Friendly-Fishy Blog » Eheim

Eheim Pro 3E Canister Filter

Hermes — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:00:00 +0000

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=16109

Eheim Classic Cleaning Tip

DJKronik57 — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:06:00 +0000

Just a quick tip and word of warning for those of you who own Eheim classic canister filters. When I was cleaning out my Eheim 2217 and 2213 this weekend, I made the mistake of cleaning off the sludge and slime around the impeller and the impeller magnet. I plugged it back in and wow, it was loud. It seems the sludge and slime in there created a natural lubrication that kept it quiet. So when cleaning out your Eheim, resist the urge to clean out this sludge or you'll probably have a very noisy filter afterwards!

In order to fix the issue, I took some Vaseline and rubbed it around the impeller shaft and magnet. I plugged it back in and the noise was greatly reduced. With time, the sludge will build up again and it'll go back to its old dead silent running, but at least I know now to never clean it out again!

Planted Aquarium Mishaps

DJKronik57 — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 19:41:00 +0000

I'm sure we've all had our share of mishaps when it comes to keeping aquariums. Mixing glass, water, and electricity is a recipe for disaster. I thought this thread about aquarium mishaps was pretty interesting, and I'll share my biggest mishaps to date.

First of all, I've come to the realization that heaters, submersible or not, are probably the most dangerous piece of equipment in an aquarium. They're often glass, and sometimes non-submersible. Combined with electricity...well, it's a bad mixture. Most of the time it's as simple as forgetting to turn the heater off when you do a water change. The heater turns on, heats up much to fast (since it's supposed to be "cooled" by water) and either burns up or, even worse, when you refill the tank, cracks the glass when it comes into contact with water again. Some heaters are designed with an auto-off switch to prevent this. I've killed at least two heaters this way. Luckily, it's fairly easy to notice, given the smoke, steam, and possible fireworks. One of mine just burned up before I raised the water back up, but the other shattered when it contacted the water. Luckily, my fish (and me!) got away without any injuries. I've vowed to never buy cheap heaters again, and always, always use a GFCI outlet or power strip (which should probably added to the 10 Items a Planted Aquarium Keeper Can't Live Without list).

Another mishap occurred when setting up my pressurized CO2 system. I bought a regulator with a bubble counter and filled it with water. I screwed the cap on tight and everything was great for about 2 weeks. Then I noticed that my water level was dropping more than normal between water changes, and the bubble counter was often full of water. It had an integrated check valve, so I wasn't worried about my regulator being damaged. However, I then realized that the floor of the stand underneath the tank was literally mushy and soaked. I examined the CO2 setup for leaks and realized that on the back side of the bubble counter, hidden out of view, was a nice big crack that must have been slowly spreading since I screwed the cap on. Each night, when the CO2 went off, water would siphon back and drip out through the crack. My stand is pretty funky inside now, and the particle board that got wet is deformed and expanded. Let's just say the floor inside isn't exactly flat anymore. I ordered another bubble counter and was extra careful screwing it in.

A few more minor mishaps:

I've accidentally overfilled my tank while doing a water change and watching TV at the same time. I suddenly had a waterfall in my living room! Don't multitask while filling your aquarium back up.
I've accidentally run my Eheim filter overnight with a kinked hose. Woke up wondering what the funny burning rubber/plastic smell was, till I realized it was my fish tank. The Eheim took it like a champ though, and still works fine.

I count myself lucky that I've avoided most major mishaps (no cracked tanks, major water damage, etc).

What about you? What planted aquarium mishaps have you had?

How to Move a Planted Aquarium Part 1: Planning

DJKronik57 — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:22:00 +0000

Moving an aquarium is a daunting task, but moving a fully planted aquarium is monumental. Although it may be a lot of work, it is entirely possible without ripping everything up and giving away your fish. How do I know? I've done it before, and I'm about to do it again. Yes...I'm a little bit crazy.

Last time I moved was in June 2006. Back then I had three aquariums, a 20 gallon long, a 10 gallon, and the largest, a 29 gallon tank. I only moved a few miles away, so it wasn't all that bad. The tanks were small enough to fit in the back seat of a car (even the 29 gallon) which made it much easier. The move went very well, and I don't think I lost a single fish.

I'm moving again on July 1st, and once again I've got to figure out how to move my planted aquariums. Since then I've upgraded to a 46 gallon bowfront (seen above, please excuse the iPhone photo, my camera is already packed!) and kept the 10 gallon. Both are heavily planted and happily inhabited by fish. The most important part of this whole process is the planning. Thinking through exactly how you are going to complete the move and issues that might come up will save you time, and possibly some lives.

How will I transport the fish and keep them alive? I tried this technique back in 2006 and it worked so well I'm doing it again. I have two large plastic tubs I bought at Target for about $10 each. I'll fill these up with tank water and some plant clippings to provide cover and rudimentary filtration/food for the short trip. Then I'll catch all the fish and put them into the tubs. Sounds easy right? Wrong. This is probably the hardest part of all.

