romance of canister filter

[mikehooi]

hey thanx guy for so caring......
i open up everything and check and found the culprit that is the discus are shitting too much and clogged the filter.maybe more frequent service of the filter.haih......

actually the filter is ok......in some sense just is not good bcos i got slaughtered for this filter and poor qc - oil.......n oil that give me a shock of my life.kekekekeke . but my advice still is better spend a bit more on established brand cos fish life is more precious than the little money u save on buying kaput filter.

[vinz]

Mike, what is the media arrangement in your filter? There are reasons for the recommended arrangement. One of which is to trap larger debris at the bottom cavity of the filter (no not the bottom media, buit the bottom cavity) and prevent clogging of the finer media.

[mikehooi]

oooohhhh.......
the canister i bought does not come with any material at all.
so i configure it myself

there are 3 layers.....
the most bottom one i use sponge....something very rough and compact(cut the size myself)

the middle tray i use biological sponge/foam? which is softer by a bit not compact.(cut the size myself)

the upper tray is ceramic ring.

is this ok? the volume for the filter is 1200L/hour but i use for my 110L 2.5 feet tank. hmmm......not ok also been using for months d.

btw the filter symptom come back d...the temperature increase again.

[Goondoo]

oooohhhh.......
the canister i bought does not come with any material at all.
so i configure it myself

there are 3 layers.....
the most bottom one i use sponge....something very rough and compact(cut the size myself)

the middle tray i use biological sponge/foam? which is softer by a bit not compact.(cut the size myself)

the upper tray is ceramic ring.

is this ok? the volume for the filter is 1200L/hour but i use for my 110L 2.5 feet tank. hmmm......not ok also been using for months d.

btw the filter symptom come back d...the temperature increase again.

Errrr.... you knew that the bottom layer is the first gantry the water pass through, follow by the mid and later the top, right?

[vinz]

Mike,

I'm not familiar with your filter, but canister filters are usually designed such that the water flows through the bottom media first and then upwards. When you put the trays in, there is still an inch or so of space under the bottom most tray, right?

The correct way of organisation :
Top tray - 2 layers:
- Topmost is finest media, usually the fine white "wool".
- Second layer is sintered glass... like Ehiem EhfiSubtrate... you can use any brand (cheaper), but make sure it's sintered glass, and not zeolite. Sintered glass is the biomedia. I like the brand Biohome.

Middle tray - sintered glass again.

Bottom tray - two layers:
- Topmost is a coarse filter pad
- Bottommost is ceramic rings

There's a purpose for the use of ceramic rings. The water is divided into many smaller channels when they encounter the ceramic rings, each individual channel of water has much less strength then the combined flow so "large' debris (like fish poop) in the water is dropped instead of carried up where they clog the other media. This large debris drops into the cavity below the trays where they decompose and the resulting ammonia, etc feed the good bacteria in the bio-media.

You can replace the sintered glass in the middle tray with coarse filter pad if you feel that the sintered glass in the top tray is sufficient. In this case, you need not have a coarse filter pad in the bottom tray.

See http://www.eheim.com/Filter_massen.c...er=Gesamtliste for graphics.

[mikehooi]

ohhh...ohhhhh
i know it pass thru the most bottom 1st but izzit my configuration wrong arrr?
wat is sintered glass?gosh..
i m confuse.

[mikehooi]

ohhh.....
i know aledi my arrangement terbalik.
thats why my ceramic ring is at the most top tray.
hmmm.....
can i off the canister and use a power head to pump water into the inlet?
cos the canister off my tank is 30C after on is 42C

[vinz]

Wah piang... that is one crappy filter... 42 degrees!?!

For sintered glass, go and get this brand called BioHome. It isn't very expensive (around $15, IIRC), one box (big or small, read the instructions on the box to determine) should be enough for your tank.... there's a red one that is seeded with bacteria already, and a grey one that is plain. Get the red one.

Set your filter media correctly, it makes a big difference to the health of the media and ultimately, your tank water.

Using a pump in place of the filter is a interesting idea. I would attach it the outlet instead of the inlet though... (although attaching to the inlet will make it easier to prime). You don't want your pump to be choked by debris, so having it at the outlet means it gets pre-filtered water. Remember to remove the impeller from the filter if you do this, so it does not impede the flow. Don't forget that whatever pump you get, get something that has higher flow rate then you want because the filter media WILL slow down the actual flow rate.

