Switching from Eheim to Aquaclear

[Moira]

Your discussions have convinced me I need to dump my Eheim and install an Aquaclear on my 75 gal. tank. I also run a Hydra Sponge V.

Can I just take the Eheim out and put in the Aquaclear, or is there some special procedure that needs to be followed, like running both at the same time for a while before removing the Eheim?

[RyanH]

Running both would certainly not hurt. I would probably run them both for about three weeks until the Aquaclear is cycled. If your sponge has been running for awhile you could probably just get away with using that for biological filtration until the Aquaclear is cycled and just increase the frequency of your water changes.

hth

[Shive]

Hi Moira, Iwas just curious what were the arguments that swayed your decision and what kind of problems did you have with Eheim??? Oh yea which Eheim filter do you have?


Shive

[M0oN]

Good choice, canister filters definately have no place in the discus world.

Don't just stow that eheim away though, they're awesome filters as far as I'm concerned, be sure you put that baby to use.

Just run both at the same time for about a month, like was stated earlier...if nothing's gone wrong yet with your eheim it can't hurt to have it help the aquaclear along with it's cycle...

Don't forget to put a sponge over the aquaclear's pre-filter, otherwise you're in for a lot of daily maintenance...

[giroux68]

Why not use a canister? I have been using a magnum 350 for over a year with out a problem. I hooked up a mini-pump to the bio wheels for its own supply and use a sponge prefilter. Just curious.

[Moira]

Thanks people for your responses.

I've been running the Eheim 2215 for almost 3 months, no problems whatsoever, fish are healthy, but its time for cleaning. I have no idea how to handle this canister filter, seems too complicated, I really don't understand what I'm dealing with.

The simplicity of the Aquaclear system appeals to me. Easy to maintain on a daily basis.

[Moira]

Am I jumping the gun?

[M0oN]

Moira, with an intake strainer attached to your eheim you shouldn't have to open it up for a good year to clean it.

But yes, AquaClear's are definately the way to go with sensitive fish like discus, cleaning canister's can be very messy and a real pain the first few times you do it, whereas AquaClear's take maybe 5-10 minutes to fully disassemble and scrub.

[Very Fishy]

I am going the opposite way. I have had an AC300 on my 35 g tank but just upgraded to a 110 g tank with an eheim 2028 professional II. I ran the Eheim for about 4 weeks in my 35 g to fully cycle the new filter. I then moved both the eheim and AC300 over to the new tank and moved the fish over. It worked great. My ammonia, nitrites and nitrates don't even register and have been zero. One thing with the AC300, it does not hang on the back of my bigger tank properly. The lip on the top of the tank is 1/8 " too wide for the AC300 to hang properly. I had to prop it on but the water flow interfers with my glass lid. As far as maintenance, I agree the aquaclear filters are simple, and very easy to keep clean. I use two sponges in the filter and I cut another sponge and fit it over the filter intake. The canister filter is new to me but so far I am pleased with it.

[ramblin101]

One thing with the AC300, it does not hang on the back of my bigger tank properly. The lip on the top of the tank is 1/8 " too wide for the AC300 to hang properly. I had to prop it on but the water flow interfers with my glass lid.

I have the same exact problem with my two 70 gal tanks. The AC300's don't hang cleanly over the lip of the tanks. I have push them down a little to make sure they stay put.

[Moira]

Thanks.

Since my 75 gal. is pushed against the wall, it can't be moved and I would have to hang the Aquaclear on the aquarium side. Because I have a glass top this wouldn't work for me either. I'll certainly have to investigate further whether this is the route I should be going.

In the meantime, can anyone give me any details as to what I should be doing regarding maintenance of the Eheim right now? It's been running nearly 3 months and I haven't touched it.

[Carol_Roberts]

Moira, with an intake strainer attached to your eheim you shouldn't have to open it up for a good year to clean it.


This is exactly the type of thinking that causes sick discus. Teeny bits of beefheart are sucked through the prefilter. Bacteria inside the filter die and build up over time. I'd be rinsing out the canister media in dechlorinated water every 6 - 8 weeks at the very most.

