Cleaning an Eheim 2217 classic canister?! HELP!

[Cooldadddyfunk286]

hey guys, so I have been runnin 2 of these filters for the last few months, and IM SUUUUURE they are well over-do for a cleaning. problem is, I have absolutely no experience cleaning one of these classic canisters what so ever. I feel like I have a good thing goin, and I maintain good water quality with large daily WCs. but I know these filters are in need of a good cleaning and I need to not be a p***y and start learning how to clean these things!! :p its been on my mind for a whiiiile now.

could anyone give me some pointers, advise, or tell me how you guys do it?? I wanna do this the right way, and I defiantly dont want any negative impacts, just cleaner water. ;)


thanks so much if you can help!

-Jason-

[Eddie]

Its easy man, get a very large bucket, BIG bucket like 10-15 gallons. Drain tank water into that bucket about 3/4 the way full. Take your Eheim apart literally clean everything by shaking and rinsing it in this bucket of tank water. Put everything back together an hook it back up. In the future, I know you feed often and you do have some big fish that create alot of waste, you may want to clean YOUR filter monthly at a minimum. I wish I could see your face when you pull that thing apart. You'll want to clean it monthly after this first cleaning! Imagine.....all this quality water that you are changing is being filtered through that grime! :p

Good luck Jason and let us know how it rolls!

Eddie

[poconogal]

Oh yuck, months of fish crap in that filter. Eeewwww! Eddie has me ROFLMAO, he wants to see your face, I can just imagine it. I left my canister uncleaned for 2 months due to illness and man oh man...

You are in for a treat, LOL!!!

I also remove my impeller and use a filter brush to clean inside the impeller well and I clean off the impeller as well.

Good luck!

[Cooldadddyfunk286]

haha, my face will look like this :crazy:! LOL. the only thing Im worried about is putting it back together and have it not work anymore! lol. Ill just do a good cleaning, and hope for the best. I wont take anything apart really, if I start tryin to take apart the impeller I will be fudged.

I feel like if I dump everything into a 15 gal bucket Ill be forever sorting out all the different types of media when Im tryin to "layer" it back up...I bet when I open it I wont even be able to tell what layer is what! LOL

thanks guys!

[rich815]

This should help:

http://www.rexgrigg.com/Eheim%20Classic%20Canister%20instructions.htm

[Roxanne]

.. I left my canister uncleaned for 2 months due to illness and man oh man...
!

Hmmm....I swore never to open mine again unless they were on fire because they weren't mature and I was scrubbing them too much and causing bloom in the tanks....months later I decided I had better open one up....couldn't believe how clean it was in there....the sponges on the canister intakes have been doing all the work for me. I really recommend them for canisters cos if beefheart gets in there and rots, poisons will circulate...

....don't forget to clean the hoses too while you are at it;)..fun fun fun:p:D

Rox

[Roxanne]

..
I feel like if I dump everything into a 15 gal bucket Ill be forever sorting out all the different types of media when Im tryin to "layer" it back up...I bet when I open it I wont even be able to tell what layer is what! LOL

thanks guys!

...spread it out on plastic on the floor in the order you take it out then you can get it back together easier....

[poconogal]

haha, my face will look like this :crazy:! LOL. the only thing Im worried about is putting it back together and have it not work anymore! lol. Ill just do a good cleaning, and hope for the best. I wont take anything apart really, if I start tryin to take apart the impeller I will be fudged.

I feel like if I dump everything into a 15 gal bucket Ill be forever sorting out all the different types of media when Im tryin to "layer" it back up...I bet when I open it I wont even be able to tell what layer is what! LOL

thanks guys!

LOL, Jason, take pics of it before you take it apart! :D


....the sponges on the canister intakes have been doing all the work for me. I really recommend them for canisters cos if beefheart gets in there and rots, poisons will circulate...

Rox

Sure, rub it in why dontcha? I can't use prefilters. My canopy gets in the way, so I can't get the prefilters off to clean them without removing the whole canopy. I'm working on getting a new canopy made so that I can have better access to the tank without removing the canopy.

[Eddie]

haha, my face will look like this :crazy:! LOL. the only thing Im worried about is putting it back together and have it not work anymore! lol. Ill just do a good cleaning, and hope for the best. I wont take anything apart really, if I start tryin to take apart the impeller I will be fudged.