How will I transport the tanks? Well there's no way I can transport a fully filled 46 gallon tank that approaches 500lbs. That would be a disaster even for the smaller 10 gallon. So instead, I'm going to drain out as much water as I can from both tanks, putting enough into the fish tubs to keep them happy (but also not too much that I can't lift them). Here is where the Python comes in handy. I'm able to drain all but about 3/4 an inch above the substrate level, which has 2 benefits. First, it keeps the substrate wet which keeps colonies of beneficial bacteria alive, and second it makes the tank much lighter. To keep the plants from drying out, I'm planning on taping a garbage bag over the top (plastic wrap for the smaller tank) and using a spray-mister. The 46 gallon and stand definitely don't fit in my back seat, so they'll have to be moved the same day I move all my larger furniture, for which I've rented a cargo van.

What about the filters? Pressurized CO2? Right now I have two Eheim canister filters, one for each aquarium. I'll simply use the shut off valves provided and disconnect them, keeping them full of water for the move. This ensures the beneficial bacteria inside won't completely die out (as long as the move doesn't take too long).

For the pressurized CO2, I'm going to shut it off and disconnect the regulator before moving it. The most important thing is to properly secure the CO2 tank. I've heard plenty of horror stories of improperly secured CO2 tanks falling over and opening in a car.

Other important things to remember:

It's summer, so keeping everything out of the direct sun and cool is important. I wouldn't do this in winter, the changes in temperature may be too severe for fish and plants.
Lift the tanks slowly and evenly. Twisting or torquing the tanks excessively can lead to cracks.
Use plenty of padding when putting the tanks in a vehicle and drive carefully. Make sure to tie them up so they don't move around.
Figure out where you are putting your aquariums in your new place ahead of time. You don't want to have to repeat this process later! Consider the floor (can it support a large tank?) and also the proximity to a water source. You can buy a 100ft long Python, but it's much easier to use a 25ft or 50ft. Power outlets are also an important consideration.
Luckily, I have no stairs or tight corners to deal with, but if you do, make sure your tank will fit without having to upend it, or this method won't really work for you (horrible images of being showered with muddy substrate while trying to hold up a tank come to mind).

Supply List:

Large, sturdy plastic tubs with lids (like these)
Python
Towels to clean up the inevitable mess and pad the tank during the move
Fish net to catch the fish
Plastic garbage bag or plastic wrap (depending on the size of the tank)

Will everything go according to plan? Not likely, but it still helps to minimize the risk of something unexpected popping up mid-move.

The next part of this series will be documenting the move day prep and process (with pictures). Look for it once I get settled in at the new place!

Aquascaping Answers: El Natural

DJKronik57 — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 20:46:00 +0000

Each week in Aquascaping Answers, I do my best answering your aquascaping and aquascaping related questions. Just leave your question in the comments section!

Well, this is the long overdue Aquascaping Answers that I've been too busy to write for a while now. Sorry if you left a question and were disappointed, I've copied them down and will try to get to them all eventually!

Unfortunately I have decided that I shouldn't spend a whole lot of money right now, and I don't think I will be able to handle dosing fertilizers every day or every other day (I'll forget...). But, there's hope! An El Naturale tank. I know that they typically use no filters, but I have already purchased my Eheim Classic 2215. My sense tells me that I could still set up an El Naturale tank, but I may have to dose Nitrogen (which is easier and cheaper than everything else in addition!), to replace the ammonia which the bacteria would be eliminating. My setup would be a 46 gallon bow-front with a DIY 96 watt PC fixture (about 2 watts/gallon) with the Eheim 2215 and a soil substrate... Is this feasible? Would I have to dose Nitrogen? How heavy should my fish-load be? Thanks for helping me get started in the planted tank niche with a beautiful tank!!

I would become fully familiar with the differences between an El Natural tank and a higher-tech Dutch or Nature Aquarium aquascape. They're very different styles, in almost every way. If you'd like to grow fast growing, high light plants, I wouldn't settle for an El Natural. On the other hand, if you are perfectly content having a "set it and forget it" tank that you can pay attention to whenever you have a spare minute every couple weeks or so, and that won't necessarily rival Amano's tanks, El Natural may be right for you. Pick which ever one you think you would enjoy more.

If you are only worried about dosing and remembering to dose fertilizers, build a simple and cheap DIY fertilizer auto-doser. It doesn't cost more than $30-$50 and you'll never have to worry about forgetting a dose again, except that is till it runs out of mix (no wonder my algae was coming back with a vengance!).

For details on an El Natural and whether or not you should dose nitrogen (I highly doubt you'd need to) I'd suggest buying Diana Walstad's book or checking out the El Natural forums on Aquatic Plant Central. The rest of the tank specs sound fine, and I'd stock it only slightly heavier than a normal tank.

Good luck!

Ask a question about aquascaping, keeping aquatic plants, plant-friendly fish, lighting, CO2, fertilizing, or any other aquarium plant related question in the comments to this post, and I'll answer them in next week's edition.