Don't run Aqua Clear 300's on those big tanks. You are right they are not designed to fit. The aqua clear 500 will fit. The filter is about 4 inches deep. You need to allow 5 inches from the wall to pull the Aqua Clear 500 (more if you have room).

[Moira]

Carol,

I can't move the aquarium. I only have room on the side of the aquarium. Can the AC500 hang off the side of the aquarium? I would have to redesign the glass top I suppose.

Also, are you recommending that I take the Eheim apart now and rinse the contents under running water. Nothing needs to be replaced right?

[LEM504]

Moria,
This sounds familiar! I started with a show tank on a homemade oak cabinet.
(It was a tough sell to the wife - the cabinet had to match the oak cabinets )
In short order, had to have another tank. Again, another hard sell to the wife,
And another custom cabinet. Tanks were back to back, as a room divider, one facing the living room and the other facing the dining room. Of course, I built everything for a perfect fit, for the equipment used at that time. Life was Good!

Then came the new back mounted filters, and of course there wasn’t room, between the tanks. I spent the next month, with a tape measure and measured every filter I could find.
None would fit!

I was just about ready for the straight jacket, when my young son said, “ Why don’t you just move one of them?” It took about 45 minutes ( needed a water change anyway ), and life was Good Again! A left-over scrap of oak, from the cabinets, filled the gap between the cabinets, and you have to look close to tell they aren’t one.

The biggest lesson I learned from my little brain fade?
Set it up right! If you bury the filters, or make them difficult to service, they will be neglected! Sooner or later your fish will suffer!

Been there, done that! ;D

Larry

[Carol_Roberts]

You can't hang it on the side - the lip is probably too wide on the side and the tank lid will not fit correctly.

Rinse it now, but do not rinse it under the tap if you have chlorine in your water.

When your open the filter smell inside and look closely at what is dumped out and squeezed out of the sponges

[tony1313]

Moria,
I have had canisters and find they are very time consuming (hard to access and tough to clean). I find A/C's are much better (easier to access and easier to clean). But with larger tanks I find that wet/dry's are the way to go. Didn't mean to throw another curve at you but figured you should look at all options.

hth,
Tony

[falcon]

I have an Eheim 2028pro on my 120g and it works well. The cleaning is a bit tedious, but if you do it on a regular basis, it shouldn't be too bad. I am trying to go on average 6 weeks between cleanings. My filter has baskets in it, 3, an I usually will run tap water over two of them - I know chlorine :), to make sure I rinse out any waste. The next time, I will rotate two more. I have one sponge in there that I also rinse out really well. The floss, I replace each time. I bought a big sheet and cut a new one to size. I don't use carbon sheets anymore.

I would suggest that at the same time you clean the hoses. Just buy a fairly thick wire at home depot, probably 4-6' and attach a piece of cloth, old socks or t-shirts, to the end (bend the wire and tie the cloth there) and feed it through the hoses and rinse with water in between. I found that if you don't clean the hoses at the same time, when you restart the filter it will pump back waste into the aquarium with added pressure needed on startup.

I hope this helps.

Falcon

[Carol_Roberts]

lol, I forgot about the gunk coming out of the hoses on start up.

[Moira]

Just finished my daily water change...I'll plan to do a clean out of the Eheim this weekend.

Eegaads!!! I'm expecting a slim green monster to come out of one of the hoses. haha

[DarkDiscus]

Nope, not a slime green monster, just a bunch of white/gray chunks that float all over your tank.

As you can tell, I'm a REAL big fan of canister filters!

;)

John

[David N]

I have come to the same conclusion as the moderators about canister filters.
1. harbor too much junk
2. don't promote enough beneficial bacteria
3. are a pain in the A to clean and is ofter neglected
4. hoses develop too much gunk (a problem with any hose system)
5. can act as a breeding ground for things you don't want
The last canister filter I broke down had hundreds if not thousands of little white worms in it :puke: when I cleaned it out
I also had problems in the past with ammonia spikes.
On my 75 gallons tank I run a wet/dry, and an Emperor 400. Except for some recent losses (3 fish which I'm beginning to think were hormonally treated - all from the same source) I have not had any significant water problems since July of last year. (btw, I dumped the canister filter before I became aware of this site, after I while I get tired of banging my head against a wall that doesn't move).