I feel like if I dump everything into a 15 gal bucket Ill be forever sorting out all the different types of media when Im tryin to "layer" it back up...I bet when I open it I wont even be able to tell what layer is what! LOL

thanks guys!

Come one Jason grow some cahones and take it apart, its not gonna bite you. There has to be some part of you that really wants to figure it all out and you'll feel good about it when you are done. You know when you were a kid, they had the plastic sphere with holes in it that were little shapes, the square, the circle, the triangle and the star. All you had to do was put the shaped objects into the sphere. Well its pretty much the same thing. LMAO ;)

I have faith in you brother. You can do it, keep telling yourself. "I think I can, I think I can, CHOO CHOO" LOL

Eddie

[poconogal]

OMG Eddie, ROFLMAO ROFLMAO :D:D:D Grow some cahones!! :D:D:D LOL LOL LOL

Come on Jason, do it for your Discus! They need you! You can do it!

[Roxanne]

:D:D..too funny...Eddie, stop makin meat balls lol..

Rox

[Eddie]

OMG Eddie, ROFLMAO ROFLMAO :D:D:D Grow some cahones!! :D:D:D LOL LOL LOL

Come on Jason, do it for your Discus! They need you! You can do it!


:D:D..too funny...Eddie, stop makin meat balls lol..

Rox

LOL, sometimes I just like to crack myself up.....okay okay okay.....all the time. :D

Eddie

[Cooldadddyfunk286]

haha you guys are too funny, Eddie, your a pisser! :D but your right man, I really do wanna take it apart, and get the cleaning under my belt.

I might take a crack at it tomorrow when I have some time, been super busy lately. I will document it with pics for you guys :p

[Apistomaster]

The Eheim Classic #2217 is my standard canister filter. I use one in conjunction with my main filters, wet/dry 950 gph filters I built myself.
Do yourself a favor and buy the Eheim Pre-Filters for your Classics. These keep all thee big crud out and may be cleaned easily. I clean mine out 3 times a year but if I didn't use the Pre-Filter I would clean them every 3 months. You shouldn't have to clean them more often than that.

I assume you have the quick connect valved fittings. Close them off then disconnect your filters. Then clean them in your laundry tub or bath tub. Be sure to open the valves before trying to remove the top. Otherwise the vacuum won't let you pull off the top.

Get those Pre-Filters!

[Cooldadddyfunk286]

good call man, I will get the pre-filters. I use one on my aqua clear 110, but I couldnt find 1 big enough to go around my eheim classic can. I know I can make one myself, Ill have to look into it alittle further.

i did however just do a water change, and let the water level go below the intake tube in the tank...now I cant get it primed back up!! :(:( the waters not making any progress up the tube, been like that for alittle while now. I want it to get goin!!:mad: crap.

any tips guys?? do u think eventually it will prime itself up?? I did this on my other tank aswell (was on the phone while draining, stupid mistake) but that one primed itself back up and is runnin again.

thanks!

[Eddie]

good call man, I will get the pre-filters. I use one on my aqua clear 110, but I couldnt find 1 big enough to go around my eheim classic can. I know I can make one myself, Ill have to look into it alittle further.

i did however just do a water change, and let the water level go below the intake tube in the tank...now I cant get it primed back up!! :(:( the waters not making any progress up the tube, been like that for alittle while now. I want it to get goin!!:mad: crap.

any tips guys?? do u think eventually it will prime itself up?? I did this on my other tank aswell (was on the phone while draining, stupid mistake) but that one primed itself back up and is runnin again.

thanks!

If the filter is super dirty, it probably isn't getting enough priming (sucking) pressure to start itself back up. Looks like you are gonna have to break it down today! Get your working boots on and have at it! You don't want to leave it and kill off a good portion of the good bacteria.

No worries man, I have faith in you. :D

Eddie

[Cooldadddyfunk286]

I wish I could Eddie! I have my family up from out of town, and friends of mine comin over in a few minutes!!! gotta go out to eat dinner...AHHHH! I hope it starts back up...how long can it go before the bacteria starts to die off??? nooooooo :(:(:(

good thing I have a seeded sponge and seeded AC110 on that tank aswell. should the bio die off in the canister, I would be ok, right?

