eheim 2229 or eheim 2026 pro II

[crash]

Hi,
i am wondering if you guys have any thoughts about eheim 2229. I am debating between eheim 2229 wet / dri or eheim 2026 pro II.
I already have 2 hydro IV sponge filters in my 100 gallon tank with 10 discus. I do about 6 feedings a day.

wondering if the 2229 is worth the extra money. Or 2026 with the two sponge filter would suffice?
Thank you,
amol

[mikesmac]

Hi,
i am wondering if you guys have any thoughts about eheim 2229. I am debating between eheim 2229 wet / dri or eheim 2026 pro II.
I already have 2 hydro IV sponge filters in my 100 gallon tank with 10 discus. I do about 6 feedings a day.

wondering if the 2229 is worth the extra money. Or 2026 with the two sponge filter would suffice?
Thank you,
amol

Hi Amol,

I have 6 of the 2229's and they work really well as long as you keep up on the maintenance of them. The fill / empty cycles tend to slow down as the slime builds up in the hoses, filter head, and impeller area so you have to periodically pop the top off and clean the hoses and intake / outlet holes. This model filter is exclusively a biological filter.... and I do tend to over feed my Discus so the filters get a work out, but I keep the pre-filters on the intake tubes to act as a mechanical filter to prevent getting large debris into the filter itself and plugging up the media....(I have the stuff that looks like cocoa puffs).... so I have to rinse those out every couple of days to prevent the intake from being restricted which will also slow down the fill / empty cycles. The instructions that come with it say you are not supposed to run with the pre-filter on after the filter is established... probably just for that reason(restricts flow to the filter if not kept clean) I don't have any of the other Eheim filters so can't provide feedback on them.

Mike

[DiscusOnly]

I have two 2026 Pro II on my 90 gallon and I absolutely love this filter. It's easy to startup and very easy to clean. I like the large tray compare to the older fluval cannister.

[crash]

thank you for the info mike and vlam.
Mike, how does the mechanical portion of the 2229 work. from what i understand it has compartments which can be filled with filter floss which is similar to other canister filters and the cylinder on the side is for wet dry?

do you think with 2 sponge filters + 2229 would be sufficient mechanical filteration?

What i really want to achieve is optimal mechanical and biological filter so which of the two would be the best?

[alpine]

Is your tank Bare Bottom ? I tried the 2026 and 2028 pro II and love the quality of them but then decided I did not need them for my bare bottom 75 and 125 tanks. I took them off and went back to my Aquaclears and Hydros.

Roberto.

[crash]

Hi,
The tank is bare bottom.
For some reaosn my aquaclear 110 doesnt do good enough job. I want to see pristine clean water and the 110 seems have a lots of pass through.

[mikesmac]

thank you for the info mike and vlam.
Mike, how does the mechanical portion of the 2229 work. from what i understand it has compartments which can be filled with filter floss which is similar to other canister filters and the cylinder on the side is for wet dry?

do you think with 2 sponge filters + 2229 would be sufficient mechanical filteration?

What i really want to achieve is optimal mechanical and biological filter so which of the two would be the best?

Hi Amol,

The 2229 is designed strictly as a biological wet / dry filter. My keeping the prefilter on the intake works somewhat as a mechanical filter to keep the large debris out of the filter but as I said this has to be cleaned frequently to prevent the flow being restricted to the filter. There are 3 separate baskets in the filter itself... but as far as I know they are all supposed to be used for biological media... that is what I do. The cylinder on the side is a breather / float mechanism which activates the fill / empty cycle of the filter which makes it a wet / dry unit. I suppose you could put sponge material or some type of pad in the top basket to work as a mechanical filter but I've never done it... the prefilter on the intake works fine for me and I rarely rinse out the "cocoa puff" (Eheim Substrat Pro) media. I believe the 2229's are rated for a 150 or 160 gallon tank when filled with biological media. If a third is replaced with mechanical filter material it would decrease that somewhat.

I believe that they way I use them is the optimal way for this particular filter.

Mike

[crash]

great thanks Mike.

[alpine]

Crash, how often do you do your water changes ?
Roberto.

[crash]

i try do it every seond day 10 to 20 % scooping up all the crap. one of the reasons i wanted to get a better filteration is so that the crap will get scooped up by the filter and i will have to do only a waterchange witout scooping too much.
i dont age my water straight from the tap with prime added.

The reason i was leaning towards the wet dry is, lately my water seems to turn cloudy after a water change. But if all it does is bio filteration then it doesnt serve my purpose 100%

[TankWatcher]

I have several 2026 pro II & 2028 pro II . IMO, they do a better job than a sponge filter alone in keeping the tank clean (don't yell too much ppl, it's just my opinion). But I still think you will need to siphon stuff off the bottom. Discus poop is heavy stuff & a lot will sit on the bottom. Having said that, my tanks with only sponge filters must have daily wc, whereas with a cannister this can be spread to 2 x 50% or 3 x 30% a week.