[Moira]

Thanks David and everyone for you interest.

I'm cleaning out the Eheim early this week, and in the near future I will have the fun task for moving the aquarium out from the wall to make room for an AquaClear. In the meantime I will do my daily WC and keep the sponge active.

By the way, pardon by newbiness, what is a wet/dry system? I've searched the net with no success. Can someone explain this to me?

[Don_Lee]

Moira,

Check the general discussion area, I just asked for some DIY plans for a wet/dry. There are some good pics on there already! There is a link that gives alot of information about the filters on that thread too.

Don ;D

[David N]

Here's a site that explains wet/dry in a short article. If you know any saltwater hobbyists they should also have lots of infr on wet/dry systems. Don't get blown away with all the extra attachments, you don't need for a fresh water setup. http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/filtration/a/aa090298.htm
Good luck

[Moira]

Just an interesting update to my post.

I wanted to buy an Aquaclear 500 filter from Big Al's here in Toronto, Canada. However, today they informed me they are NOT SELLING AQUACLEAR FILTERS ANYMORE. They are currently selling the accessories for it though.

I asked why and was told that "Aquaclears are garbage". I said I had heard good things are about them. Then I was told "People like them, but scientificially they are crap".

:o

"People like them, but scientificially they are crap".

;D ;D hmmm....pretty much the same thoughts I have about most LFS employees ;D ;D

Dont listen to em....find an AC 500...you wont be dissapointed.

Canisters are crappola for discus :P

Tony

[delmore]

I wanted to buy an Aquaclear 500 filter from Big Al's here in Toronto, Canada. However, today they informed me they are NOT SELLING AQUACLEAR FILTERS ANYMORE...
Interesting, they still sell them on the Big Al's Canadian site:
http://www.bigalsonline.ca/search/?collection=sitebuilder%2Fcatalog1-1&keywords1=AQUACLEAR+500+POWER+FILTER&x=10&y=11

[Moira]

This is the store that persuaded me to buy their Eheim canister some time ago.

Their behaviour leads me to suspect they are pushing the more expensive filters/products to their new customers.

[M0oN]

This is the store that persuaded me to buy their Eheim canister some time ago.

Their behaviour leads me to suspect they are pushing the more expensive filters/products to their new customers.





Eheim are hands down probably the most high quality filters that are widely available out there, the manufacturing process is bar none and I've never found anything that's more quiet or efficient then an Eheim.

Canister's just aren't for every tank out there, I've heard they're making a HOB filter now as well, I'd be interested in trying one out.

Always do your own research before you head out to buy somthing, most local stores only have half-arsed knowledge and base a lot of their opinion on faulty information...

[mikeos]

Personally I feel there is no real diference in the performance or maintenance of either canisters or HOB type filters. Both only work properly if maintained correctly, both need regular maintenance, both suck up the same crud, both can end up contaminated with the same inhabitants. Just remember that the manufacturers capacities are to be taken with a pinch ( or shovel load) of salt. OK for the usual suspects but a little under rated for big D.

If you want or have time for frequent cleaning then aquaclears will serve you well, if time or appearance is more of an issue then eheims only take 15-20 mins, 30mins with pipes every 2 months or so,(probably much longer but they do get a bit messy), as long as a pre-filter is used and cleaned frequently. Correctly filled and maintained canisters have vastly more biological capacity than any other filter I know of other than sump filters and you dont need to reach over 2' of tank to access the damn thing.

[Very Fishy]

Moira,

If Big Al's does not sell Aquaclear 500's anymore, try SuperPet, they carry them.

[Moira]

Thanks Warren, picked one up from Superpet this afternoon :-* :-*

My Eheim will go on a community fish tank.