the entire 950L/HR then no, it wont. In fact it wont even give you that if you ran the canister on its own without chillers or prefilters. That's because the motor rating flow rate is based on the canister having no media and hose length of under 2M. The longer the hose, the slower the flow rate becomes.

So first you have to define, what do you want to achieve with this setup, then share that with us. Then we can help you..

My main objective is to have a better flow rate and more water volume by adding an additional canister filter.

[revo79]

What about this? Will it complicate things?

(Setup 1) Prefilter >>> 2034 >>> Tank + (Setup 2) Prefilter >>> 2026 >>> Chiller >>> Tank

Both will have individual inlet and outlet.

[Navanod]

Haha, like I said, I didn't mean to be asking in an accusing tone or anything, I'm just trying to understand the logic behind it because the other day, I was looking at a setup because I was intending to buy the chiller.
The bro had almost all his eheim canisters running in pairs, with dummies of all sizes. Took me awhile to find which one actually goes to the chiller among all that piping. That to me looked intentional and not like your case (although it may also be, I didn't ask), where you just wanted to find a use for an existing canister.

My 2 cents, is that since the chiller is already going to kill the flow pretty badly, adding a dummy canister, especially one with a smaller hose size, is going to do more harm than good. My old 2028 couldn't even handle a Resun CL650 without losing almost 75% flow so I removed some media and eventually upgraded to a higher head pressure model.
Poor flow may mean the filter media will not get as much oxygen and less BB will be able to survive, although there're alot more space for them to grow...

[eviltrain]

What about this? Will it complicate things?

(Setup 1) Prefilter >>> 2034 >>> Tank + (Setup 2) Prefilter >>> 2026 >>> Chiller >>> Tank

Both will have individual inlet and outlet.

this will work too.

[Ecalyte]

It won't complicate things, and you will get more flow. But how big is your tank? I'm thinking you have a 2ft by your choice of the 2034. In that case, the 2026 may be a bit too strong to run independently. Anyway, your first setup is good. You will get a slightly better flow but not THAT much better. I feel that your first choice is a better option.

Prefilter --> 2034 --> 2026 --> Chiller --> Tank.

This offers a POSSIBILITY of having anaerobic bacteria in part of your 2026. They will reduce nitrates! So tell you what.. my advice is to continue this setup. If the flow isn't good enough, then convert it to a 2-system setup. But if the flow is not up to your liking, don't convert yet. Measure the Nitrates.. then wait 2 weeks and measure them again. If you see a drop in Nitrates then you are cultivating anaerobics! Keep it that way! Be sure NOT to do any water change during these 2 weeks so your nitrate reading will be correct. Any reduction can be completely attributed to the anaerobics.

[reiner09]

Yeah from what i have learnt from the bros here ,i suggest that you add any new additional canisters behind those that are already running.. It makes total sense..
Lets take for example ,you add a new canister infront of your prevalent ones,Abundance food(ammonia+nitrite) and oxygen will be available to the 1st canister ,allowing the aerobic bacteria
to grow. However, it will compete for food with the older canisters( with aerobic bacteria) you have previously.It may or may not cause the aerobic bacteria in this older canisters to die..(due to the lack of oxygen or food).If it does dies, you might end up in an ammonia spike.

So let's say you add it behind the prevalent ones,what kind of bacteria will grow will then be determine on what kind of 'food or oxygen levels'(nitrate? ammonia?nitrite?) ,(oxygen levels still high= aerobic,oxygen level low=anearobic) is left for them after the aerobic canisters at the front has done 'eating.'

[Shadow]

I just wondering how big the tank and how big is the bio load until need to go to such extent.