[mikehooi]

i m sure i m temporary going to use the power head method until i got the budget for a new filter. i m going to put the power head at the outlet.

btw do u have any idea whether how to repair the canister head if possible?

thnax vinz for ur advice.really appreciate it.

[vinz]

I wouldn't suggest repairing this particular filter or any filter (unless by a reputable manufacturer). The filters are sealed to prevent water getting to the electricity... there's no gaurantee you or anyone can do a good job making sure that it's re-sealed back properly. Water and electricity don't play well together.

If it's reheating, then they are using a poor quality motor... or at least a cheap one that was not meant to be working in a heat sensitive environment and an enclosed compartment like a filter casing. You will need to find a good low heat motor to replace it and that won't be easy or cheap. I think you won't save much, if at all.

[mikehooi]

haih......regreted it..........
power head my last option......

[vinz]

I wouldn't suggest repairing this particular filter or any filter (unless by a reputable manufacturer). ...

Just to clarify this point... I meant a filter made by a reputable manufacturer and repaired by the same manufacturer. I think most companies will not repair a filter, especially the electricals.

[mikehooi]

hmmm......i know wat u mean.
u had offered me a very nice advice.
vinz....thank you very much.

duno whethe ris ok to ask here....
vinz i m starting my planted arowana tank.....

[vinz]

Please start a new thread for that topic (preferred) or PM me.

[mikehooi]

ok vinz...


btw...i bought the power head for temporary use, i wanna install at outlet but u see the intake is a something a normal tube cant fit.so i plan to use it on the inlet and install a prefilter pad at the powerhead so it does not get choke that fast.(do u think this work?)

now i aledi switch off the canister just let the water flow itself.

[vinz]

A pre-filter will prevent clogging of the pump, but you should rinse the pre-filter regularly... (once a week?) to prevent it from slowing the water flow. If your discus produces a lot of poop, you may need to do it more frequently.

In the long run, it will keep your canister filter clean.

[jhansolo]

My first encounter with canister, I had pretty much made up my mind about 2213. I experimented with it from the kitchen sink. For a first timer, I must say it is not extremely easy to hand the canister based on the manual. But experimenting on the kitchen sink had definitely helped in my understanding of how it works.

If it is going to be your first time using the canister, get a friend to help you and rinsing thru the canister is a great idea.

As for a pre-filter in mikehooi case, I have tried this and it is really good. I connect the inlet of my 2213 to a Tom internal filter that helps in my priming and most importantly acts as a very good pre-filter. As for the media for the pre-filter, I find lava rocks is most ideal.

[infocus]

My first encounter with canister, I had pretty much made up my mind about 2213. I experimented with it from the kitchen sink. For a first timer, I must say it is not extremely easy to hand the canister based on the manual. But experimenting on the kitchen sink had definitely helped in my understanding of how it works.

If it is going to be your first time using the canister, get a friend to help you and rinsing thru the canister is a great idea.

As for a pre-filter in mikehooi case, I have tried this and it is really good. I connect the inlet of my 2213 to a Tom internal filter that helps in my priming and most importantly acts as a very good pre-filter. As for the media for the pre-filter, I find lava rocks is most ideal.

jhansolo, can you show how the Tom internal filter is connected to the inlet of your 2213? Cannot visualize how it is done as I'm not sure how the Tom internal filter look like.

[jhansolo]

jhansolo, can you show how the Tom internal filter is connected to the inlet of your 2213? Cannot visualize how it is done as I'm not sure how the Tom internal filter look like.

the outlet of Tom dive clean connect directly to the inlet of 2213 using eheim tube

[infocus]

the outlet of Tom dive clean connect directly to the inlet of 2213 using eheim tube

Thanks dude. Now I know what you meant. Actually I'm doing a similar way. I connected 2 sponge filter to a power head. The output of the power head goes to the inlet of my canister. The canister is dead packed with bio-media, thus maximizing the amount of bb. However I only use this concept for my goldfish tank.

Have been doing that for 3-4weeks now. Still don't know if this method is better. Might be doing it for my planted tank if it turns out to be good. But would be using internal filter instead of sponge filter.