I've never had the wet & dry, but I have read some reviews that weren't favourable, but mikesmac seems happy with it though.

[crash]

Hi Tank watcher,
I am starting to lean toward 2028 more as i think it will offer me the best filteration mech and bio . how is the current for discus?
thank you
Amol

[FLGirl1977]

Crash, I have (2) Pro II 2028's on my 120 and love them! I'm sending you a PM right now....

[TankWatcher]

I have 2 x Pro II 2028's on my 138G planted discus tank. Very happy with them.

[crash]

what do you guys think about Fluval FX5. I hear its one humongous filter.

[FLGirl1977]

I haven't heard the best things about Fluval... I remember reading that it was pretty noisy... maybe someone else can chime in...

[FLGirl1977]

Then again, I haven't bought anything BUT Eheim, I don't see any reason to switch when you're nothing but happy with a product... and my Eheims (I have 3 all together) are quite efficient and SUPER quiet... can't hear them one bit!

[ashaysathe]

Seems like a very very recent past for me. Read this now that you have thrown Fluval in the mix.
Eheim Rocks.. no doubt of it. Its all moneys worth. I went from 2 AC110, 4 sponge filters and 1 air stone to Eheim and water was crystal diamond clear in hlaf a day max.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=68458

Hope this helps

[crash]

thanks for the link ashay.
One of the other threads i found a eheim 2217 and 2213 for $200..less than 6 months old.
I might just pick them up.
cant go wrong with that price.
Amol

[rickztahone]

Seems like a very very recent past for me. Read this now that you have thrown Fluval in the mix.
Eheim Rocks.. no doubt of it. Its all moneys worth. I went from 2 AC110, 4 sponge filters and 1 air stone to Eheim and water was crystal diamond clear in hlaf a day max.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=68458

Hope this helps

that was a great read. towards the bottom it says the days it took to be fully cycled which happened to be 11 days for the Eheim and 13 for the fluval. i thought it took 6-8 weeks? that was a fishless cycle with 4ppm of ammonia a day which falls under the same principles of "our" fishless cycle. i'm just curious if they meant it was ready for fish at 11/13 days? if so, then why does it take so long for us to reach the desired cycled tank parameters? i wonder how a Rena compares in that contest

[MSD]

I love the 2229, use them and they are great!! "That Fish Place" has them for a cheap price with media.

[crash]

I been looking at some diagrams online, does 2217 come with baskets to put your media or you just stuf it all into the cylinder?
thank you,
Amol

[TankWatcher]

I think it comes with just the one basket & you use the sponges to divide the different types of media. 2026 has 2 baskets & 2028 has 3 baskets, to keep the media separate & so just a bit easier for cleaning.

Mind you, I have heard nothing but good things about the 2217.

[crash]

So I took a leap of faith and got a used eheim 2229 wet / dry. I am not a very happy camper at the get go. I saw it all working well at the person who i bought it from. So when i brought it home i decided to give it a great wash. So i unpluged everything and put everything back.

When i plug the nozzles in then turn the leavers to on position, the water rushes into the pump like its supposed to. It fills the pump then fills the wet dry cylinder. It almost seems like the pressure is too much for it to handle and it gushes the water out from the top of the wet dry cylinder and the middle grey ring of the wet dry cylinder. Until i plug the filter in.
Once pluged in there are no leaks, but everytime the wet dry cylinder emties and starts to fill again it makes this fan sound which is quite irritating. Its a audible sound, just like it would make if the filter was running dr. Once it finishes the cycle it pushes the water back into the tank and the sound stops for 30 seconds until the next cycle when the cylinder is being filled again.

I opened to make sure the impellers are clean. Should I lube the impeller?

Thank you,
Amol

[crash]

Also to add,
If i hold my thumb on the breather tube, it doesnt go into the wet dry cycle and doesnt make the nosie.
amol

[crash]

so ladies and gents,
Thank you all for helping me...i returned the 2229 and got 2028..
this filter was so easy to setup..works well quiet...very happy with it.

What i want to know is, What do u use as ur media.
I have the bottom basket with polyfill. and the next two with coco puffs.

Please let me know what the most optimal stup would be.
thank you,

[keiffer123]

go with a fluval and a prefilter

[crash]

i already bought the 2028

[doublediscusjack]

Crash, Your post here, on Eheim 2229 is quite old, so I wanted to ask if you still have it, and want to sell it. If not, have you any idea where I might find one for sale? Jack