[Eddie]

I wish I could Eddie! I have my family up from out of town, and friends of mine comin over in a few minutes!!! gotta go out to eat dinner...AHHHH! I hope it starts back up...how long can it go before the bacteria starts to die off??? nooooooo :(:(:(

To be honest man, I would pull it apart and let it set and at least let air onto it. You just don't want it drowning in the water. I also would not let it keep trying to prime itself because you could burn up the motor and then you will really be in trouble. Seriously, take it apart and drain the water out of it, go to dinner, come back and start the cleaning process.

Eddie

[rich815]

Did you read the link I showed you above?

[Apistomaster]

RE: Restarting Eheim with air inside the impeller/output.
1. Turn off the valve on the return hose.
2. Unplug filter from power.
3. Lower end of return hose below tank water level.
4. Open up valves on return hose until water siphons out..
5. Now close the valve and return the end back to the tank.
6. Plug back into power and your filter should run.

[Cooldadddyfunk286]

thanks alot man! I did check out the link, very informative. and I appreciate all the info you guys! its great that you guys got my back, I love Simply :D

Eddie - I ended up bein real pissed, and just leaving my filter trying to prime all night and see what happens, it was like a c.hair short of priming before I went to bed, I was worried that the motor might burn out like you said. I just check it a few min ago when I woke up, and everything is juuuuust fine :D:D musta primed up in the middle of the night, flowin nice and strong! ;)

the cleaning is scheduled for Wednesday. I'll probly just knock out the oldest dirtiest one first. but I may clean the one that was givin me the priming problems first.

Ill definatly get pics of the whole process so you guys can see JUST how dirty my canisters are LOL.:p with the way I feed, the size of the poops, and no pre-filter sponge on these Eheims, its gonna a sight to see!:p the pics may even be sticky worthy haha.

Im just happy my filter didnt burn out, and everything is working ok. some of the bio may have died, it was trying to prime for a good few hours. good thing I got tons of bio going on in that tank aside for this canister!

thanks again guys for all your help :)

-Jason-

[Eddie]

Glad it started for you Jason. Not normal wear and tear on the filter though. :o I would HIGHLY recommend you get some pre-filter for your intake tubes. You'll thank me in the long run.

You better get some pictures! Dude, there is no way in the world you are gonna show how your filters looks on Simply after several months of not cleaning, feeding like you do and the fish waste. Oh man, this gonna be nasty! LOL


Can't wait for Wednesday! Take care man

Eddie

[Gunner11]

I have the same Canister...does anyone have any suggestions for the best was of cleaning the hoses out?? The hoses on mine are full of black crap...any suggestions?

btw..sorry for hijacking your thread ;)

[Wahter]

I have the same Canister...does anyone have any suggestions for the best was of cleaning the hoses out?? The hoses on mine are full of black crap...any suggestions?

btw..sorry for hijacking your thread ;)

You can use a brush like this:

http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/214014/product.web



Walter

[mmorris]

I take apart the fixture on one end of the hose, and then start threading a wire through the hose from the other end. When it goes all the way through, I twist it through the eye in a brush handle, then pull the brush through the hose. Hope that makes sense.

[yim11]

Best $0.38 you will ever spend:

http://www.fish.com/item/aquatic-edge-hose-brush-40-inch-long/790006/

It doesn't look like the brush in that image though, more like a white/clear brush head on really thick weed whacker line. Works like a champ on my 5/8" and 1" hoses!

Like I say, best 38 cents I've ever spent!! :D:D:D

[Eddie]

Best $0.38 you will ever spend:

http://www.fish.com/item/aquatic-edge-hose-brush-40-inch-long/790006/

It doesn't look like the brush in that image though, more like a white/clear brush head on really thick weed whacker line. Works like a champ on my 5/8" and 1" hoses!

Like I say, best 38 cents I've ever spent!! :D:D:D

Thats the same one I have Jim, best one I ever owned. Not a dirty hose in the house! LOL

Eddie

[yim11]

I found that place when you posted the link for that azoo pump a while back that was really cheap, been keeping up with their specials ever since.